Lord of the Rings and its prequel trilogy The Hobbit easily had about a couple million different props put together, ranging in size all the way down to one small ring. For the cast who had to work with these props for years, there's no doubt they formed some sort of attachments to them. So when they leave the set, of course some of them are going to take home some little memento to remind them of their time making the movie.
Cate Blanchett, who played elvish queen Galadriel, recently reminded us of all the cool props some actors got to take home with them as souvenirs. The actress appeared on Stephen Colbert's A Late Show with Stephen at Home, and the pair talked about Lord of the Rings of course. Since they were chatting via video call from their homes, Blanchett had all of her props at the ready to show and brag about (we're not bitter).
While Blanchett is at home, she's been cleaning out her attic and was trying to find her elvish ears. Unfortunately she couldn't find them, but she did find her set of Tauriel's fighting blades, which she showed Colbert. "I mean some people stock toilet paper, but I've got these," she said. Tauriel is actually Evangeline Lilly's character in The Hobbit so Colbert thought it was weird Blanchett had the swords. To which Blanchett quickly said, "Actually, you did not see those. Don't speak to Evangeline Lilly anytime soon."
Blanchett's little show and tell was just a painful reminder that the cast were able to take virtually anything they wanted from the set, even if it didn't belong to their characters (Sorry to Evangeline Lilly). It would seem as though pretty much everyone who worked on the two trilogies got to take something.
Sir Ian McKellen revealed on an Ask Me Anything on Reddit that he took home a couple of gold coins from the treasure Smaug was guarding in The Hobbit, along with the front door key to Bag End, reports Insider. But he had to be as stealthy as Bilbo to acquire either of them.
"And if you don't tell anyone, I can tell you that I have some of those coins," McKellen wrote. "Along with the font door key to Bag End, which I know Peter Jackson is looking for, but will never find."
Liv Tyler, who played the elvish princess Arwen, also took home a couple of things. She has Arwen's sword and her own pair of elvish ears she wore in The Lord of the Rings. Coincidentally she also did a show and tell with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, and showed him the incredibly detailed sword. She told Colbert it was a gift from the trilogies' director, Peter Jackson.
Both Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, and Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, received prop replicas of the One Ring, used on the set as a gift from Jackson as well. Wood went on Conan O'Brian's show during Comic Con to talk about the ring he owns. What's special about Wood's ring is that it was one of the rings they used in filming.
Wood said, "This is the real thing, so I was given this ring when we commenced principal photography of all the films. I'm a ring bearer, so they gave it to me. It's an incredible thing to have." Wood also said there were probably only ten of those rings in existence, so they would be highly valuable.
Sean Astin, who played Same Wise Gamgee, also took home his Hobbit feet, but Viggo Mortensen didn't just take any old prop; he took home the horse he formed a bond with throughout the making of Lord of the Rings. According to IGN, Mortensen bought the horse he rode on for most of the movies.
Being an extremely experienced horse rider, Mortensen formed an attachment to his horse named TJ, and bought him. "I bought the one in Lord of the Rings 'cause I had – even though I wasn't with him all the time, I just developed a real good friendship with him," Mortensen explained. It is also rumored that Mortensen got Aragorn's sword as well.
Fans all over the world however, who have never set foot on the set of Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, are still able to acquire these precious props from prop auctions. Props ranging from swords to helmets used in the movies can go for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
No doubt they keep their purchases under lock and key in nice glass cases, unlike Blanchett and Tyler who stash their souvenirs in their attics. But if you're a die hard fan who can't afford to buy these props, there's always the Noble Collection, for all your replica desires.
