Ed Speleers Ponders Eragon

Posted on September 13, 2006

Production on the film version of Eragon nearly shut down because they couldn't find the right actor to portray the lead. Eventually, the producers found 18 year-old Ed Speleers.

Speleers told Sci Fi Wire, "I heard about that well into the production, and I'm glad I didn't hear about it right away. It certainly would have added a lot more pressure."

The large-scale film project will bring Christopher Paolini's fanciful novel to the big screen, but it was almost scrapped, a 20th Century Fox spokesperson confirmed, because the filmmakers couldn't find the right guy to play the teenage lead. Paolini wrote the book when he was 16 and has a triology of books planned. The story is about a farm boy who finds a blue stone that turns out to be a dragon's egg, and he becomes a magical hero.
Speleers didn't have any film experience, having only performed in school plays. But when director Stefen Fangmeier saw the blond Brit with blue eyes he thought he was perfect for the part. "I wasn't aware of the difficulty, and it certainly would have put a lot of pressure on me, but I am used to dealing with a lot of pressure," Speleers said. "I just didn't think about it."
Speleers found out that he'd won the role while at school. His father called him, and he was so excited that he ran down the halls screaming in only his boxer shorts.

Speeler is fired about the role and he was very excited when he landed the role. He says, "I was telling everybody, 'I got the part! I got the part!' And then I realized that I had kept the audition a big secret so no one really knew what I was talking about anyway."

Eragon opens in wide release on December 15, 2006.

MOVIES