Surfing Gone Wrong

If you’ve ever plopped down on your couch with a bag of popcorn and some friends, chances are you’ve heard the legendary tale of Viggo Mortensen and his infamous toe incident while filming The Two Towers. Apparently, Viggo managed to break two toes by having a little tête-à-tête with a helmet—definitely one for the trivia books, right? But hold onto your surfboards because there’s a new twist in the Viggo saga that’s just as wild!

The Surfing Accident

In a recent chit-chat with Entertainment Weekly, our beloved director Peter Jackson shared a side-splitting story that put Viggo’s face in the line of fire—literally. Picture this: everyone’s ready for an epic Mines of Moria shoot when in walks Viggo, sporting a black eye that looked like he just lost a boxing match against a particularly aggressive board. Turns out, he was out surfing with his fellow Hobbits, and a surfing mishap had the audacity to smack him right on the kisser!

Peter’s Creative Solutions

So what did Jackson do when faced with the unfortunate sight of a battered Aragorn? He got genius-level creative, of course! Instead of shooting Viggo head-on, which would have exposed his unfortunate injury to the world, Peter opted for some slick side angles. Talk about turning a disaster into a masterpiece!

Reasons to Celebrate

While Peter Jackson may have had to pivot his shooting style, the camaraderie among the cast brought a different kind of magic to the set. The Fellowship actors became best buddies, constantly engaging in playful antics, leading to hilarious moments like getting the Elvish word for “nine” tattooed on each other—no big deal, right?

A Laughing Matter

Despite the chaos, Jackson managed to keep the mood light. He shared a delightful anecdote about Viggo’s many apologies—‘I’m sorry, Peter. I’m sorry!’ And in response, Peter chuckled, ‘Oh God!’ It’s this kind of light-heartedness that adds to the charm of the filmmaking process. It’s pretty clear that rather than feeling flustered, Jackson found the humor amid the mayhem.

Fun Fact for Movie Buffs

Ultimately, Viggo’s accidental battle with that dastardly surfboard not only resulted in some creative camera work but also gave us another juicy nugget of trivia about the making of The Fellowship of the Ring. Honestly, it’s about time we got some fresh stories to toss around during movie nights! So next time someone brings up the toe-breaking helmet saga, you can confidently throw out the surfing kerfuffle instead.