One lucky Lord of the Rings fan recently went out to dinner in Denver, Colorado, only to find himself sitting next to none other than Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin). If this wasn’t exciting enough, they were soon joined by Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd).
Twitter user Cam Olsen gave live updates as it was unfolding; “My wife and I are out to dinner and we just were seated next to Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. I’m going to respect their space and not bother them, and playing it cool and all, but I’m definitely geeking out.” Then he later added; “MERRY AND PIPPEN ARE HERE! I will respect them and not bother them but I’m dying inside.”
“They just asked the waitress for a photo of the four of them and I definitely leaned in and photo bombed it. I couldn’t resist.” Olsen concluded the story by saying; “I couldn’t help it. On the way out I thanked them for their labour in bringing LOTR to life. They were so kind and I shook Sean Astin’s hand. I experienced the Shire tonight and loved it.”
Dominic Monaghan, who played hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, later posted the photo on his Instagram and admitted that it was an “epic photobomb.” The four hobbits were appearing at the Fan Expo Denver, which ran from July 1-3 at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver.
You can see Monaghan’s Instagram post (featuring the epic photobomb below);
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Lord of the Rings fans are getting hyped because the prequel series The Rings of Power is coming soon from Amazon Prime Video. It will be a chance to see a young Galadriel, as well as a whole host of new characters.
Check out our guide to the best fantasy movies.