Adrien Brody reveals he turned down 'Lord of the Rings': 'I remember feeling so stupid'

Adrien Brody is a prolific actor with an Oscar to his name, but he unknowingly missed out on gargantuan commercial success.

"They were casting Lord of the Rings, and I somehow didn't grasp it," the 48-year-old shared during a recent GQ career retrospective. "Don't remember what part I would have been right for, but it was some Hobbit-like character, surely. But I was looking for something else. And I remember going to see Lord of the Rings in the theater with an ex-girlfriend. She turned to me, and she said, 'You passed on Lord of the Rings?' I remember feeling so stupid."

The story came out as the video transitioned into Brody discussing his role of Jack Driscoll in 2005's King Kong, directed by three-time Oscar winner Peter Jackson,

"But I don't think I would've gotten the role of Jack in Peter's movie," Brody continued, referring to King Kong. "I don't think that would've translated. And it was such a wonderful thing. I mean, King Kong is such an amazing, iconic story."

Jackson also directed each installment of the historic Lord of the Rings trilogy across 2001, '02 and '03. The first film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in December.

Watch Brody's full video below.