James Corden Auditioned for a Major Part in the Lord of the Rings

The Late Late Show host James Corden has revealed that he auditioned for the role of Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

While guesting on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Corden discussed his experience of auditioning for Sam, which he did alongside his friends.

“Every single person in London auditioned for Lord of the Rings. Everybody,” Corden explained. “I auditioned for Samwise. I was doing it! The accent and everything! ‘Mr Frodo!’ Two of my other friends went in, and we all got called back the next day, and then we got called back the next day. And then none of us got called back after that!”

You can check out the clip of Corden telling the story below:

In the end, the role of Samwise Gamgee would go to Rudy star Sean Astin, who would earn numerous nominations and awards for his performance in the trilogy. Corden did begin to appear in major films, however, such as Peter Rabbit, The Emoji Movie, and Cats.

Corden currently hosts The Late Late Show, which he’s done since 2015. He’s set to leave the show in 2023.