In Peter Jackson’s trilogy, the eyes of the Elf Legolas sometimes change color. But do you know why?
An essential member of the Fellowship of the Ring, the Elf Legolas makes the string of his bow and the edge of his daggers sing in the three parts of Peter Jackson’s trilogy, adapted from the famous work of JRR Tolkien. Played by British actor Orlando Bloom since the first opus, this skilled and intrepid warrior has fought many battles alongside Aragorn and Gimli during the saga.
But looking into his eyes very carefully, have you ever noticed anything strange? You probably have to be an avid and recurring viewer of Lord of the Rings to have noticed it, but your eyes change color several times over the course of the three films.
Sometimes blue…
Metropolitan FilmExport
Indeed, if his eyes are blue in most scenes (for example during the Council of Elrond where he appears for the very first time, or facing Éomer, see above), Legolas sometimes sports two brown pupils, like for example when he addresses Aragorn just before the Battle of Helm’s Deep begins (see below).
Sometimes brown…
Metropolitan FilmExport
The reason for this strange change couldn’t be simpler! As director Peter Jackson revealed in the audio commentary of the trilogy, Orlando Bloom did indeed wear special contact lenses on the set, in order to reproduce Legolas’ blue pupils, but they were often difficult to bear, and the actor sometimes removed them so as not to damage his eyes.
Some other days, according to The Wrapthe film team simply forgot to put them on him, which therefore gave rise to slight visual inconsistencies (which could sometimes be corrected by the visual effects teams) during the trilogy.
Did you notice this change in color in Legolas’s eyes?
(Re)discover our video dedicated to the character…