THEN AND NOW: The cast of ‘The Lord of the Rings’

Believe it or not, it’s been over two decades since the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy wrapped in 2003.

The film franchise, based on the J. R. R. Tolkien novel of the same name, received critical acclaim — and also launched several actors’ careers.

Since leaving Middle Earth, many of the franchise’s stars have gone on to play other iconic roles. Here’s a look at what the star-studded cast is up to today.

Elijah Wood played Frodo Baggins.

Wood played a hobbit named Frodo in the “Lord of the Rings” films. 

After inheriting the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, Frodo bravely volunteers to take it to Mordor to be destroyed, kicking off the epic journey across Middle Earth.

Wood began acting at a young age and had several major film credits before “The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), like “Flipper” (1996) and “Avalon” (1990).

Wood has since acted across a variety of genres.

Wood has stayed busy with movies of all genres, including the action-comedy “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” (2003), romantic drama “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004), animated musical “Happy Feet” (2006), and psychological slasher “Maniac” (2012). 

In 2010, Wood cofounded the production company SpectreVision, formerly known as The Woodshed, and has gone on to produce films like “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014),  “Mandy” (2018), and “Color Out of Space” (2019).

In addition to his other career as a DJ, Wood still found time to work on projects like Cartoon Network’s “Over the Garden Wall,” “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore” (2017), and “Come to Daddy” (2019).

These days, you can catch him in the ensemble cast of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.”

Viggo Mortensen played Aragorn.

The Danish-American actor Mortensen played Aragorn — the son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur, and eventual King of Gondor. 

Aragorn is a member of the Fellowship and leads the fight against Sauron’s army while the One Ring is being destroyed.

Before joining the “Lord of the Rings” cast, Mortensen had worked with directors like Peter Weir, Brian De Palma, Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, and Jane Campion. 

Fans would likely recognize him from films like “Young Guns II” (1990), “Crimson Tide” (1995), “The Portrait of a Lady” (1996), and “G.I. Jane” (1997).

Mortensen has been nominated for several Academy Awards.

Mortensen has since been nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards three times, for “Eastern Promises” (2007), “Captain Fantastic” (2016), and “Green Book” (2018), and has received numerous other honors. 

He made his feature directorial debut with the 2020 drama “Falling,” which he also wrote, coproduced, and starred in opposite Lance Henriksen.

Most recently, the actor starred in “Eureka” (2023). 

Sean Bean played Boromir.

Bean played Boromir, the son of Denethor and a member of the Fellowship.

Boromir primarily appears in the first movie, as he dies defending Merry and Pippin against a horde of orcs after briefly allowing himself to be tempted by the One Ring.

Bean was previously known for his roles in action thrillers like “Patriot Games” (1992), “GoldenEye” (1995), and “Ronin” (1998).

Bean played another beloved fantasy character on “Game of Thrones.”

After meeting his character’s demise in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Bean appeared in “Equilibrium” (2002), portrayed Odysseus in “Troy” (2004), and chased Nicolas Cage in “National Treasure” (2004).

He went on to famously play Ned Stark on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” 

More recently, he played Mr. Wilford on TNT’s “Snowpiercer,” John Parse in Brandon Cronenberg’s 2020 sci-fi thriller “Possessor,” and Ian on the BBC drama “Marriage.”

Dominic Monaghan played Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck.

Monaghan played the troublesome hobbit Merry in the “Lord of the Rings” films. 

Merry is a hobbit from Frodo’s village who finds himself leaving the Shire and joining Frodo’s dangerous adventure.

He had acted in several TV movies, but “The Fellowship of the Ring” was Monaghan’s big-screen debut. 

Monaghan had a major role on “Lost.”

After concluding the film trilogy, Monaghan landed the role of Charlie Pace on ABC’s “Lost” and appeared on the series until 2010.

After that, he hosted and produced the BBC wildlife docuseries “Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan” from 2012 to 2016.

He also starred in the video short for Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie,” played a mutant in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), and joined another major franchise when he appeared in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (2019).

He voiced Archibald Desnay on Amazon Prime’s 2022 animated adaptation of “Critical Role,” “The Legend of Vox Machina.” Most recently, he voiced an Orc in the animated “Lord of the Rings” prequel “The War of the Rohirrim” (2024).

Sean Astin played Samwise Gamgee.

Astin portrayed the loyal hobbit Samwise, Frodo’s best friend. 

Save for a few brief separations, Sam is always by Frodo’s side and risks his life many times to save his friends.

Astin had several notable credits before the fantasy franchise, famous for roles in films like “The Goonies” (1985) and “Rudy” (1993). 

Astin has worked on several major TV shows.

Astin has since done a lot of voice-over work for animated films and video games, even providing the voice for Raphael on Nickelodeon’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

In 2017, he joined the second season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” as Joyce’s love interest, Bob Newby.

He has several projects in the works, and he also recently played a recurring role on the sitcom “The Conners.”

Ian McKellen played Gandalf.

If not for McKellen’s character, the Fellowship would never have formed and likely would not have survived.

