After Star Wars, Anthony Daniels Played A Major Lord Of The Rings Character

Anthony Daniels' acting career has been defined by his role as C-3PO from the "Star Wars" franchise. That almost wasn't the case, though, as George Lucas initially fought against casting Daniels for the part due to his British accent, but the rest, as they say, is history. Following 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope," Daniels has voiced the jittery, over-talkative droid in movies, TV shows, video games, and even theme park attractions. However, Daniels also contributed to another pillar of fantasy that doesn't get quite as much attention as C-3PO. In 1978, Daniels swapped C-3PO's constricting gold costume for elf ears and a bow when he took on the role of Legolas in Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings."

A cult classic for fans of both animation and those obsessed with the One Ring, Bakshi's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's tale still stands out from the crowd thanks to its bold and brilliant method of rotoscoping, notably used in animated films like "A Scanner Darkly" and the Vincent Van Gogh biopic "Finding Vincent." Back in the '70s, though, Bakshi applied it to his take on Middle Earth, which was wonderfully rough around the edges, and has made it the cult classic it is today. When it comes to Daniels' memory of the project, though, the actor admits to having very little knowledge about how the character would appear in the film, and that one key detail might've changed how he handled his portrayal as the legendary elf.

During an interview with Its Recording Time Media, Daniels admitted that the questions he gets often focus on his C-3PO character and added that his role as Legolas "wasn't the greatest experience." He said: "I think the first iteration of 'Lord of the Rings'... was this very strange film. What was curious [is] that they didn't show me a concept painting of Legolas Prince of the Elves, so I played it." Going in blind, Daniels did his best in contributing to the Fellowship. One challenge in particular, it turns out, was the unexpected appearance of Legolas, which Daniels said: "He turned out to be blonde, and I think I'd have played it differently if I knew he was blonde."

Daniels never got another go with the character, even after Bakshi's film ended on the cliffhanger of "The Two Towers" closing moments. Plans for a sequel were canceled after the movie's poor box-office and reception, which was no issue for Daniels, who still had two more "Star Wars" films in the pipeline. As for Legolas, he'd have a far more popular take brought to life by Orlando Bloom in Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed adaptation of Tolkien's tale.