We all know Russell Crowe from Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, but Middle-earth could have claimed the actor, too. Before The Lord of the Rings became a fantasy phenomenon, Crowe was already a rising critical darling, fueled by gritty Australian dramas and Hollywood breakouts such as L.A. Confidential. Yet despite a $100 million backend deal, Crowe walked away because he believed Peter Jackson, the filmmaker behind the legacy, did not truly want him in the project.

By then, Crowe had enough Hollywood momentum to make Middle-earth tempting, but intuition proved stronger than an extraordinary payday.

On The Howard Stern Show, back in 2019, Russell Crowe finally explained the Middle-earth role that slipped through his fingers. The actor revealed that he was offered 10% of The Lord of the Rings' gross, a deal Stern calculated could have earned Crowe around $100 million. Yet the biggest fantasy franchise payday was not enough to override one nagging feeling.

"I didn't think Peter Jackson actually wanted me on the film. I think he was forced into talking to me, because there was moment in time when everybody wanted me in everything," Crowe said.

He explained that during their phone conversation, the actor sensed that the filmmaker was only speaking with him because there was enormous industry pressure to cast Crowe at the time, especially because the filmmaker did not seem to know much about his work. His instinct told him Jackson already had another performer in mind, and that hunch turned out to be remarkably accurate.

That performer was Viggo Mortensen, the acclaimed actor best known for bringing Aragorn to life in The Lord of the Rings. Crowe shared on The Howard Stern Show that he believed Jackson should be allowed to hire the actor he genuinely wanted, even if that meant Crowe walking away from a fortune. In hindsight, his intuition was expensive, but Mortensen became Middle-earth royalty.

Is Netflix’s ‘Unabomber’ Based on a True Story? Everything to Know About Russell Crowe’s New Thriller

Russell Crowe may have let The Lord of the Rings slip through his fingers, but he was hardly sitting around twiddling his thumbs. The actor was busy building a career of his own, one that he maintains to this day.

While Middle-earth was conquering cinemas from 2001 to 2003, Russell Crowe was hardly waiting around for a wizard to call. He had already won the Best Actor Oscar for Gladiator, then followed it with A Beautiful Mind, earning another Oscar nomination for playing John Nash. Off-screen, Crowe also found time to perform with his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.

As The Two Towers rolled into theatres, Crowe was collecting major awards for A Beautiful Mind, including the BAFTA and Golden Globe, while making headlines for an infamous BAFTA altercation. Then came Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, another prestige epic, alongside Crowe marrying Danielle Spencer in 2003. So while Middle-earth was finding its audience, Crowe was busy cementing his own Hollywood reign.

‘The Last Druid’- Russell Crowe Channeling His Inner Gladiator at 62 With Latest Physique Update

Would you have liked to see Russell Crowe in The Lord of the Rings? Let us know in the comments!