Nicolas Cage Almost Played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings

Before Viggo Mortensen took the part, Nicolas Cage was offered the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy! Cage declined because of family obligations.

via Wikipedia

Daniel Day-Lewis was offered the part at the beginning of pre-production, but turned it down. Nicolas Cage also received an offer, declining because of “family obligations”, while Vin Diesel, a fan of the book, auditioned for Aragorn. Stuart Townsend was cast in the role, before being replaced during filming when Jackson realised he was too young. Russell Crowe was considered as a replacement, but he turned it down after taking what he thought to be a similar role in Gladiator.