Experiencing Interruptions?

ROYD TOLKIEN’S: There’s a Hole in my Bucket

When Royd Tolkien, great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, loses his brother Mike to Motor Neurone Disease, Mike leaves behind one final act of love,and mischief: a bucket list of 50 challenges designed to drag his reluctant, comfort-zone-hugging brother into the land of the living.

What follows is an unexpected journey across New Zealand: skydiving, bungee jumping, glacier climbing, dressing as Gandalf, and dozens of adventures that push a grieving man further than he ever imagined possible.

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, with Peter Jackson, Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies and Weta Workshop along for the ride, There's a Hole in My Bucket is a raucous, tender argument that the best eulogy isn't a speech — it's a bucket list.

  • Richard Cavanah
    Director
  • Belindalee Lena Hope
    Producer
    Joika (The American), Madam (TV series), Shadow in the Cloud
  • Royd Tolkien
    Producer
  • Royd Tolkien
    Key Cast
    The Lord of the Rings. Game of Thrones
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Adventure, Biography, Family
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 25 minutes 44 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 24, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    329,400 NZD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    New Zealand
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K Flat 3996x2160, 5.1 sound,
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • Screen Inc
    Distributor
    Country: New Zealand
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Richard Cavanah

Trained at Drama Centre London. Known for television, film and stage, including Heathcliff in ITV's Wuthering Heights, John Morrison in RNT's Men Should Weep, Mark Antony in Young Vic's Julius Caesar. Writes, directs and produces, including feature film Pimp, BBC Doctors and CH4 Brookside. Coach and Teacher of acting workshops online and in studio.

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Director Statement

Every family has one — the brother who repeatedly climbed to the top of the rung, the cousin who played with matches but never got burned, the kid with an insatiable appetite for risk, always on the lookout for the next rash adventure. That was my little brother, Mike.

This film is his. I made it for him, and I made it for everyone who has ever lost someone before they got to live the life they deserved. Motor Neurone Disease took Mike in 2015. What he left behind was a bucket list and an instruction to stop waiting.

There’s a Hole in My Bucket is the most personal thing I’ve ever done. I would be honoured to bring it to your festival to share Mike’s story with audiences, and to be present for every conversation it starts. I’d love to attend and fully participate, in screenings, Q&A, and whatever the festival needs from me.

Royd Tolkien, Subject & Producer