Lord of the Rings star John Rhys-Davies explains why J.R.R. Tolkien’s house should be saved Christian Holub J.R.R. Tolkien changed the course of fantasy literature. His epic three-part novel The Lord of the Rings spawned countless imitations during the second half of the 20th century, and when director Peter Jackson adapted it into three blockbuster films in the first years of the 2000s, a whole new generation was inspired by Middle-earth. But although fans of LOTR can take a trip to New Zealand (when the pandemic’s over, that is) to see the still-standing film sets of Middle-earth locations like Bag End, there isn’t one location where fans of Tolkien’s writing can gather. Many of the actors who starred in Jackson’s film adaptations of Tolkien, including Ian McKellen and John Rhys-Davies, want to change that.