Lord of the Rings was my first experience making movies and at the time, I had no ideas how movies were done. I thought that's the way they're done, so in a way, I had nothing to compare it to.

I don't know any family that doesn't have a story somewhere. Besides, it you didn't have those things in life, you'd be so bland.

I feel really privileged to be an actor, to be paid to do something I love

I'm so happy to have been a part of that process and I would go straight back into the desert in a ton of chain mail for Ridley any day of the week. He's an amazing director and I can't wait to see the long version.

Vig used to call me 'Elf boy', and I'd call him 'filthy human'. As an Elf, I never got a scratch on me, never got dirty. And Vig would come out with blood and sweat all over him. And he'd say to me, 'Oh, go manicure your nails.'

I got to dress up in funny clothes and run around New Zealand with a bow and arrow for 18 months, how bad could that be?

If life isn't about human beings and living in harmony, then I don't know what it's about.