Viggo Mortensen’s Weird Request on ‘Lord of the Rings’ Had Orlando Bloom Buckling Over and Throwing Up in the Middle of Filming

Orlando Bloom threw up after Viggo Mortensen was dedicated to get his vision for Lord of the Rings fulfilled.

Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic and culturally significant fantasy series of all time. Having one of the most dedicated fans, a story like no other, and a world-building that is deeply immersive for the audience, it is no wonder the film series is so loved. The three films were released back to back between 2001 and 2003, having some of the most visually stunning sequences at the time.
The Lord of the Rings
Interestingly enough, it would seem that the cats also have some say when it comes to these shots. During an interview, Karl Urban revealed that Viggo Mortensen had a very specific vision and wanted to take a shot of the hit character with Legolas and Gimli. What started off as an expression of creativity, ended with Orlando Bloom throwing up, mid-shooting.

Viggo Mortensen Had A Vision For The Lord of The Rings

During an interview at Fan Expo, Karl Urban was asked about what in his opinion, was the best Lord of the Rings outtake. The Boys actor had a very specific incident in mind, talking about a time Viggo Mortensen wanted to do a dawn shot. The Aragorn actor wanted to take a shot of his character alongside Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies’s character, walking through the plains of Rohan.
Elijah Wood in a still from The Lord Of The Rings Franchise
“Viggo really wanted to do this dawn shot of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli running over the plains of Rohan, chasing the Orcs who’ve got Merry and Pippin. So he convinced the producer to literally let us camp out on location so that they get up at 3 in the morning to get ready to shoot at 5-5:30.”
Viggo Mortensen as Aragon in a still from the Lord of the Rings trilogy
“So of course he invited everybody and we had a party. At some point, they had to get up and go to the makeup.”
The sequence would have taken a lot of preparation and the crew would only have a limited amount of time to get it done. Despite how complicated it would be, he managed to convince production to make it happen. So, the entire cast and crew spent the night on location, getting ready for work the next morning.

Orlando Bloom Threw Up When the Cameras Turned On

During the time they were waiting for the right conditions, the cast should have respected and prepared for the busy day. Instead, it would seem that they got quite comfortable as they decided to throw a party. This may not have been the best of ideas as they had a very early day at work and being inebriated for that was risky.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in a still from The Lord of the Rings
What Karl Urban revealed was along the lines of this only, as all the partying seemed to have affected Orlando Bloom. As soon as the cameras turned on, the three actors started to run, and everything was according to Viggo Mortensen’s vision.
Orlando Bloom in The Lord of The Rings
“I just remember watching the first take of this shot and you know as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are running along past the camera, Orlando Bloom’s running along, he gets past the lens, buckles over, and vomits.” revealed Karl Urban
However, as soon as Bloom crossed the camera and was out of frame, he began throwing up. While the situation must have been quite serious at the time, Urban could not help but laugh about it now, many years later.