Te Awamutu stone mason Colin Jacobs remembers his time on The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power with fondness as he relaxes at his Mōkau bach.In a bach on a beach lived a dwarf.
Or more accurately an actor who portrayed a dwarf in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power television series.
“I did 15 days all up, over six weeks,” Colin Jacobs told The News when we discovered him relaxing at his Mōkau bach in the Waitomo District.
He was taking a break from his Te Awamutu-based stonemasonry business Classic Stonework where jobs are described by the tonne of stone required.
Jacobs got the background part without an audition as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, having appeared alongside Kevin Sorbo as an evil masked guard in the 1990s television show Hercules.
Then he waited, and waited, for the series to air on Amazon Prime.
He can most notably be glimpsed in the second episode of the first season when the wood elf Legolas is reunited with the dwarf prince Durin IV.
“All the dwarves are in a big cave smashing rocks, sparks flying,” he said.
“It was a pretty full-on time. It was all hush hush, and I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement when I was on the set.”
Colin Jacobs
Jacobs’ scenes were filmed in Kumeū Film Studios, Auckland, after he grew a long dwarf beard of his own over six months and was fitted with a prosthetic nose and wig.
A diminutive actor was made up to look exactly like Jacobs for long and wide shots.
“I did not have any words to say in it.”
Curious, as Jacobs is a man of many, enthusiastic, words.
“It was a really great experience.”
His role in the Middle-earth television series is not a far cry from his real life. Rather than living in caves hewn from a mountain he lives in a home he crafted from stone a stone’s throw from where he was born at Matariki Maternity Home 58 years ago.
Jacobs has also appeared in television and internet commercials, most notably Te Whatu Ora’s Stick It to Hep C advert which shows patients flipping their middle finger at the camera.
“We had 19 complaints,” he said.
Jacobs got into acting after following up on a suggestion from a crewmate on a 1990s Spirit of Adventure journey.
“It cost $400 to do a photoshoot and I thought I had lost my money, but three weeks later I had a role.”
Today he is listed as talent with Red 11 Model Management in Auckland and is waiting for the phone to ring. Perhaps he will be called back for Season Three of the show?
“Colin is a loveable character and all-round great guy to work with,” said Red 11 Model Management’s Timēna Apa. “We are stoked to be representing him.”
Jacobs recently joined Cambridge band Tunnel Ram as a trumpet player after it dropped its first single Space Invaders on streaming platforms.
“It’s pretty heavy,” he said.
“It’s pretty much dirty rock, or that’s what producer Dave Rhodes calls it. It’s like The Pogues, but not.”
Jacobs is eyeing the Awakino Hotel for a gig.
But for now, Jacobs is content to remember his late wife Nikki who died a year ago from brain cancer.
Jacobs and his mates commemorated Nikki last weekend with a beer and a fishing competition based at his bach.
Colin Jacobs
