The return of the thin grey and then white duke - David Bowie proved his fantasy chops as the extravagantly-coiffured Jareth, the Goblin King in Labyrinth but now there is speculation that he also auditioned for the role of Gandalf in Lord of The Rings.
The iconic part went to Ian McKellen, who reprised the character for Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy but actor Dominic Monaghan, who played the Hobbit Merry in the series, has suggested that the late Starman tried out as the bearded wizard with the wisdom of the ages and an all-conquering staff of Power.
Monaghan, who went on to star in Lost and who is about to appear in the third series of Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan for the Travel Channel, told The Huffington Post that he spotted Bowie at auditions for Lord of The Rings in London back in the year 2000 at the London-based but Irish run casting company Hubbard's. .
Ian McKellen as Gandalf in Lord of The Rings
"I was at the Hubbard's, which is a pretty notorious casting agency office in London, doing an audition for Lord of the Rings, and when it ended I went over and talked to John Hubbard, who was running the audition, and he said, 'Hey, it went really well. You should wait around for 5 or 10 mins. We'll give you some feedback," Monaghan said.
"I thought, 'Oh, OK, cool, and I sat in the reception office. As I was reading a magazine waiting, David Bowie came in and signed his little list and went in. And I'm assuming he read for Gandalf. I can't think of anything else he would've read for.
"He may have read for something else, but I'm a huge David Bowie fan, and I was lucky enough to know his son now so just seeing him in person was pretty special to me."
There has long been speculation that Bowie auditioned for the part of Elrond, Lord of Rivendell who was played by Hugo Weaving in Jackson's movies.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2001, the director said: “These are famous, famous characters, loved for nearly 50 years. To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable.”
Director James Gunn recently said that Bowie, who died at 69 on January 10, was wanted by Marvel for a cameo role in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
