I remember auditioning for The Lord of the Rings [the role of Frodo] and going in and not being told that I needed a British accent. I really do remember Peter Jackson saying to me, “You know that you have to do this in a British accent?” We heard back it was literally one of the worst auditions.
Gyllenhaal isn’t the only major actor who was discussed as a possibility for Jackson’s blockbuster trilogy. Daniel Day-Lewis was one of the first actors that Jackson sought to play Aragorn, but Day-Lewis passed on the opportunity.
Source: Huffington Post