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The cult fantasy trilogy by Peter Jackson deservedly acquired this status: in 2001, when the first part was released, it became the main event of the year.
In technical terms, no film could even come close to what Jackson showed on the screen, and commercial success made everyone involved in the creation rich.
No wonder the actors of The Lord of the Rings immediately became real stars, even if no one knew them before.
Let’s remember who the leading actors were at that time and what is happening to them now.
10 John Rhys-Davies Gimli
At the time of the release of the first film of the trilogy, in which Rhys-Davies played the mighty dwarf warrior Gimli, the actor was already under 60.
A huge beard that covered most of his face made it impossible to determine his age, and his fighting skills did not give reason to doubt his physical form.
At that time, the actor was already quite famous: he starred in several parts of Indiana Jones and the Lost World dilogy.
Now he is 75 years old and he continues to act, although not so often. Of his latest works, one can single out the series “Chronicles of Shannara”, in which he plays the king of the elves.
9. Billy Boyd – Pippin
Billy Boyd is perhaps the only actor from The Lord of the Rings who, having a prominent role in it, did not become a star after.
Apart from small episodes in the series Agents of SHIELD, there is nothing to highlight in his filmography.
In fairness, it should be noted that he devotes a lot of time to music, being the frontman of the Beecake group.
8. Dominic Monaghan – Merry
The best friend of Boyd’s character, Monaghan has achieved much more in the cinema: every movie fan can easily remember at least a couple of projects in which he saw this actor.
Fans of the Lost series know him for his role as Charlie Pace, and those who watched X-Men Origins. Wolverine” will remember him in the image of Chris Bradley.
Already this winter, he will appear in another cult franchise – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Sunrise”.
7. Liv Tyler – Arwen
Despite the fact that Liv gained world fame after The Lord of the Rings, she was known to a narrow circle of viewers and film critics before him thanks to the film Stealing Beauty by Bernardo Bertolucci, the melodrama The Fictional Life of the Abbots and the drama Armageddon.
Surprisingly, after the role of Arwen, the actress began to act less and less: the series The Leftovers, The Incredible Hulk, The Deserted City and a couple of rom-coms – that’s all you can remember.
6. Christopher Lee – Saruman
A true cinematic legend, Christopher Lee was the only person on the set of The Lord of the Rings who knew Tolkien personally.
A lot can be said about this actor: a veteran of World War II, he began his career in the late 40s, received many awards and nominations, and also starred in a huge number of iconic films.
“The Wicker Man”, “The Curse of Frankenstein”, “Dracula” – all these pictures came out in the 50s-70s and had a huge impact on the thriller genre.
Christopher Lee passed away in 2015 at the age of 93, and his last work was the role of Saruman in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
5. Ian McKellen – Gandalf
For the role of Gandalf in the first part of The Lord of the Rings, McKellen was nominated for an Oscar and this was the second nomination: three years earlier, he was on the list of contenders for his work in the dramatic biopic Gods and Monsters.
Few of those involved in the creation of the trilogy could boast of such achievements (even Christopher Lee did not have nominations).
Even before the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, McKellen signed a contract to shoot in another popular franchise – X-Men, which provided him with work for many years.
The Briton returned to his image of a good wizard in The Hobbit, after which he played the aged Sherlock in the film Mister Holmes, and in the fall he can be seen in the drama The Good Liar along with Helen Mirren.
4. Orlando Bloom – Legolas
When the name of this actor is mentioned, two franchises immediately come to mind: The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean.
These two movie universes were enough for Orlando Bloom to achieve world fame and multimillion-dollar fees.
In addition to them, there were also “Troy” and “Kingdom of Heaven”, but everywhere he is still perceived as Legolas or Will Turner. Alas, this is a kind of curse for many of the Lord of the Rings actors.
3. Viggo Mortensen – Aragorn
In the early XNUMXs, Mortensen was no longer a movie novice: he starred with Demi Moore in G.I. Jane and Hans Van Sant’s Psycho.
After the role of Aragorn, Viggo performed well in the 2007 film Vice for Export, for which he received his first Oscar nomination.
After disappearing for some time from the radar, he again loudly declared himself in 2016, receiving a second nomination for the film “Captain Fantastic”.
Last year, he starred in the best film of the year, Green Book, receiving another nomination.
He completely departed from the role of a hero, embodying rather complex images, so there is no doubt that he will still receive his statuette.
2. Sean Astin as Sam
Sean Astin can be compared with Billy Boyd, since he, having tremendous fame after the release of The Lord of the Rings, did not multiply it, remaining an actor of one role.
He focused mainly on television series, occasionally appearing in cameos or episodes. Of the latter, one can only recall the second season of Stranger Things, where he appeared in 7 episodes.
1. Elijah Wood – Frodo
The case when an actor is filmed a lot and successfully, but he is still perceived solely for one role.
Elijah Wood made many efforts to disown the image of Frodo Baggins, but he never succeeded, and his ability not to change over the years gave rise to a number of jokes that he never brought the ring to Mordor.
In the past couple of years, Elijah has starred in several unusual projects: firstly, the comedy-detective series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and secondly, the black comedy I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.
Considering that he is not even 40 yet, he may still have a role ahead of him that will overshadow the image of the hobbit, although it is difficult to imagine this.