Why did Peter Jackson cast two such very different actresses - Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett, as the elf women Arwen and Galadriel, in Lord of The Rings? One is a young American actress whose career had barely begun, the other an accomplished Australian actress with many fine performances under her belt.
I think he chose them because each, in her own way, embodied an otherworldliness essential to the roles. Tolkien did not write them to be played by typical Hollywood beauties. While someone like Michelle pfeiffer may have been another's director's choice for Galadriel, Jackson was staying true to the essence of Tolkien. He wasn't looking for that modern ideal of beauty. He was looking for prewsence and character, as described in the books.
As described by Tolkien, Galadriel is the Morning Star of her people. She embodies the beauty of the dawn, bringing light to conquer darkness. She is infused with wisdom, and it is her character that gives her great beauty. In the moment when she is transformed by desire for the Ring, she metamorphoses into a woman `tall beyond measuring, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful'. Then she becomes again, Galadriel - `a slender elf woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad.' Lovely, yes, but not `beautiful beyond enduring.' A woman to inspire love in the previously fearful Gimli, but not the perfection of an air brushed Hollywood star.
To be able to show this transformation, Jackson needed an actress of character and great skill, and one whose beauty could inspire admiration and love in men who are in themselves of deep character and Honor. Cate, who did the same thing in creating an Elizabeth who lived up to the passions inspired by the great Queen, was just the right choice.
Of Arwen, Tolkien said she was the Evenstar (the Evening Star) of her people, the embodiment of the mystery and brilliance of the night with a star spangled sky above. Arwen is dark where Galadriel is fair, and seems younger, although she equals Galadriel in wisdom. She is also half human, with the ability to be mortal or immortal, as she chooses.
As Tolkien writes, `the braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost, her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as one who has known many things that the years bring.'
A luminous being, then, who combined innocence and wisdom, who shone like the stars in the sky. Liv Tyler embodied all this, and also brought some vitality and athleticism to the role, when Jackson chose to give Arwen a more active part to play in the quest.
But it was not the dazzling physical beauty that was the most arresting thing about these women, although they were of course beautiful in Tolkien's description. These elf women were older in elf years than the brotherhood of the ring - Arwen, indeed, far older than Aragorn, her beloved. But they did not age physically. The beauty that shines from them is the beauty of accumulated wisdom and compassion, something it is hard to render for a modern audience.
Jackson had to choose actresses who would give this impression - not someone whose beauty is maintained by stylists or surgery, but which rises above petty modern day concerns of air brushed perfection.
It was a hard casting call, but not only did he find just the right women to play these roles, they themselves rose to the challenge. One day, perhaps, it will be the norm to view beauty in this way. Until then, Tolkien, Jackson, Tyler and Blanchett have given us a great deal to think about.