Right from the horse's mouth:

"I only did them because I wanted to get the little dolls of myself so I could play at battles."

And as he demonstrated a puppet show with his hands, he and this interviewer, two men in their early 40s, debated whether Elrond could kick Agent Smith's arse in a fight to the finish.

::sounds of a chair crashing to the ground and a yelp of pain are heard::