SEAN BEANS HAIRY TRAVEL EXPERIENCE


British actor SEAN BEAN ended up stranded in a landslide during filming of the LORD OF THE RINGS - all because his co-star was a shopping addict. Bean, who spent months on the New Zealand set of the epic trilogy filming the part of the sullen warrior BOROMIR, reckons the experience had its hairy moments, even when they weren't filming.

He recalls in particular the time he and co-star ORLANDO BLOOM tried to drive and take the ferry between New Zealand's North and South Islands.

He recalls, "Orlando had to stop at every shop to get Christmas presents. It was pouring with rain, so I was saying, 'Look, we've got to get going or there's going to be a landslide.'"And sure enough, there was. We turned back to find another one so we were stuck in the middle of nowhere."

The two luckless actors, who managed to hire a house for a couple of days, were eventually airlifted to safety by helicopter - a far from pleasant experience for Bean, who admits he's terrified of flying in helicopters.

He says, "I was gripping Orlando's kneecap so hard I must have nearly broken it. He was saying, 'It's OK' but he still takes the piss out of me for that."