Figwit
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Figwit, Lindir, Melpomaen |
| Occupation: | Elf, retainer to Elrond |
| Relationships: | |
| Fandom: | Lord of the Rings (movieverse), The Hobbit (film series) |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Figwit refers to an unnamed elf extra seen in Council of Elrond scene in The Fellowship of the Ring. He is the epitome of a fan-created character. The name used for him is an acronym based on the fan reaction to him:
- F - Frodo
- I - Is
- G - Great!
- W - Who
- I - Is
- T - That?
The story is that a group of fans was watching the first film of The Lord of the Rings, and reached the Council of Elrond, Iris Hadad explains:
- When Frodo says "I will take it!", we are so impressed we start to think “Frodo is great!" But before we finish, the camera pans and we see Figwit, smoldering enigmatically in the background. All other thoughts are whisked away by that elf - who is THAT?! He's gorgeous![1]
Fan reaction was widespread and pleased, and several articles appeared about the phenomenon[2]:
- 'Figwit' steals Frodo's thunder The Guardian UK, December 2002
- 'Lord' of the extras: Elfin charmer nets fans USA Today, December 8, 2002
- Frodo Is Great, Who Is That? documentary at IMDB
- A review of the Figwit documentary
Details emerged that the elf may have been named Aegnor and played by New Zealand actor Bret McKenzie. He was called back for Return of the King, as a little bit of fanservice[3]. Bret also plays the elf Lindir in The Hobbit film series.
Some fans have criticised the phenomenon; for example vefanyar writes:
Why, then, does fannish transformativity appear to be happy to seize characters like a random background elf from the Council of Elrond’s movie version and boost him into fandom fame, including backstories, several different names (Figwit, Melpomaen, Lindir), fics galore, and sustain momentum enough to have actor Brett McKenzie return in his role in the first Hobbit movie, but stop short at female characters and femslash?[4]
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
- Figwit Lives!, Archived version, a fansite dedicated to Figwit
- Figwit Lives! Links, Archived version, listing other fansites for Figwit, LoTR, and other Tolkien resources.
References
- ^ Figwit Lives.net FAQ, Archived version accessed 2011-7-24
- ^ Figwit on Wikipedia
- ^ ROTK DVD commentary, Archived version. Figwitlives.net. Posted 2005 or earlier. Accessed 23 November 2022.
- ^ thefanmetareader: On Female Characters and Femslash in the Silmarillion Fandom, Archived version (accessed 16 June 2016)