It's True!

British music icon David Bowie made his mark in Hollywood as an occasional actor, and he almost had the chance to play a major figure in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Actor Dominic Monaghan, who played the hobbit Merry in the series, explained to the Huffington Post that he was waiting around after his own audition when this happened: “As I was reading a magazine waiting, David Bowie came in and signed his little list and went in [to audition]. And I'm assuming he read for Gandalf. I can't think of anything else he would've read for.” Previously, it was rumored that Bowie was circling the role of the elf king, Elrond, but was turned down due to being too famous. It's possible that his audition for the wizard Gandalf – who was played by Ian McKellen - met the same fate.