Jamie Dornan feels pressure taking over Aragorn role from Viggo Mortensen

Jamie Dornan is feeling the "pressure" of playing Viggo Mortensen's character in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

The Fifty Shades of Grey actor is playing Strider/Aragorn, the role Mortensen made famous, in the upcoming movie, which is set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies.

Discussing replacing Mortensen, Dornan told L'Officiel Italia that he will do his best with the iconic character.

"There's pressure when you try to follow in those footsteps," he said, according to an English translation by Entertainment Weekly. "I've been asked to take on a super iconic role, and I'll do my absolute best. But for me, Aragorn will always be Viggo, and only Viggo. His performance is one of my all-time favourites, and I feel honoured to try and capture even a little bit of the energy he originally brought to the character."

He added, "There isn't a single part of me that's trying to do it better than he did."

Dornan has been filming the fantasy epic in New Zealand since July, alongside new cast members Leo Woodall, Kate Winslet and Anya Taylor-Joy.

The newcomers join Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Lee Pace as Thranduil and Andy Serkis as Gollum.

Serkis, who is also directing the movie, insisted on the Happy Sad Confused podcast earlier this year that they were "absolutely thrilled" about Dornan playing Aragorn, adding, "And, by the way, so is Viggo."

Elsewhere in his interview, Dornan shared that his wife Amelia Warner and their three daughters were "having a great time" in New Zealand and enjoyed their set visits.

"Seeing me dressed as Aragorn and witnessing the whole world created around Middle-earth is really exciting for them," he noted. "They've seen the original films, so it's been a truly amazing experience for them."

The Hunt for Gollum is slated to open in cinemas on 17 December 2027.