Figwit

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

In reading up on Flight of the Conchords and The Lord of the Rings, I just came across the story of Figwit:

In New Line Cinema’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy based on the book of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien, Figwit is the fan-derived name for an unnamed Elf extra played by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame. “Figwit” is derived from “Frodo is great…who is that?” This is in reference to the distraction viewers may experience due to Figwit’s physical appearance and demeanor.

Figwit is seen in the first movie during the council of Elrond. He sits next to Aragorn until they all stand up to argue. After Frodo shouts “I will take it!” and everyone turns and looks at him, Figwit is standing on the far right. He is standing in the background for only a fraction of a second.

Bret McKenzie is also seen in the third movie (credited as “Elf Escort”) in the scene where Arwen is leaving for the Grey Havens and has the vision about her future son Eldarion. He is the one who tells her to get back with the others. He has two lines: “Lady Arwen, we cannot delay!” and then “My lady!”

Figwit’s rise to fame began shortly after the first movie. Peter Jackson, who directed the trilogy, stated in the DVD commentary for The Return of the King that he was given dialogue in the third movie because Jackson became aware of the attention given to this extra. Jackson mentions the phenomenon in the commentary track on the extended version of the Return of the King DVD: “the decision to give him a speaking role was developed after the scene was scripted. Originally just a random cast extra was to give the lines, but it was decided that it would be fun if the Figwit actor was brought in to deliver them.”

Comments

  1. Bruce says:

    FIGWIT- Elvish-Australian? F- I’m Good; WIT acronym unknown.

  2. Ross says:

    Frodo is Great – Who is That?

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