Elijah Wood landed the role of a lifetime when he was cast as Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings – so much so that he's become synonymous with everything Hobbit-related.
And that was exactly what worried Green Street screenplay writer Dougie Brimson when Wood was cast as its lead, the hapless West Ham newcomer Matt Buckner. In a way the roles portray a similar evolution of character from a naïve innocent to capable somebody – though that's about as far as the similarities run.
Despite the major box office success of Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy, Brimson was worried Wood's association would lead to 'nothing but Hobbit jokes' around Green Street's release. But by the time director Lexi Alexander was done with the 2005 release, 'Frodo' would have another iconic credit under this belt – at least in British circles.
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“I was in north London, I got a phone call and the person said, ‘What do you think of Elijah Wood?’ I said, ‘For what?’ and it was the role of Matt," Brimson told The Athletic. "My response was, ‘He’d be f*****g great.’ But clearly the Americans didn’t do sarcasm because I was being sarcastic.
"Then I get a phone call to say, ‘Elijah is going to play Matt.’ I thought, ‘Oh, s***.’ Because he’d played the role of Hobbit in Lord of the Rings, I was worried we’d get nothing but Hobbit jokes.”
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Thankfully, former hooligan-turned-writer Brimson would see Wood make the role his own and deliver a believable transformation from sissy to hoodlum. It's likely the 42-year-old will be followed by Hobbit jokes for the remainder of his career, but there are bound to be those who also recognise him for his role as 'The Yank'.
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The number of Green Street die-hards may not quite match up against the legions of J.R.R. Tolkien enthusiasts, but in that sense Brimson was always fighting a losing battle. Rather, his portrayal as a newbie to West Ham's Green Street Elite firm has dug out its own little nook in cinema history.
The film's creators pulled out all the stops to get it made and even 'tricked' West Ham into letting them record during a game against Birmingham City at Upton Park. And throngs of fans will be overjoyed they did, with Alexander revealing she still gets stopped 'constantly' by fans appreciating her decision to turn Frodo Baggins into a thug.
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