Figwit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the The Lord of the Rings movies, Figwit is the fan-derived name for an unnamed Elf extra played by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame. Figwit's name stands for "Frodo is great… who is THAT?!?"
Figwit is seen in the first movie during the council of Elrond. He sits next to Aragorn until they all stand up to argue. After Frodo shouts "I will take it!" and everyone turns and looks at him, Figwit is standing on the far right. He is standing in the background for only a fraction of a second; a main part of the joke is that the actor is just a minor extra.
Bret McKenzie is also seen in the third movie as an Elf (credited only as "Elf Escort") in the scene where Arwen is leaving for the Grey Havens and has the vision about her future son Eldarion. He is the one who tells her to get back with the others. His exact words: "Lady Arwen, we cannot delay!" and then "My lady!"
Figwit's rise to fame began shortly after the first movie. Peter Jackson stated in the DVD commentary for The Return of the King that he was given dialogue in the third movie because Jackson became aware of the attention given to this extra. Jackson mentions the phenomenon in the commentary track on the extended version of the Return of the King DVD: "the decision to give him a speaking role was developed after the scene was scripted. Originally just a random cast extra was to give the lines, but it was decided that it would be fun if the Figwit actor was brought in to deliver them."
Figwit does not appear in any of the books and was created exclusively by Peter Jackson. Because of this, there is little authentic information regarding Figwit, save that he was an escort (Peter Jackson refers to the name "Figwit" in one of the commentaries of Return of the King). The only "official" place where the name "Figwit" actually appears is on a Return of the King series card from Topps #38 — "Return to Rivendell". The front of the card features a profile view of Figwit with the back text reading: "Front: The Elf Figwit (Bret McKenzie) reminds her that they must go on the ships, but the determined Arwen simply rides off without explanation." He is a popular subject in slash fiction (where an "Elvish" equivalent of his name, Melpomaen, was coined) and (to a lesser extent) as a sex symbol. Figwit's card in The Lord of the Rings collectible card game gives his name as Aegnor, the name of one of Galadriel's brothers in The Silmarillion.
"Figwit" is played by Bret McKenzie (son of actor Peter McKenzie, who played Elendil in the first film) and is credited simply as "Elf Escort" in The Return of the King.
In 2004 a 57 minute documentary on the Figwit phenomenon "Frodo is great... Who is that?!!" [1] was made by three Wellington filmmakers Stan Alley, Nick Booth and Hannah Clarke - all of whom worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The documentary follows Bret McKenzie to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he meets the fans of his trademark pout and "elvish good looks" and features extensive interviews with fans behind various Figwit fan sites as well as Peter Jackson, Barrie Osborne, Mark Ordesky, Ian McKellen and other cast members.
