Were you aware that the shoot would be so physically demanding?

We were told the days were going to be long, and that there was going to be a lot of physical exertion. So we had personal trainers and we were sword fighting and eating well. We all got bigger and fitter and took up surfing. New Zealand is a great place for surfing. A few of our friends were surfers, and they introduced Billy [Boyd, who plays Pippin] to it, and then they got the rest of the Fellowship into it. We would spend most weekends trying to surf.

How did you get on with the other hobbits?

I think it would be impossible for a group of people to be together and not make friendships and we have become, in every sense of the word, a Fellowship. As the nine boys, but also the actors on the periphery, we are so close - we call each other all the time. I stayed with Sean [Astin, who plays Sam] and Elijah [Wood, who plays Frodo] in LA.

Did your family come and visit you?

Yeah, my parents, my brother, and three of my friends all came over. It was such a fantastic family atmosphere to bring people in that I invited as many people as possible. My mum even sent Sean's family a Christmas cake.

How was it when you finished the film?

We all had a real come down from these movies because it moved so fast, and it was cut so abruptly. You have to go through a period of getting back to a level of normality, otherwise you just lose yourself in this world.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.