David Bowie 'did audition' for Lord of the Rings

David Bowie once auditioned for Lord of the Rings, according to the actor Dominic Monaghan.

Monaghan, who played hobbit Merry in the blockbuster fantasy trilogy, revealed to the Huffington Post that he was surprised to see the Thin White Duke while auditioning for the role.

“I was at the Hubbard’s, which is a pretty notorious casting agency office in London, doing an audition for Lord of the Rings, and when it ended I went over and talked to John Hubbard, who was running the audition, and he said, ‘Hey, it went really well. You should wait around for five or 10 mins. We’ll give you some feedback’,” said Monaghan, also known for his turn in JJ Abrams’s Lost.

“I thought, ‘Oh, OK, cool, and I sat in the reception office. As I was reading a magazine waiting, David Bowie came in and signed his little list and went in. I’m assuming he read for Gandalf. I can’t think of anything else he would’ve read for. He may have read for something else, but I’m a huge David Bowie fan, and I’m lucky enough to know his son. Just seeing him in person was pretty special to me.”

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has long hinted that Bowie was in fact up for the role of Elrond, the half-elven lord of Rivendell. Despite the singer’s previous experience playing a goblin king in the Jim Henson fantasy Labyrinth, the part eventually went to the Australian actor Hugo Weaving.

Jackson told Entertainment Weekly in 2001: “These are famous, famous characters, loved for nearly 50 years. To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable.”

Bowie died on 10 January in New York, aged 69, after an 18-month battle with cancer. Director James Gunn also revealed recently that the singer was wanted by Marvel for a cameo role in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie.