There’s an accidental scream in ‘The Lord of the Rings‘ trilogy that became one its most iconic scenes. It’s a secene from ‘The Two Towers,’ in which Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find what they think to be the bodies of Merry and Pippin after the battle with Uruk-hai. Aragorn kicks a helmet and starts screaming, dropping to the ground in the process.
The scene seems quite raw because Viggo Mortensen wasn’t faking his emotions. The actor actually broke two of his toes, making the scream very much real. That particular scene has now become one of its most popular behind-the-scenes stories due to many factors. While Mortensen screamed in pain, director Peter Jackson had no idea about his injury. In fact, he thought the shot was worth adding to the final cut.
Viggo Mortensen Broke Two Toes While Kicking The Orc Helmet
In the scene, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli try to find the Hobbits kidnapped by Uruk-hai. Once they reach the location of the battle, where they find a pile of burned bodies, they believe that Merry and Pippin have died.
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Frustrated with this discovery, Aragorn kicks a helmet and starts screaming, thinking that he has failed to protect them. Off-screen, the pain captured by the camera was real as Mortensen actually broke two toes when he slammed his foot into the helmet.
Later, Jackson confirmed this story in a behind-the-scenes videos that were part of the films’ special editions. While the story quickly spread around, it also explained why this moment proved to be so effective.
Peter Jackson Didn’t Initially Know About Mortensen’s Injury
As the story goes, Jackson filmed the scene several times. But according to the director’s account, they had shot it four times, and they needed to shoot it one more time. While filming the next take, Viggo Mortensen kicked the helmet so hard that he broke his two toes.
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Immediately after that take, Jackson was satisfied with the result and included it in the movie. Only later did he learn that Mortensen had actually injured himself. Because Jackson didn’t know, the scene remained completely genuine and stayed exactly as he had originally intended.
Had he known before that Mortensen was severely injured, he would have done something else right away, instead of analyzing the performance. And that’s how the director managed to get Aragorn’s perfect screaming scene that stemmed from Mortensen’s real pain.
Mortensen’s Injury Became A Popular BTS Stories
The helmet-kick story has lasted because it fits Mortensen’s reputation for being brave and gritty in the trilogy. Whether he was riding horses, wielding swords, or trekking through rough locations in full costume, he completely threw himself into the shoot.
Breaking two toes on the prop may seem like too much, but it still aligns with the actor’s reputation. Moreover, the scene itself is very memorable as Aragorn’s scream is one of the most emotional parts of ‘The Two Towers.’ The scene stood out because there was truth to it.
While plenty of movie trivia sticks for being funny, this one sticks because you can actually watch it happen as the scene unfolds. Mortensen kicks the helmet, starts screaming, and falls. It all seems to be too realistic because it was after all.
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