That Time When Lee Pace Was a Real-Life Thranduil on The Hobbit Set
You can think whatever you want of The Hobbit, but hey, at least we got ourselves some Lee Pace content.
Back when The Hobbit was announced, helmed by the one and only Peter Jackson, many Lord of the Rings fans thought that they will get yet another iconic cinematic trilogy based on their favorite universe.
However, The Hobbit drew mixed reviews; for a lot of people, it was rather a disappointment than a glorious comeback. Still, some fans managed to find joy in the new trilogy, largely due to the participation of fan favorite actors like Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and Lee Pace.
About the latter...
If you watched some of the behind-the-scenes videos from The Hobbit, you may have noticed that Pace was a lot like his character, elven king Thranduil, on the set. The way he interacts with Peter Jackson, laughs with fellow elves, or simply looks into the camera occasionally... priceless, isn't it?
But one particular moment lives in our heads rent-free. Remember when Pace walked into the set, admiring its beauty, and then responding with a gracious "You spoil me" when someone jokes how the set was built "just for you, Lee."
First of all, yes, let's be honest, this set was truly built just for him to be a majestic elven king. Secondly, after seeing this clip, we cannot possibly think of anyone who fits better for the Thranduil role than Lee Pace!
The actor was cast by Peter Jackson because the director loved his performance in Pushing Daisies — a two-season show on ABC that ran in 2007, where Pace played a piemaker who had a magical ability to bring the dead back to life with a single touch (only for them to die permanently if he ever touches them again).
Feel free to revisit The Hobbit trilogy on Hulu or Disney Plus if you are fine with the Lord of the Rings movies that are not Peter Jackson's original trilogy.