How much preparation did you do to get the emotional depth on the screen? Did you get much rehearsal time together?
JOHN NOBLE: We had enough rehearsal, and we had a certain intensity and a respect for our craft and each other. Peter Jackson is a very respectful man in the sense that he doesn’t tell you more than he has to. The whole process was very professional, and intense.
Has the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy changed your life?
JOHN NOBLE: It hasn’t changed my life, but it’s been a wonderful gift to be involved in these films. I would have played a featured extra in the films just to be a part of the experience. It was something that I’ll always treasure in my life. In terms of altering my life, not at this stage.
How hot did it get on the funeral fire?
DAVID WENHAM: It was worse for Denethor. Obviously those were real flames and they were heavy costumes, and the set was pretty hot.
That scene with the fire was very emotional.
JOHN NOBLE: It was exactly as you saw it. It was extremely emotional and painful and it took a fair while to shoot, and it was worth it. But at that time, between David and my character, we’d already done most of the painful stuff because David’s character was not really awake, if you like, during that death scene. He was very much the focus, and David was there getting all that oil poured over him and that type of thing. From my point of view, it was much more like a monologue by that stage because my son was going to die. But it was very intense.
DAVID WENHAM: In that particular scene, I was sort of out of it. In terms of emotion, there wasn’t terribly much coming from me. In terms of an emotional journey, the big one for me was the one where Faramir basically rides out to his death. The tension is when he rides out to his death on this kamikaze mission, and the scene that precedes that with his father is kind of the defining moment in the final journey.
What sort of physical training did you do for your action scenes?
DAVID WENHAM: On the days that I wasn’t shooting, I was involved in routine training with the New Zealand stunt crew and working on routines that I’d be involved in some of the sequences in the film in the defense of Osgiliath. I was training on a daily basis. Those guys are incredible because they started many months before principle photography and worked all the way through. When they weren’t on set working, they were training some of the other actors.
Will you continue your training continue as part of your personal fitness regime?
DAVID WENHAM: Well, it was specific training for specific fight sequences. It was certainly something that kept you in pretty good condition. I would have to have the New Zealand stunt crew to work with me to continue that training (laughing), which I think would be very difficult.
How about working in the suits of armor? Did that make it harder?
DAVID WENHAM: Absolutely.
How heavy were they?
DAVID WENHAM: They were heavy enough. And also the weaponry, the real swords were actually of a hefty weight. We had the double swords when you were working on the stunts and they were of a lighter variety so you could absolutely work with the stunt men without killing them. [The real swords] can’t be lighter because you can ‘see’ the weight of things.
PAGE 2: "Lord of the Rings" Fans, Insanity, and "Van Helsing"
Additional “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Press Junket Interviews:
Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Bernard Hill, John Rhys-Davies, and Richard Taylor/Barrie M. Osborne
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Premiere Coverage:
Orlando Bloom/Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood/Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, David Wenham/John Noble, John Rhys Davies/Bernard Hill, and Peter Jackson/Richard Taylor
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Photo Gallery
"Return of the King” Trailer, Credits, Soundtrack Info and Movie News