McKellen mainly began his professional acting career on the stage in the early 1960s. A year before the fantasy trilogy debuted, he joined the Marvel universe as Magneto in the “X-Men” franchise.

McKellen also appeared in the “Hobbit” films.

McKellen continued playing Magneto during and after the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, most recently in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014).

The actor is one of the few “Lord of the Rings” cast members to also appear in the “Hobbit” films, reprising his role as the powerful wizard.

Some of McKellen’s more recent turns include Cogsworth in the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” (2017) and Gus the Theatre Cat in “Cats” (2019).

He also has several recent theater credits in the UK, including “Hamlet” and “The Cherry Orchard.”

John Rhys-Davies played Gimli.

The Welsh actor Rhys-Davies portrayed the dwarf warrior Gimli. 

Gimli is the representative for the dwarfs in the Fellowship and the son of Glóin, one of Bilbo’s companions during the events of “The Hobbit.”

Rhys-Davies, who also provided the voice of Treebeard in the films, previously played Sallah in several “Indiana Jones” films and Vasco Rodrigues on NBC’s miniseries “Shogun,” for which he received an Emmy nomination. 

Rhys-Davies has continued working on fantasy projects.

After “The Lord of the Rings,” he appeared in a number of notable TV movies and on shows like Comedy Central’s “TripTank.”

There are a few other fantasy projects on his recent résumé, including ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” and MTV’s “The Shannara Chronicles.” 

Rhys-Davies has also lent his voice to video games and animated projects like Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix miniseries “Wizards” and the 2019 feature “Mosley.”

Most recently, he voiced a character in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (2023).

Orlando Bloom played Legolas.

Bloom played the master archer and wood elf Legolas.

The arrow-wielding hero is also a member of the Fellowship and eventually becomes Gimli’s best friend, even though dwarfs and elves historically hated each other.

Bloom was relatively unknown when he was cast in the trilogy, but between the first and second films, he appeared in “Black Hawk Down” (2002).

Bloom has played other action-packed roles.

Bloom famously played Will Turner in four of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” installments. 

Alongside McKellen, he also revisited the role of Legolas in the “Hobbit” films. 

In addition to other hit projects like “Troy” (2004) and “The Three Musketeers” (2011), the actor starred on the Amazon series “Carnival Row” as Rycroft Philostrate.

More recently, he starred in the action film “Red Right Hand” (2024).

Billy Boyd played Peregrin “Pippin” Took.

Boyd played Pippin, the immature best friend of Merry, and appeared in all three “Lord of the Rings” films. 

As a part of the Fellowship, his antics cause trouble for the group, but he always means well.

Boyd had primarily worked on television before he was cast in the first film of the trilogy and continued to do so in between the franchise’s sequels.

Boyd continues making music and acting.

Boyd appeared in “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” alongside Russell Crowe in 2003, the same year as “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” 

The next year, he provided the voice of Glen and Glenda for the horror film “Seed of Chucky” (2004). 

Boyd is also a musician and got to write and perform a song for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014).

He was seen on episodes of FX’s “Snowfall,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” and Starz’s “Outlander.” He also appeared in the 2021 thriller “An Intrusion.”

More recently, he voiced a character in the anime “Lord of the Rings” prequel, “The War of the Rohirrim.”

Ian Holm played Bilbo Baggins.

The English actor Holm played Bilbo Baggins, the previous ring bearer. 

Bilbo is Frodo’s guardian and cousin, and he is unnaturally old because of the effects of the One Ring.

Even before the film franchise, Holm was a Tony Award-winning actor, probably best known to fantasy and sci-fi fans for playing Ash in the Ridley Scott film “Alien” (1979).

Holm has starred in a variety of films.

After the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Holm worked on an impressive array of films like “Garden State” (2004), “Lord of War” (2005), and “Ratatouille” (2007).

In 2020, Holm died at age 88 of complications related to Parkinson’s disease.

Liv Tyler played Arwen Undómiel.

Tyler brought Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond, to life on the big screen. The elf saves Frodo from the Black Riders and later marries Aragorn.

Before “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Tyler had been in plenty of films, including “Stealing Beauty” (1996) and “Armageddon” (1998).

Tyler has since been on several hit shows.

Tyler joined another major franchise in 2008 as Betty Ross in Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk.” In 2025, she reprised the role in “Captain America: Brave New World.”

Elsewhere, Tyler played Meg Abbott on HBO’s “The Leftovers,” Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam on ITV-Hulu’s “Harlots,” Eve in the sci-fi thriller “Ad Astra” (2019), and Michelle Blake on Fox’s “9-1-1: Lone Star.”

Hugo Weaving played Lord Elrond.

Elrond, played by Weaving, is the Lord of Rivendell. The elf was there when Isildur claimed the One Ring and tried to get him to destroy it, to no avail.

Fans would likely recognize Weaving as Agent Smith in “The Matrix” films, a franchise that mostly ran at the same time as the “Lord of the Rings” movies. 

Weaving continues to act in blockbuster hits.

Weaving went on to play V in “V for Vendetta” (2006), voice Megatron in Michael Bay’s “Transformers” films, and portray the Red Skull in “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011). 

