Martin Freeman would have been a much better Frodo. Elijah isn’t even in the top 100 list of actors that I would cast as Frodo.
The LOTR movies succeeded despite him.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Elijah. I just feel that he was miscast in those films.
Production began in October of 1999. I can’t find a definitive date for casting but I’m guessing it would have been '99 as well.
Martin Freeman would have been “acting” for all of 2 years with basically 1 short and a couple of minor TV appearances to his name.
Elijah Wood and Sean Astin each had been working for over a decade when cast, with dozens of credits each.
Not saying Martin couldn’t have done it (I think he would have nailed the role!), but it would have been a BOLD choice to cast a total newcomer to the lead of your $250M moonshot of a trilogy.
Plenty of movies cast newcomers for lead roles, but what are the chances Martin Freeman would be on anyone’s radar for the role?