It seems everyone felt it was a group effort and Peter Jackson made sure it stayed that way.
V.M.: Yes he did. People have spoken about his focus and the quality of his vision and concentration and his endurance and stamina. But the thing that I value the most about him, beyond his technical gifts and energy, is his decency. That he would make the effort to say goodbye in this way. And just the way he handles himself as a human being toward other people. Like all of us, he has good and bad days, and sometimes he'd be in a better mood than others, but I would say that overall, I can't imagine anybody having done it with as much grace and treating people as decently as he has. Life is too short to not do that.

Many say you were the rock of this production. How did you keep it all together?
V.M.: I think I approached it much like the others did. I did my best to show up prepared, which wasn't hard to do, because like the others, I was really interested in the story. I felt that from the crew members too. That's why, when people said goodbye, it really meant something. And I also knew that when I didn't have an answer for how to play a scene or I wasn't having a good day, that I could count on the others in a scene. That made it, even on hard days, relatively easy because the support system on this movie was stronger than I've ever seen. That's the way movies should always be.

You've said that the third and final installment is the best one, why?
V.M.: Did I say that? [laughs] Well I'm agreeing with others that they prefer this part the most, although I think of it as one long story and I think Tolkien did too. But I understand why people say they like it the most.

Have you changed as an actor after this experience?
V.M.: I have looked at snapshots that I have, or stills, not only of the actors, but of the crew members and of Peter from 1999 and 2000. The ones I have from this year, of course people change in four years and I can see that, but there is something beyond just normal aging in the pictures. Even in Peter, who should have known better than anyone (although I think even he was taken by surprise) of the enormity of the task. With all the breaks we had scheduled, he just kept going. You can see in people's eyes not just aging, but you can see there's a different look. It's a look that back then, we didn't know, eyes before a test and eyes now, are eyes after being tested.

Do you think it will be difficult to take on a regular project after this experience?
V.M.: I did one (Hidalgo), which was also a difficult shoot. We were in the desert and it went over several months. It was a lot of work. But to me, after going through this, I remember being in middle of the Sahara and it was windy, tough conditions (relatively speaking) and people were complaining a lot. And I just thought "You have no idea." This is a vacation.

Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins)

Talk about Frodo in the third installment.
E.W.: In this film, the ring is taking a much stronger hold on him. And he also realizes in this film the true strength and power of the ring and what it could potentially do to him as well as the fact that he knows he'll never go back. There's a real sense of Frodo coming to the understanding that this is a one way journey. There's not going to be a return home for him. And he kind of accepts that. So this film is a lot darker in terms of where Frodo's going, and the ring really starts to etch away at his soul to the point where at the end, he can barely physically take himself up the mountain. Which was quite a lot of fun to figure that out and work on that.

What can you say about Peter Jackson and how important is an Oscar for all his hard work?
E.W.: I don't generally put any importance on the Oscar, however, in this case it has been such an incredible achievement for him and for everyone else involved. To have adapted these books and put them on film the way that he has, in the time that he has, is an incredible achievement and I think it needs to be recognized. So more than anything, the symbolism of what that would mean to get an Oscar, would be a special thing after all this time. For the Academy to acknowledge that these are great films that have merit and aren't just fantasy films, I think would be important as well.

How different was it reacting to the character of Shelob than Gollum?
E.W.: With Gollum, it was an actual character and Andy Serkis was there all the time. Whereas with Shelob, most of the time it was blank space. They wouldn't even have marks. Occasionally there would be a mark to look at but normally just blank space, so I would just look up and think 'really massive spider' and run. And I had no idea what Shelob was going to end up looking like. So it was a big surprise when I finally saw it. And it looks unbelievable!

Tell us a bit about Viggo.
E.W.: He's a wonderful man and incredibly talented. He's an amazing actor and I think someone we looked up to, if nothing else but for the fact that he came into this movie so late in the process. He got cast while we were filming. We had let go of the actor that was originally cast to play Aragorn and suddenly this new guy flew into New Zealand, did a couple of crash courses and jumped into the part. And to embody the role the way he did. He was so devoted. He would practice with his sword and horseback ride on the weekends. The classic story was that he would take his sword everywhere he went. He'd never leave his sword.

How has this movie changed your life?
E.W.: I think the greatest gift of the film, and the greatest gift that Peter gave us inadvertently, was friendship. I've made some of the best friends of my life on this, that I will continue to know for the rest of my life. And that's the thing that I'm most proud to take away from this experience, and the thing that means the most to me.

Andy Serkis (Gollum/Smeagol)
How did you arrive at that specific voice for Gollum?
Andy Serkis: It came from two aspects really. One was psychologically trying to find where Gollum's pain was trapped as a character and I decided the constriction in his throat was born out of the guilt associated with killing his cousin Deagol. And that was a dramatic point in his life, and that's why he starts talking like Gollum. The more observational approach came from watching my cats at home, because when they get fur caught in their throat and cough, the sound is sort of like (in Gollum's voice) Gollum, Gollum.

You have a bit of competition in the CG category this year.
A.S.: Yes. Well Shelob is really amazing. She's absolutely stunning, and anyone who has a spider phobia better watch out because she is pretty fierce.

Did you know what you were getting into when you auditioned for the role?
A.S.: Well, the thing is, nobody really knew what the job was, not even Peter at the beginning. He knew he wanted an actor to play the role on set. He's such a fantastic collaborator and so improvisational that he takes what actors give him, and then takes them on again. So he saw what I was giving him, which was a fully fleshed out performance and said 'Let's just use Andy.' And they said, 'well let's have Andy do it with prosthetics on' and then they decided 'no let's do it as a CG character'. And I'm really, really pleased that it went this way, though it was really terrifying because the process was really hairy and no one knew whether it was going to work or not, or if it was going to work in front of an audience.

There should really be a separate category at Oscars for the kind of work you've done. How do you feel about that?
A.S.: At root level, I don't see it as being different to any other acting performance. It is enhanced, or filtered through animators, and visual effects get awards. But what is great about this is the actor has been recognized and acknowledged which isn't usually the case. For example, in Disney's Peter Pan, Hans Conried, the guy who played Captain Hook actually dressed the part and they literally traced over top of him. Now that is a performance. So in some respects, it is not a new thing. So the debates this has caused has been interesting, because the potential for an actor to play any role is there without being encumbered by your physical size. With CG you can create anything, human or not and trace that body into an actor's body movements and they can play that role. I love that, I think it's a new and forward-thinking way of acting.

We heard everyone got a gift at the end. What did you get?
A.S.: I got a number of things. I got my motion capture suit. I got the slate of my last shot. But for my birthday, Peter and (wife) Fran gave me 'the precious,' they gave me the ring from film two. There were a number made, one for each film, probably four or five.

- Bonnie Laufer-Krebs