Weaving starred in the drama “Lone Wolf” and appeared on the Binge miniseries “Love Me” in 2021.

Most recently, he played the villainous Frank Harness in the thriller series “Slow Horses.”

Cate Blanchett played Galadriel.

Blanchett portrayed Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood and grandmother to Arwen. 

In “The Fellowship of the Ring,” she gives each traveler a special gift, including the “star-glass” that later proves useful against the giant spider.

Blanchett didn’t get a ton of screen time in the films — only a minute and 23 seconds, according to Screen Rant. 

She had appeared in several movies before “The Lord of the Rings,” like “Elizabeth” (1998) and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999).

Blanchett is now an Academy Award-winning actor.

Immediately after “The Lord of the Rings,” Blanchett appeared in “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” (2004) and “The Aviator” (2004), which earned her an Oscar win. 

She racked up more nominations for “Notes on a Scandal” (2006), “I’m Not There” (2007), and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007) before winning another Oscar for “Blue Jasmine” (2013). 

Blanchett was nominated yet again for her work in “Carol” (2016) and played the activist Phyllis Schlafly in the FX miniseries “Mrs. America.”

More recently, she starred in “Don’t Look Up” (2021), “Tár” (2022), “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (2022), and the TV series “Disclaimer” (2024).

Andy Serkis played Gollum.

Serkis’ portrayal of Gollum was an impressive feat of motion-capture technology. 

Throughout the films, Gollum, originally known as Sméagol, is painted as an antagonist and a representation of the One Ring’s consequences.

Before his performance in the trilogy, Serkis had been in several shows and films, like “Career Girls (1997)” and “Among Giants” (1998).

Serkis has appeared in other major film franchises.

Serkis reprised Gollum in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012) and did groundbreaking performance-capture work for the “Planet of the Apes” films. 

He then joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the flesh as Ulysses Klaue, provided the voice of Baloo in “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” (2018), and was Snoke in the recent “Star Wars” trilogy. 

Recently, Serkis played Alfred Pennyworth in “The Batman” alongside Robert Pattinson and Kino Loy on the Disney+ series “Andor.”

Christopher Lee played Saruman.

A film legend, Lee took a notable turn as the wizard Saruman the White, who was introduced as a respectable ally but turned out to be a power-hungry pawn of Sauron.

Before his role in the fantasy films, he starred in many movies like “Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace” (1962) and “Count Dracula” (1977).

Lee acted in several other notable films.

After the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Lee appeared in several films and shorts, like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005) and “Hugo” (2011), before reprising his role as Saruman in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

In 2015, Lee died at age 93 after being hospitalized for heart failure and respiratory problems.

Miranda Otto played Éowyn.

Otto played arguably one of the most important characters in the trilogy, Éowyn. 

Disguised as a Rider of Rohan, Éowyn, shield maiden of Rohan and daughter of Éomund, ultimately kills the Witch-king of Angmar during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. 

Before her turn in the “Lord of the Rings” films, Otto appeared in movies like “The Well” (1998) and “The Thin Red Line” (1998).

Otto has acted on several series.

Shortly after the Middle Earth films, Otto appeared on-screen again in the 2005 adaptation of “War of the Worlds.” 

She has since worked on films like “Annabelle: Creation” (2017) and miniseries like USA’s “The Starter Wife,” ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia,” and Fox’s “24: Legacy.” 

In 2018, she showed off her fantasy roots on the Netflix series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” as aunt Zelda Spellman.

Otto recently appeared on several TV miniseries, like SBS’ “The Unusual Suspects.” In 2024, she reprised her role of Éowyn in the “Lord of the Rings” prequel anime film, “The War of the Rohirrim.”

John Noble played Denethor II.

Noble made playing a troublesome ruler look fun. The last viewers saw of Denethor, he was falling off a cliff on fire after he had tried burning his son alive.

Before the fantasy franchise, the actor had been on TV series and in films like “The Monkey’s Mask” (2001).

Noble has since worked on several hit TV shows.

Noble is probably best known for playing Walter Bishop on the Fox series “Fringe.” 

Like his “Lord of the Rings” costars Blanchett and Weaving, Noble also appeared as a guest on the ABC series “Rake” before signing longer stints on shows like Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow,” The CW’s “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” and CBS’ “Elementary.” 

He also showed up as Billy Butcher’s father on an episode of Amazon Prime’s “The Boys.”

More recently, he worked on Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop,” Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Prodigy,” and Apple TV+’s “Severance.”

Karl Urban played Éomer.

Urban played Éomer, the leader of the Riders of Rohan who later becomes King of the Mark.

Before the trilogy, he played Julius Caesar on Syfy’s “Xena: Warrior Princess” and appeared in several films.

Urban continues to make a name for himself as an action star.

Urban became an action-movie star shortly after “The Return of the King” with “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004), followed by “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) and “Doom” (2005). 

He later played Leonard “Bones” McCoy in “Star Trek” (2009) and continued his action-star legacy as the titular judge in “Dredd” (2012).

Urban plays Billy on “The Boys” — making Noble’s guest appearance a “Lord of the Rings” reunion.

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