We all know the great Ian McKellen from his brilliant role as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings series. However, in a recent interview, co-star Dominic Monaghan who played the hobbit Merry, reveals that David Bowie auditioned for the iconic role.
Technically, he didn't see Bowie try out for the role, but in an interview with The Huffington Post, Monaghan speculates on what could have been. He said he simply saw the pop legend go into the audition space to read some lines while he waited to hear feedback on his recent tryout.
"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," Monaghan told the Huffington Post. "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 was lucky enough to know his son now so just seeing him in person was pretty special to me."
Other reports suggest that Bowie may have been reading for the role of Elrond, Elven lord of Rivendell, but lost out to Hugo Weaving (aka Agent Smith in The Matrix)
Of course, Bowie probably would have slayed in that role given his previous acting credits as the Goblin King in Labyrinth, but he couldn't be the mastermind of all things pop culture, he had to let a few other people get the limelight from time to time.
Monaghan, on the other hand, has been relatively busy since his performance in Lord of the Rings and the TV show Lost, as the former Drive Shaft musician is hosting his own nature show, Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan, now in its third season on the Travel Channel.
