Lord of the Rings star has one complaint about his character Elrond

"They gave me all the exposition!" claims Hugo Weaving.

Dan Seddon
·2 min read
Prod DB © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - New Line Cinema - 3Foot7 - WingNut Films / DR LE HOBBIT: UN VOYAGE INATTENDU (THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY) de Peter Jackson 2012 USA/NZ avec Hugo Weaving heroic fantasy, fantastique, feerique, aventure, Elrond d'apres le roman de J.R.R. Tolkien autre titre: Bilbo le Hobbit: un voyage inattendu
Hugo Weaving as Elrond in The Hobbit. (WingNut Films)
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Lord of the Rings favourite Hugo Weaving has one complaint about his elf lord character Elrond.

Present across each of Peter Jackson's classic trilogy entries - The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King - as well as two of the three Hobbit adaptations, Weaving brings a stately power to Elrond, who is the father of Aragorn's eventual wife Arwen (played by Liv Tyler) and ruler of Rivendell.

Read more: James Corden reveals failed audition for Lord of the Rings

25 years since filming first unfolded in New Zealand, the Australian native spoke to The Guardian about one of his defining roles with a surprising bluntness.

"[Elrond] wasn't the most satisfying character to play, to be honest. Elrond was a clothes horse and they gave me all the exposition!" said Weaving.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 09: Hugo Weaving attends the LOVE ME World Premiere at State Theatre on December 09, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
One of the actor's defining roles was in Peter Jackson's two Middle-earth trilogies. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

This comes after he was asked by Variety whether he'd be up for reprising Elrond in Prime Video's Middle-earth series The Rings of Power, which completed production on its second season last year.

"I would never — I'm not interested in that at all," he replied. "Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it."

Read more: Lord of the Rings hobbits have reunion meal together

Of course, Lord of the Rings isn't the only iconic franchise fans associate with Weaving. He portrayed Neo's nemesis Agent Smith in the three original Matrix movies released between 1999 and 2003, too.

But after expanding his villainous repertoire in Captain America: The First Avenger eight years later as Hydra's commander Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, the star realised he was done with that particular line of work.

"Villains are fun," he told The Guardian in the same interview. "But it got to the point where I thought each uber villain was going to bleed into the next. By the time I did Red Skull, I was thinking 'that's enough of that.'"

Watch: Couple spending £10k to get married in The Shire from the Hobbit movies