It was a blink and you miss it moment from “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” so you’ll be forgiven if you missed it, but “Flight of the Conchords” star Bret McKenzie was in the film. During the council meeting where Frodo says, “I will take it!” the camera pans over to a pouty elf. The story goes that a fan said, “Frodo is great … who is that?” thus spawning the nickname of Figwit. He reappeared in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” alongside Liv Tyler and that has been his extent so far in the franchise, but perhaps not for long.
The word going round is that Peter Jackson wants McKenzie to reprise his role as Figwit in “The Hobbit.” We can only imagine it’ll be another brief bit, but it would certainly be a big wink to fans. This writer has to admit, this whole phenomenon passed me by. Who knew that Figwit spawned his own fansite? Though that Flight of the Conchords song “Frodo, Don’t Wear The Ring” makes a lot more sense.
“The Hobbit” is currently filming in New Zealand with part one set to hit in December 2012. Check out McKenzie’s brief glory below as well as the excellent Conchords tune. [Stuff]
He\’s really interested in acting now. I wouldn\’t be surprised if the role is bigger this time around.