DENVER — The actors who played the four hobbits in the Academy Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy took a break from Middle Earth to come to our world this past weekend.
Cam Olsen, his wife and a few friends were at a Denver restaurant having dinner when they recognized the diners at the next table over: Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, who played Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in the films.
The actors were in town for Fan Expo, an annual convention celebrating all things pop culture.
Olsen said his party debated whether Pippin and Merry, the other two hobbits, would join Wood and Astin.
After a few minutes, Olsen noticed some people walking up and giving the two actors hugs. A closer inspection revealed that Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan had joined the party.
"My wife kept reminding me to respect them and we're there to play it cool," Olsen said.
He said he stayed calm on the outside but internally he was "dying inside" as he posted a play-by-play on Twitter.
After Boyd and Monaghan sat down and everyone carried on, the actors asked their server to take a photo of the four of them.
"I was hearing them count down," Olsen said. "One, two, and at two I was like 'Imma do it' and that's the moment where [his wife] is saying 'don't' and I am turning around to smile at them."
Olsen said he didn't intend to go viral the way he did on social media.
"I was just throwing it out there for my sake, my immediate friends and family to see that," he said. "[I] didn’t think any of them would believe me anyways, so it kind of all worked out having that photobomb."
Olsen said he was touched by the outpouring of positivity and was humbled to see how much impact the four hobbits, as well as the franchise as a whole, has made on people from all over.
"If there were any celebrities that I would ever hope to run into, it would be those four,” he said.
As Olsen's table was getting ready to leave, he couldn't help himself and bent down at their table and thanked them for bringing "Lord of the Rings" to life.
"They not only did an excellent job on the set but in carrying that legacy forward,” he said.
Olsen said he will never forget that day.
He said if he could say anything to them, "it’s just, you know, a thank you for their work, their continued work, just their kindness in that moment. I know they get probably bombarded by fans a lot. Just the kindness and graciousness they extended to me in that moment was a very kind moment.”
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