Give this man the damn award.
Willie Nelson is a national treasure and needs to be protected. From country music star and songwriting extraordinaire to acting and more, Willie Nelson can do it all. While he has appeared in Dukes Of Hazzard, Miami Vice, and other western movies like Stagecoach, his audition for Gandalf for The Hobbit 2 takes the cake for one of his best (could have been) roles.
Willie Nelson submitted an audition tape for the famed wizard role, and it’s GOLD.
“My name’s Willie Nelson, and I want to audition for the role of Gandalf. That wizard, in that new movie you’ve got coming up called ‘The Hobbit.'”
Willie says for the opening of his audition tape. The character is spot on for the red-headed stranger with his long hair and wise crackle to his voice; Willie’s interpretation of the role is even better than just the physical resemblance.
Cutting to the next scene for his audition tape, Willie is in full wizard garb, complete with a spell stick. (I’m not sure if that’s really a thing, but describing it as that feels right, so we are rolling with it.)
“You shall not pass an unlit joint, man; that’s just not cool.”
I MEAN BRAVO.
Cutting to the next scene, we have some character interaction with Willie as Gandalf talks to the “hobbit,” played by his son Micah.
“My friend, this will be a night to remember.”
He says to Willie, who is still in his full Gandalf attire but has swapped his spell stick for a joint hanging out of his mouth.
“Or not…hehehe.”
That, however, was just a taste of what else this audition tape really holds. While it ended up being a skit that was all for fun for the Conan O’Brien show, you can’t help but wish this was the real deal. Just as the caption for the whole “audition tape” says:
“The country legend makes a smokin’ pitch for Peter Jackson to lose that Ian McKellen guy.”
I mean, honestly, it’s a huge market that Peter Jackson missed out on not casting Willie Nelson as Gandalf. It would have converted a ton of country music fans into fantasy fans.
Also– who doesn’t like a weed-loving wizard? Makes the magic twice as fun, right?
Check out the full video:
