Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin quotes trilogy in touching tribute to Orlando shooting victims

Astin quoted Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee as he paid tribute on Facebook
Paying tribute: Sean Astin quoted a line by his Lord of the Rings character Samwise Gamgee
New Line Cinema
Emma Powell13 June 2016
The Weekender

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Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin has paid tribute to the Orlando shooting victims by quoting the famous trilogy.

Astin – who played Samwise Gamgee in the Peter Jackson directed films – wrote a poignant message on Facebook hours after lone gunman Omar Mateen, 29, opened fire on revellers at Florida’s LGBT Pulse nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Alongside a picture of Gamgee and Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) he posted: “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered.

“Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened.

“But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something.

"Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.”

The post ends with Baggins asking “What are we holding on to, Sam?” to which Gamgee replies: “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.”

The quote has been shared more than 54,000 times and has amassed more than 84,000 ‘likes’.

Other celebrities who have paid tribute following the massacre include Adele who broke down in tears after dedicating her Antwerp concert to the victims.

James Corden also spoke of the massacre during the Tony Awards where he told the audience that “hate will never win”.

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