At a Glance
- Viggo Mortensen names Boromir’s death scene his favorite from the entire trilogy
- Sean Bean convinced the crew to scrap complex rigs and act the arrow impacts himself
- The two actors reunited for Empire’s 25-year anniversary issue out Jan. 14
- Why it matters: Fans get a rare behind-the-scenes look at how one of cinema’s most emotional deaths was created
Viggo Mortensen has singled out one quiet, character-driven moment as his favorite scene across three Lord of the Rings films: the death of Boromir, played by Sean Bean. The actors revisited the sequence for Empire magazine’s January edition marking 25 years since the franchise began.
The Scene That Stuck
Boromir is defending hobbits Merry and Pippin when Orc arrows strike him one after another. Aragorn rushes to his side, and with his last breath Boromir declares, “my brother, my captain, my king.”
Mortensen, 67, praised the simplicity of the shoot.
“It’s such a beautiful scene. And there are no effects, there are no imaginary monsters. It’s just two people who have a connection in terms of their ethnicity – you know, Gondor and all that – but they’ve been at odds,” he told Empire, per an excerpt published by News Of Los Angeles on Jan. 14.
Bean’s On-Set Improvisation
The production team originally planned elaborate wire rigs to simulate the arrows. Bean rejected the complicated setup.
“Just stick it in and I’ll pretend it just hit me and I’ll do one after the other,” Bean recalled saying.
Director Peter Jackson called action. Bean recoiled as if struck. The crew responded with instant approval.
“Wow, that’s amazing!” they shouted, Bean remembered with a laugh.
A Lasting Bond
Mortensen noted that the characters “had been kinda butting heads until then. And then there’s just such a strong connection.” He called the moment “maybe my favorite scene” out of the entire trilogy.
Bean described filming Fellowship of the Ring as an unparalleled adventure.
“It was such an adventure, you know? In every sense of the word. The script itself was, and the film was, but also our shenanigans and our adventures as people were… It was so unusual,” he said. “I’ve never known anything like it.”
Anniversary on the Horizon
The Lord of the Rings franchise will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Dec. 19, 2026. Empire’s special January issue featuring Mortensen and Bean is on sale now.
