Figwit is a fan-created name for a then-unnamed
Elf
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
Escort in
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
's
''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, played by
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born 29 June 1976) is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's com ...
of the musical duo
Flight of the Conchords. The name Figwit derives from an acronym for "
Frodo is great...who is THAT?!?" . The character quickly and unexpectedly became popular among
Tolkien fandom
Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fan (aficionado), fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'', and ''The Silmarillion''. The c ...
, and is perceived as an example of
famous for being famous, a view shared by the character's actor himself.
Background
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born 29 June 1976) is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's com ...
, half of the musical comedy duo
Flight of the Conchords, first landed a small role as an
extra
Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* Extra (newspaper), ...
in ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''.
He appears sitting next to
Aragorn during the council in
Rivendell
Rivendell (') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elf (Middle-earth), Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of ...
scene. The elf was dubbed "Figwit" by fan Iris Hadad; after seeing Frodo agree to take the ring, saying "I will take it", the film switches to a shot where Figwit can be seen standing on the far right, and Hadad's initial reaction was "Frodo is great...who is THAT?!?"
Later, Hadad corresponded with her university friend Sherry de Andres, and the two created the first Figwit fan website, www.figwitlives.net, calling him "
Legolas for the thinking woman".
McKenzie appeared as Figwit again in the third film, ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'', where he was credited as "Elf Escort". He appears in the scene where
Arwen is leaving for the
Grey Havens and has a vision of her future son, Eldarion, this time with two lines warning her to not delay and then exclaiming as she turns around. Director
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
stated in the DVD commentary for ''The Return of the King'' that Figwit was called back and given dialogue in the third film "just for fun for the fans" because "so much fuss has been made about him over the last couple of years".
McKenzie played another elf in ''
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'', Lindir, who has a brief appearance in the novel ''
The Fellowship of the Ring
''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien; it is followed by ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. The action takes place in th ...
''. McKenzie has stated that Lindir and Figwit are different characters.
Popularity
Though he only appeared for about three seconds in ''Fellowship of the Ring'', Figwit's popularity soon blossomed, with Hadad stating that "
he fan sitegot a lot of e-mails from people who thought they were the only ones who had noticed that handsome, dark-haired elf".
Figwit's physical appearance and demeanor are the source of much of his popularity: he has been noted for his "lithe and graceful" movement,
"enigmatic broodiness", "haughty demeanor", and "pouty" looks.
His fan website proclaims him "in a word, gorgeous. Or another, stunning... hypnotic... stupendous... captivating... take your pick."
McKenzie has stated that the Figwit obsession is "weird," though he is "flattered."
He has remarked that "it's so hilarious because it's been propelled by so little ... I'm famous for doing nothing."
In other media
Figwit does not appear in Tolkien's writings and was created exclusively for the films; thus there is little authentic information regarding him, save that he is a royal escort. The only "official" place where the name Figwit is used is on several
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...
trading cards, including a ''The Return of the King'' series card, titled "Return to Rivendell," and an Authentic Autographs card featuring the signature of actor
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born 29 June 1976) is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's com ...
. In ''
The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game'' he was assigned the name of Aegnor, one of
Galadriel
Galadriel () is a character created by J. R. R. Tolkien in his Middle-earth writings. She appears in ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Silmarillion'', and ''Unfinished Tales''. She was a royal Elf (Middle-earth), Elf of both the N ...
's brothers in ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a book consisting of a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited, partly written, and published posthumously by his son Christopher in 1977, assisted by G ...
.'' A Figwit
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
was also created, though it was named "Elven Escort," as in the film.
Figwit has been a subject of poetry, art, and fiction,
in particular in the
slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash th ...
genre of
Tolkien fan fiction, where he is named ''Melpomaen''. This is a chimera translation of "figwit" from two of Tolkien's
Elvish languages: ''melpo'',
Quenya
Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in '' Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed l ...
for "fig", and ''maen'',
Noldorin
Sindarin is one of Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien, the constructed languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda (Tolkien), Arda, primarily in Middle-earth. Sindarin is one of the many languages spoke ...
for clever or skilled.
Documentary
In 2004, a 57-minute
documentary
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
on the Figwit phenomenon was created by McKenzie's fiancée (and now wife) Hannah Clarke and friends Stan Alley and Nick Booth. Entitled ''Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!'', it premiered at the
Auckland International Film Festival on July 23.
Meant to "
nravelBret's identity",
it follows McKenzie to the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
, where he meets the fans of his trademark pout and "elvish good looks", and features extensive interviews with fans behind various Figwit fan sites as well as with
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
,
Barrie Osborne,
Mark Ordesky,
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...
, and other cast members.
Booth stated that their film was "much more irreverent and strange" compared to other behind-the-scenes documentaries of the film trilogy, which were "very much driven around the production and the cast and Tolkien".
References
External links
*
*
Review of ''Frodo is Great... Who Is That?!!* Fan sites
Figwit Lives!an
{{The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit film series
The Lord of the Rings (film series)
In-jokes
Internet memes
Film characters introduced in 2001
Middle-earth Elves
es:Anexo:Personajes originales de la trilogía cinematográfica de El Señor de los Anillos#Figwit