Perhaps I am just old, and a keen film watcher, but I wouldn't describe him as a lesser known actor at that point in his career.
Also, Sean Bean has long been a well known supporting actor. Anna Karenina, Goldeneye, Patriot Games, etc. But I would concede that he's very much more well known in the UK because of his TV roles, especially Sharpe which ran for 7 series. Again, not a lesser known actor if you're playing the bad guy in a Bond film.
I don’t think anyone is making this assumption, and certainly not me.
What I’m saying is that in a show with such a big budget, not a single actor is well known or even decently known. That’s unusual and not a good sign. It’s possible that this show is unique in that it has all great actors and is not paying a ton for them. Certainly it’s possible.
But try to think of another show with even a moderate budget that was awesome with an entire cast of “unknowns.”
There are some movies, Kids comes to mind with a new director, writer, and stars like a then unknown Rosario Dawson and Chloe Sevingny. But that budget was like $400k and I think if they had had $40M they would have had different actors.
They're alright, but just that.
He was a notable child actor who was trying to transition into more adult roles. I'd say he was known, but not the first person you'd ever think of.
Lord of the Rings changed that. It made him an "actor". From there, he got a lot more work and he was able to influence what he worked on.
I mean, seriously, look at Wil Wheaton or that Home Alone kid.
Even Neil Patrick Harris needed a "big break" as an adult to get back into acting.
I don’t recognize a single person in the RoP list. I watch 100 movies a year. Not a single person.
So my point is that that is weird and there’s no precedent that I know of where a show used complete unknowns for every role and was good.
I think giving unknown actors is a great idea. For some roles, not all.
I agree with what you said largely, but not Viggo Mortensen
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001557/
Viggo was in a number of shows that would have American audiences familiar with his acting skills far before 2001.
Most notably in my case https://youtu.be/Beogqr20uII?t=147
With a stellar cast like that, I am definitely missing a gem!
Putting it to the top of the to-watch list.
Well, lets start off by admitting to ourselves that guys like Elijah Wood and Sean Astin in particular (heck, probably even Viggo Mortensen, at least in the USA) didn't really have strong resumes before Fellowship. As a kid, I don't think I could have told you who Orlando Bloom was before LOTR -- because he wasn't anybody.
Secondly, when every major actor working today has either got fully hoovered into the Marvel or DC cinematic universes or is looking to exploit the next franchise with lopsided deals then yeah... I imagine it would make sense going with actors who have less "demand". You think about how Amazon is going to handle this show. The video component streaming on Prime Video, OK, sure. Game studios involvement, perhaps? Alexa skills and audio adventures? Integrated Fire device experiences of some kind? Unknown quantities of almost any digital content possible... it's much, much easier to get this kind of "360 degree" commitment from lesser known actors compared to, say, Timothee Chalamet as Frodo (or whatever).
Also we ought to make sure we give credit to the lesser known actors, producers, directors, writers, stylists, designers and so on that create enthralling and award winning movies and TV shows every year! So let's at least give some of these people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Taking chances on creative endeavors is one of the great things people do for others in this world.