Tolkien's grandson reveals family drama brought on by 'Lord of the Rings' films

The grandson of the novelist JRR Tolkien has spoken out for the first time about how the Lord of the Rings films tore his family apart and provoked an “incredibly, dreadfully painful” feud with his father, Christopher.

Simon Tolkien, 53, admitted that the immense popularity of Sir Peter Jackson’s Hollywood adaptations broke his family in a way similar to being “hit by a juggernaut”.

The former criminal barrister, now himself a successful novelist, said he began to lose “sight” of his identity and became “suffocated” by being known as “JRR Tolkien's grandson”, the Telegraph reported.

“Maybe some people assumed it was about money — I don't know,” he wrote in the Sunday Times Magazine.

“In hindsight, I think all of my anger was being driven by this feeling that I was trapped.

“All I was ever going to be was the grandson of a very famous writer. That was the sum total of my achievements.

While his grandfather died in 1973, aged 81, his 87 year-old father is still alive and the pair have since “sorted out all our differences”. He dedicated his latest book to him.

“I think I see life from a different perspective,” he said.

“I guess I just feel lucky that I got the chance to put things right with my dad. I got the chance to tell him that I love him and I'm proud of him.

“But I'm grateful that he took the time to read my books and tell me that he liked them. That made me feel very fulfilled.

“Of course, my grandfather still has an enormous presence in both our lives but the arrival of a Tolkien blockbuster no longer fills me with the trepidation it once did. I won't be getting another sideswipe from the juggernaut,” he added.