LOTR: David Bowie Was Considered for Gandalf, Casting Director Reveals

Earlier this year, Lord of the Rings actor Dominic Monaghan talked about how David Bowie might have auditioned for the role of Elrond or Gandalf in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.

Now, the movie's casting director has set the record straight. According to Amy Hubbard, Jackson did in fact want Bowie to play Gandalf. However, Hubbard said Bowie did not audition for the role that ultimately went to Ian McKellan. Bowie was simply too busy--he never auditioned.

"He was unavailable," Hubbard told Huffington Post. "It was a very quick conversation with the legendary Chris Andrews at CAA. I do believe that [David Bowie] went over and played for everybody at the Millennium party. That would've been New Year's Eve in the year 1999, which was when the films were being shot. He went over and entertained everybody, but he never auditioned. That's for sure."

"We approached him," she added. "I'm pretty sure it was Peter Jackson's idea in the first few weeks that we got going. It was one that he'd always wondered about, and we rang Chris, and [Bowie] was far too busy."

Even though Bowie did not appear in The Lord of the Rings, it's exciting to think about Bowie playing a role in the film series. It's kind of like how Nicolas Cage turned down an offer to play Aragorn.

Bowie played the Goblin King in 1986's Labyrinth. The rockstar died earlier this year at the age of 69 from cancer.