Elijah Wood has spoken candidly about the moment he and his Lord Of The Rings co-stars Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The actor, 40, detailed the ‘surreal and scary’ experience in an interview with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in Empire Magazine‘s latest issue on Friday.
Looking back, Elijah explained that he and his fellow actors were on a plane to Los Angeles when they saw one of the Twin Towers on fire, and their captain informed them they had been asked to land in light of the incident.
Shocking: Elijah Wood spoke candidly about the ‘surreal and scary’ moment he and his Lord Of The Rings co-stars Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean witnessed 9/11 in an interview on Friday
Detailing how he, Orlando and Sean were flying from Newark Airport to Los Angeles after a concert, Elijah said: ‘The planes hit the buildings while we were in the air. We looked out the window and could see that one of the buildings was on fire.
‘Then there was an announcement from the pilot that the planes had been taken over by terrorists and that the [Federal Aviation Administration] had asked all planes to land.
‘We landed in Cincinnati, where I stayed for about a week before we could take a flight again. So, yeah, I directly experienced it. It was super surreal and scary.’
Terrifying: Looking back, Elijah explained they were on a plane to Los Angeles when they saw one of the Twin Towers on fire (pictured with Sean Astin, Dominic Monoghan and Billy Boyd)
Experience: Elijah said, ‘We landed in Cincinnati, where I stayed for about a week before we could take a flight again. So, yeah, I directly experienced it. It was super surreal and scary’
Elijah, Orlando and Sean met on the set of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, which they filmed from October 1999 to September 2000, with the cast doing pick-up shoots together from 2001 to 2003.
The adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy began with The Fellowship Of The Ring in 2001, and was followed by The Two Towers in 2002, and The Return Of The King in 2003.
The Return Of The King tied with Titanic and Ben-Hur for wins at the Academy Awards after it received eleven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Iconic: Elijah, Orlando and Sean met on the set of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy (pictured with Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando, Sean, Sean, Dominic and Billy)
The film’s cast reunited in May last year for a Zoom call chat for Josh Gad’s Reunited Apart YouTube series, which saw them discuss their hit trilogy in detail.
Orlando, Elijah, Sean, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Sir Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Andy Serkis, Miranda Otto, Karl Urban, Phillipa Boyens, and director Peter Jackson all took part.
While he couldn’t be there in person to talk with his fellow co-stars, the late Sir Ian Holm did send in a message wishing them well which Josh read after their chat.
Back together: In May last year The Lord Of The Rings cast reunited on a Zoom call chat for Josh Gad’s Reunited Apart YouTube series, earlier this month
In a sweet greeting, he said: ‘Dearest friends from the ring, I am sorry that I cannot see you in person.
‘I miss you all and hope your adventures are taking you to many places, i am in lockdown in my hobbit home, or holm, with all my love, Ian Holm.’
In June, Sir Ian passed away ‘peacefully’ in hospital surrounded by his family and carer following his battle with Parkinsons, his agent revealed at the time.
Moving: While he couldn’t be there in person to talk with his fellow co-stars, the late Sir Ian Holm (pictured) did send in a message saying ‘I miss you all’ prior to his death in June