The Lord Of The Rings television series is one of the most hyped projects of 2020.
And casting agents for the series are desperately looking for people with ‘funky looking’ features to cast in the mammoth project.
According to The Guardian on Wednesday, a booker for New Zealand talent agency, BGT, put out a request on Facebook as production looks set to resume.
Think you could play an orc? Lord of The Rings much hyped television series is urgently looking for actors with ‘acne scars, facial lines, or large eyes’ to join the cast
The Facebook post was made by the Auckland-based agency, with them looking for extras with ‘acne scars, deep cheekbones, facial lines, and large eyes’.
The list also noted they were seeking extras with other attributes, including missing bones, and even a bulbous nose.
The Guardian said the booker was unable to confirm he was working on the small-screen production of the J. R. R. Tolkien classic. But a prior ad had it listed.
Blockbuster: The post was made by the Auckland-based agency, with them looking for extras with ‘acne scars, deep cheekbones, facial lines, and large eyes’. Pictured: Gothmog, an Orc chieftain, in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
This isn’t the first time the casting agency was looking for extras for the series.
In December, they asked for applicants under 5ft or over 6ft 5ins with ‘wonderful noses’ and ‘character faces’ while hiring for the production.
‘HAIR HAIR HAIR — if you have natural red hair, white hair, or lots and lots of freckles,’ the agency added.
The advert also welcomed ‘Long Lithe dancers’, ‘stocky mean-looking bikers’, and ‘redheads all ages [sic], shapes and sizes’, to apply.
Big time: The usual list also included other attributes likes missing bones, and even a bulbous nose. Pictured: An Orc in battle in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
In the country of just under five million, casting companies are struggling to fill roles of the freakish J.R.R Tolkien creations and have resorted to hitting the streets to find suitably odd-looking members of the public, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In addition to being fed for pretending to be a malevolent goblin or a homely hobbit for the day, extras in New Zealand are paid £148 (AUD $268). Experts say that employing people with distinguished features will save on make up costs.
The TV series will be in the same fictional universe created by legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien, who published the series at intervals between 1954 and 1955.
Cult following: The TV series will be in the same fictional universe created by legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien, who published the series at intervals between 1954 and 1955. Here: Elijah Wood in LOTR: The Two Towers (2002)
Similarly to the books, and the Peter Jackson adaptations in the early 2000s, the landscapes will be populated with horrific humanoid monsters, dwarfish citizens of mythical villages, and slender celestial elves.
Amazon has dropped £190 million just on the rights for the upcoming series, and the details, including cast and plot, are a stone-guarded secret.
The Lord of the Rings movie franchise, produced between 2001 and 2003, cost over £225 million and required more than 20,000 extras to populate the epic scenes.
Classic: The Lord of the Rings movie franchise, produced between 2001 and 2003, cost over £225million and required more than 20,000 extras to populate the epic scenes. Here: Elijah Wood and Sean Astin star in LOTR: The Two Towers