Oscars just another day for Mrs Gamgee

By SARAH CATHERALL

Just like in the movies, it all ended last night at home.

The Auckland mother, who evinces domestic bliss in the last scene in the epic Lord of the Rings was last night at home, looking after the children, while the movie cleaned up at the Oscars.

Sarah McLeod, who plays Rosie Cotton, the love interest of the hobbit Sam Gamgee, couldn't contain her excitement.

"It's unbelievable. I hoped the film would get a few, but to get all of them is fantastic. I feel so proud to have been part of the film and also to be a New Zealand actress right now."

Ms McLeod is notable for having the most significant role of the few New Zealand actresses in the trilogy.

She had a small, but pivotal, role in the Return of the Kings movie. As the film ends, Sam (played by Sean Astin) comes home to her and their two on-screen children, saying that famous line, "Well, I'm back".

Her daughter, Maisy, now four, is the hobbit couple's baby son.

McLeod would have enjoyed attending the Oscars and was invited to the One Ring Net party.

But yesterday the busy mother was taking her daughters to preschool and cooking dinner.

"This brings home the difference between what my life can be like when I'm filming and what my life is like ... The beauty of being cast in Lord of the Rings is that it's a film that has huge global exposure which you don't necessarily get as a New Zealand actress."

She was particularly excited that Peter Jackson won the best director award. She first worked with him on Forgotten Silver, in 1995, playing May Belle.

"It cements his career as an international film-maker. Everyone involved in the movie will say that Peter absolutely deserves it. Peter is a man with incredible vision and focus and despite the enormity of it all, he was so calm and collected throughout the filming," she said.

While tackling chores last night, Ms McLeod was looking forward to a Lord of the Rings convention in Canberra in a fortnight, being paid a performance fee simply for signing autographs and answering questions from fans.

"I went to a convention in Germany in 2002, and I had to stand up on the stage and talk to fans for an hour. I do a bit of a hobbit dance or something. You're there to keep them entertained. You get an amazing mix of people. You get the Lord of the Rings hardcore fans who can range from 16-year-old girls through to 50-year-old lecturers on Tolkien's books."

To her fans, she is a sort of an enigma, as she describes herself on an unofficial website and has not courted publicity.

She receives fanmail at least once a week, from people such as soldiers and Lord of the Rings memorabilia collectors.

"I've had letters from people in Slovakia, and Germany. I'm not getting caught up in the publicity hype of the Lord of the Rings though.

"I carry on with the everyday routines of looking after my kids and doing acting when I can. My life has changed in some ways, but I'm pretty low-key about it."

As Rosie, Ms McLeod says just a few lines in the movie and her role doesn't seem huge.

But ardent fans have latched on to the barmaid with hobbit feet, possibly because there are few female characters in the trilogy, noted for its battle scenes and special effects.

"The appeal of Rosie is that because she's Sam's girl, people get caught up in all that.

"At the world premiere, I was standing next to Liv Tyler, and she gave me a look and a smile, and said, 'At least we both get our men'."