Russell Crowe explains why his New Zealand heritage led him to turn down a lead role in one of the biggest blockbusters of all time

Russell Crowe explains why his New Zealand heritage led him to turn down a lead role in one of the biggest blockbusters of all time READ MORE: Entourage star Jeremy Piven details meeting with Russell Crowe By A. James For Daily Mail Australia Published: 11:32 EDT, 15 June 2024 | Updated: 11:36 EDT, 15 June 2024 e-mail View comments It's one of the biggest blockbuster franchises of all time. And now Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe has opened up about why he turned down a prized role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy .

The 60-year-old Oscar winner says now he has 'no regrets' after he walked away from the part of Aragon in the Peter Jackson epic saga that went on to make over $2billion at the box office. The lead part of Ranger of the North Aragon was later made famous by actor Viggo Mortensen. Crowe made the surprising comments during a recent fan Q and A video for GQ magazine .

Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe (pictured) has opened up about why he turned down a prized role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He was offered the part of Aragon The role was later made famous by actor Viggo Mortensen (pictured in The Lord Of The Rings - The Return Of The King from 2003) At first he said he was very excited about the production since he was a fan of the books by author JRR Tolkien. Still, Crowe became wary about taking on the part ahead of filming, because he felt the studio was behind the offer and not the film's director Peter Jackson.

Crowe continued: 'I talked to Peter Jackson.