Lee talks Thranduil’s rings, The Fall and more

In summer, Lee talked to CLICK about his Guardians of the Galaxy character and social networks. They now posted the full interview with him. He gives a shoutout to his Tumblr fans (which are truly incredible!), talks Thranduil’s rings, The Fall and more.

CLICK: And a final one from the fans, one of them asked if you have a story behind all the rings that your character Thranduil wears?
LP: Oh yea there’s stories about those rings, they mean something to him. This character has been so much fun to play. I’m a huge fan of these books and my father gave me The Hobbit when I was a kid. I was born in a place called Chickasha, Oklahoma and near where my grandparents lived there was a cemetery and there’s a gravestone there that says ‘Bilbo Baggins.’ So not many people know that Bilbo Baggins was actually buried in Chickasha, Oklahoma! My dad was a big fan of the books and Lord of the Rings and he gave them to me as a kid. Never in a million years did I imagine would be here talking to you right now as a part of the movie or Orlando Bloom’s father.

CLICK: To go back a few years, the first thing I saw you in was The Fall which I thought was just an amazing film.
LP: Aw thanks.

CLICK: And I always imagined it must have been a tough film to make with the director Tarsem being so focussed on the look of it.
LP: You know the thing about working with Tarsem was he is a true artist. He’s a true artist and I respect what he’s working on. And it really taught me how to do my job, how to work with a director as talented as him because I saw that what I needed to do was to help him make his movie. To understand what he needs from me to tell his story. Because he’s working on something really big and cool. So hard, not at all, it was inspiring. It was such an incredible experience, everyone on set was a photographer and we travelled the world together. So it was the experience of a lifetime and Tarsem is a good friend and just a true artist. I’ve got tremendous respect for him.

CLICK: I read that Peter Jackson recognised you first in that film and kept you in mind?
LP: Yea I think they flagged me for that for a little while.

CLICK: Six years or so!
LP: Yea! And we’d met and we talked about it and they asked me to do it and said I would love to [laughs]!

CLICK: In the first movie your entire appearance is essentially one dismissive hair toss!
LP: Yea.

CLICK: Can you tell me a bit about what he gets up to this time?
LP: Yea he’s a very consequential character in The Hobbit. He has a much bigger presence in this movie. But the stuff in that first movie I’ve tried to keep it very detailed and I’m looking at those dwarves and that pile of treasure they’ve accumulated and I know that there’s something bad coming. Yea I know it’s a very funny moment, I’m in it for like 20 frames.

CLICK: One person online actually asked what the name of the elk you’re riding was.
LP: Actually there’s an actor playing the Elk you should ask. It’s a horse named Moose. Playing the elk.

CLICK: That’s very confusing!
LP: Yea!

CLICK: You’re obviously featuring in this second movie more, you’re all over the trailer. Is that strange, seeing yourself in such a massive promotion?
LP: Well I remember then Phillipa Boyens showed me the trailer in her kitchen when we were doing reshoots and she was saying they were going to release it in a couple weeks. And so we’re watching it and the voiceover kicks in and I’m like ‘God those lines sound familiar… Philippa that’s me!’ [laughs]

Full interview here.