It can't be easy taking over a role from an actor who so perfectly portrayed the character before. Yet that is exactly what Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey, Once Upon a Time) is preparing to do. He will play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, replacing Viggo Mortensen. Dornan admitted he's feeling the pressure.

In an interview with L'Officiel (via Slash Film), Dornan candidly said, "I've been asked to play a super-iconic role, and I'll do my best. But for me, Aragorn will always be just Viggo." Mortensen played Aragorn throughout Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Dornan added, "I feel honored to try to recapture at least some of the energy he originally brought to the character." As for how he'll approach the character in the shadow of what came before, the newcomer said, "There’s no part of me that’s trying to outdo him.”

Dornan will be in a unique position amongst the cast, as other iconic Lord of the Rings characters will be reprised by actors from the original films. This includes Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen as Frodo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, respectively. Director Andy Serkis, who will once again portray Gollum, has revealed the film will use some digital de-aging technology for returning cast members, so the choice to recast Aragorn is an interesting one.

The film is set to follow Aragorn and Gandalf as they hunt down Gollum for information about the One Ring.

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