| JØRN BENZON |
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| Interview with JØRN BENZON by Chris Zeller |
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| Danmark-born Jørn Benzon can be seen all through the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy - if you know where to look for him. ;-) As an extra, he was almost everything with exception of an Ent . Orcs, Elves, Mortals - you name it, he was it. His best-known character, however, was Rúmil, the Lórien archer and brother of Haldir, who so impolitely directed his arrow at Gimli the dwarf. By now, Jørn has become a much-liked convention guest, and we talked to him during the RingCon in Bonn; thanks for taking the time, dude! |
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| Desperately seeking Rúmil! |
| It does not come as a surprise that the first so-called "extra" I found during my "Elf-research" was Jørn Benzon who can be seen as Uruk-Hai, Orc, Rohirrim, various Elves and Gondorian all through the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He can look at an ever-growing fellowship on the internet and lately also at conventions thanks to his appearance as "Rúmil", Haldir's brother (the younger or the older is an often-discussed subject). We finally managed to corner Jørn on the last day of the convention, and here is the result. And to answer your most burning question before we get to the interview: "ø"= alt+0248 |
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| When you look back at Lord of the Rings, what has been the most important experience for you? The enormity of it all. The joy of actually being involved in Lord of the Rings, just as a whole, the great friends that I made, the good times that I had, the fact that I actually found a career that I want to do. I've been lost through the 90ies, trying to find a job that I really like, and walking out on many jobs, but yeah, then all of a sudden I got thrown into film and television industry, and I'm in love with it. It's me - it's me to a T. You said you felt more comfortable behind the camera... Yes, I don't know - it's changing now. I'm getting a little more used to being there, and if people think I can act and do a good job and think that I could portray a character that's been scripted: sure, I do it. I mean that's a very versatile industry, where you can do both, working behind the camera and in front of the camera, and direct, or whatever, which is cool, I really like it. It's just a matter of getting your foot into the door, and my foot is getting further and further into this door. What was the most demanding aspect of your work? Early mornings. Getting up early in the morning. I'm a night person, I'm a night owl, but yes, that was the most demanding. And a lot of waiting. There is a lot of waiting. Sometimes we came into work and it took a couple of hours to get into costume and then it was four to five hours before actually going on the set and doing something. That could get a little bit tedious just to wait. "Hurry up and wait." How did you get to be there in the first place? Was it advertised, "Elves wanted"? Yes - actually basically it was. I had friends who worked on the television industry and found out about it, because I was always a Lord of the Rings fan, and wow, I had to get involved with this. But yes, they advertised in papers, so I went along, what we call a "cattle call", with hundreds of people, and I walked into the audition room, and all of a sudden, there was a swarm of people around me, throwing a whole lot of Elven Helm's Deep fighting armour on me, and yeah, I was an Elf. And one day, you found yourself on a Decipher card... Yes - that was funny! You were not asked? No, I wasn't asked, I was just there on the card. It was quite funny, my brother rang me up at about half past one in the morning, I was like: "Wow! What are you calling me at this time for?" and he said: "You're on a card!" "What?" "You're on a card, as an Elf!" "I am?!?" He had been surfing on the internet, and decided to ring me up right at this time to tell me. It must be an amazing thing if you suddenly see your face, though in make-up, on the internet. It was - though it's not really me, you know - I had long blond hair and my eyebrows dyed! |
| Jørn also kindly answered "Pinkie's Hot Six"; to read that feature, please click on the link below. |
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| Jørn as an archer in Helm's Deep. This adds another reason why you should rewatch "The Two Towers"! |
| Jørn again - this time on his way to the Undying Lands. The blond Elf in the white robe who walks in front of him is his brother Jarl, who also worked as Orlando Bloom's (Legolas) body double. |
| When did you first realize that "Rúmil" has fans out there, and what was your reaction? It started on the internet. I was talking to a friend I chatted to, and she had a friend who was a Lord of the Rings fan, and this friend asked my friend if she could talk to me, and she told me about "Mr. Mysterious Elf", the website, so we had a look there, and then this person told a few people who I was, and all of a sudden I got a mail from somebody telling me they had started a website about me. This was about the time I found out that I was on a decipher card, and it was like huge, it was really overwhelming, I never thought it would even get to the part where I sit here, doing an interview. I mean, it was like ... you know BIG, the singer? He won a Grammy a few years back, and he said it feels like flames are shooting from the sides of your skull, and that's what it feels like. And this is the third convention you did? This is my fourth within four weeks! Remember the first one - what was it like to be on stage for the first time? (laughs) It was: "Wow - oh my god!" I was asked to go to one of those conventions, and I said: "Of course! Great! I'll come!" This one here, RingCon, was actually the first one I signed up for, so I thought: "Great, I get to go to Germany and have a good time", and then more happened. The first time I was on stage was in Denmark, and I was NERVOUS. Nervous nervous NERVOUS! But it seems to get much better, I'm a little bit more relaxed and not shaking anymore. You have been away from Denmark for 20 years? Oh yes, I have. What was it like when you came back for the first time? Oh wow - it was like ... amazing! Luckily I can speak Danish ... but all the beautiful Danish women! I was blown away - they are so beautiful! But it was great, there were so many foods and smells, it all just came rushing back. Has it changed a lot since you were a child? Were your memories different? No, no it hasn't actually, everybody is friendly and Danish (laughs). It hasn't changed a bit. |
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