Viggo Mortensen Surfing Injury: The Secret Behind LOTR's Moria Battle
Director Peter Jackson reveals how a Viggo Mortensen surfing injury forced him to change camera angles in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Aragorn almost fought the Cave Troll with a swollen eye. Peter Jackson is pulling back the curtain on the making of The Lord of the Rings trilogy ahead of its massive theatrical re-release this month. According to Entertainment Weekly, an exclusive introduction by the director reveals how a weekend surfing mishap nearly derailed a key sequence in The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Viggo Mortensen Surfing Injury That Forced a Pivot
During a break from filming, Viggo Mortensen went surfing with the actors playing the Hobbits. In a freak accident, his board flipped and struck him in the face. He arrived on set on Monday with a severe black eye, swollen like a professional boxer. "I'm sorry, Peter," the actor reportedly told the director.
Jackson couldn't stop the production, as they were shooting all three films simultaneously. To hide the injury during the Mines of Moria sequence, Jackson had to rethink his camera angles. If you watch the scene closely, you'll notice Mortensen is almost exclusively shown from one side to hide his "bulged out" eye from the camera.
Record-Breaking Demand for Middle-earth
The return to theaters from January 16-25, 2026, is already a massive success. Fans have snapped up over 400,000 tickets, generating more than $5 million in domestic revenue. This marks a 65% increase over the previous record set in 2024.
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