"In a technical way, that meant there was no acting required of the Hobbits' friendship. It meant you could concentrate on the scenes and not worry about acting as friends because we were already best mates" ~Billy Boyd
"I met him about four or five days before I flew to New Zealand for the first time. He was getting his wig fitted, as I needed to get mine fitted. I went to this hotel, and we kind of crossed paths in the lobby. Obviously we both knew who the other was. And we kind of stopped and looked at each other, and we just ran and gave each other a massive hug - and that was the first time I ever met him. It was this instant connection because we knew what we were going to embark on together." ~Elijah Wood on meeting Sean Astin
"I wanted all the emotions, all the interplay, to be real, honest and grounded in a sort of authenticity. When people refer to LOTR as a fantasy, it almost makes me wince because, to me, it was real. I approached the portayal and the interpretation of the character as a very real, human-like specimen. When I agreed to do fifteeen months making LOTR, I don't think I really understood what an awesome commitment of time it was. While we were making the movie, I read 40 books and Elijah Wood and I probably playede 4000 hours of Sony Playstation. It was two birthdays for my daughter. The only way to describe the experience is how close people came, I imagine, when they're in the military overseas together -- that's how it felt for us." ~Sean Astin
"Later, we sit and watch the filming, in the top room of the tower of Cirith Ungol. The scene is trimmed to it's essentials. The dialog is not always Tolkien's, but I have to return to the boook to be sure, the spirit is so close. I get to hear one of my favourite lines; "You can't go walking in the Black Land in naught but your skin, Mr Frodo." The essence of Sam. Peter gives the dialog a subtext. Sam is thinking, "I'm going to destroy that thing that's causing you so much pain - by myself if that's what's needed". They spend all day on this bit, so critical to the emotional arc of the story. In the end, Sean Astin as Sam delievers the line with weariness,grief, determination, courage, and love. I leave with tears in my eyes." ~LOTR crew member