Ummm... are you sure most were unknown?
I am pretty sure more than half of them had a pretty good amount of acting roles before they appeared in the movie.
Yeah, it was pretty much a star cast. Ian Mckellen, Chistopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Sean Bean, Brad Dourif, Cate Blanchett, John Noble, etc. etc.
Lol. Beat me. I came to say the same thing. Like.. maybe.. unknown to this person? But most were accomplished actors. The studio didn’t sink all that money into what was billed to be an epic and huge movie and then say: “meh. Cast whoever. Let’s find out if they can act.” LOTR wasn’t some early Lucas project or something where no one expected it to be huge and it was made with whatever they could get. They basically had a blank check and instructions to make all the money.
Also- two other notes- it should at least say say: “and” not or- since several top ranking movies do not have nudity or sex scenes. I didn’t check so I can’t say it’s correct still- but LOTR would not have nudity, sex scenes, and a single protagonist doing it all by themselves- or: nudity or sex scenes and a single hero doing it all themselves.
Two other distinct things needing clarified:
1. What does “doing it all by themselves” even mean? Plenty of films- noteworthy films- have AT LEAST some help. Star Wars is a prime example. New hope has Obi wan playing a pivotal part, Han rescuing Luke- and The rescue of the princess couldn’t be done without Han, R2, C3PO... so on. Vader killed the emperor, so on and so on. So what is “by themselves?”
Lastly- what is “top ranking movie” or whatever? In Gross profit? Critic score? Audience acclaim? Awards? By who? If you google the top movies of all time LOTR doesn’t make many of the lists. Not saying it isn’t good- just saying what are the other “top movies” we are comparing to? And of WHEN? Of... 2001? Of the decade? Of all time? Many missing details for such a bold statement.
I am pretty sure more than half of them had a pretty good amount of acting roles before they appeared in the movie.
1. What does “doing it all by themselves” even mean? Plenty of films- noteworthy films- have AT LEAST some help. Star Wars is a prime example. New hope has Obi wan playing a pivotal part, Han rescuing Luke- and The rescue of the princess couldn’t be done without Han, R2, C3PO... so on. Vader killed the emperor, so on and so on. So what is “by themselves?”