List of The Lord of the Rings characters: who is the most important and least likeable?
The epic fantasy adventure film, The Lord of the Rings, was an international venture between the United States and New Zealand. As a result, the film's producers brought together an ensemble of elite actors to breathe life into the novel with the same title written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Importantly, the Lord of the Rings characters displayed their natural talent and their creativity and imagination.
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy has some big names in Hollywood as its cast members. They all gave it their all as they stayed in New Zealand for over a year while shooting the three films. Its budget was more than $281 million, making it one of the most significant film projects ever to be undertaken.
It achieved commercial success bringing in more than $2.991 billion in returns. The emotional depth of the characters is one of the factors for its success, but still, some of the characters from Lord of the Rings are more important than others.
The Lord of the Rings characters
Who is the most famous Lord of the Rings character? The many diverse characters in the film make it difficult to pinpoint the most popular, but if there is someone to take the crown, it is Aragorn. While most movies have one or two categories of characters, the trilogy has several.
We have humans, hobbits, wizards, elves, and dwarfs, among many other character categories. In addition, there are heroes of each type and characters who are as good as worthless. Below is a ranking of the characters from the most important to least significant:
1. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen)
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When it comes to the Lord of the Rings heroes, there is none like Aragorn. He hails from a line of royalty. He is a descendant of Elros Tar-Minyatur with ancestors such as the Lords of Andunie and Elendil, who was the high king of Arnor and Gondor. All of humankind's hope is placed on him to rise and be their hero.
The good thing is that he is no ordinary human; he is also a Dunedain, making him semi-immortal. In the beginning, Aragorn's character is somewhat mysterious and cagy as he is a ranger going by the name Strider. Strider's role is to protect and shepherd the hobbits, but this is before Legolas reveals his secret as the reluctant heir to Gondor.
His is the last hope for his family to redeem themselves as just rulers of the realms of men. His importance starts manifesting when he leads the fellowship after the death of Gandalf. He convinces Theoden to fight for his people and becomes one of their best warriors in battle. He leads the charge for the final push on Mount Doom, thus giving humankind their deserved victory.
2. Gandalf (Ian McKellen)
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Gandalf the Grey is a character that confirms people can come back strong after falling. He was taken out in the early stages of the War of the Ring, but he later came out strong. The new-look Gandalf became instrumental in the efforts by the free people of Middle Earth to fend off Sauron's advances.
The fellowship people rely on him for advice. He knows all there is to know about the wizarding world, and without him, Sauron cannot be defeated, and the ring cannot be destroyed. So when Saruman, Balrog and Peregrin shatter his plans, Gandalf looks like he is done.
Having learnt his lesson, he comes back as Gandalf the White, who leads the elves to Helm's Deep and torches the beacons at Minas Tirith. He is an essential character in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring because he stands for good and aims to end evil.
3. Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin)
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Sam was a gardener initially, and no one would have guessed that he is an important character. However, as he worked for Frodo, they became friends and became instrumental in the war. Things turned around for him when he accidentally overheard about Frodo's ring, and as a result, he had to join the quest.
He is ready to put himself on the line to protect Frodo, as evident when he fights off a giant spider on Frodo's behalf. When Frodo collapses, Sam is there to carry him through the final stretch. He is the only character willing to relinquish and destroy the ring once it is in his possession. In short, it may have been Frodo's mission to carry the ring, but without Sam, he wouldn't have made it far.
4. Frodo (Elijah Wood)
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Frodo is a natural leader as he volunteers to be the ring-bearer which is a great responsibility for anyone to bear. When he realizes that the ring corrupts all who come to proximity with it, he tries to go it alone to save the others. Even though he volunteered for this burden, all he wants is to see is the ring destroyed as he is not interested in its powers.
His strength is the ability to resist the temptation to harness the ring's powers and start oppressing all around him. His role is mainly to get the ring to Mount Doom, but the journey is seriously gruelling. In the end, the temptation to keep the ring for himself weighs on him heavily. He had come this far, but the mission would never have been a success without teamwork.
5. Legolas (Orlando Bloom)
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Actor Orlando Bloom played the character Legolas and even though the character's storyline may not be the most interesting, his importance cannot be overlooked. He is an elf who is good in war with his bow and arrows. One of his most prominent qualities is loyalty, as he stands with his friends no matter what. He stays with his friends from the fellowship in their quest even when it is unclear what is in it for him.
Perhaps he enjoys the thrill of a good battle as winning consistently motivates him. However, winning is not always necessary, especially when you are in the wrong team, but luckily for Legolas, he is not. One of his best scenes is when he shows the power of friendship as he defends Gimli from Eomer. He proves that the Lord of the Rings characters elves are also important.
6. Eowyn (Miranda Otto)
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Played by Miranda Otto, Eowyn shows deep concern for the battle of the Middle Earth and embodies the other Lord of the Rings female characters. She is a Rohan royal and would have been content just sitting back as she watches things unfolding. Instead, however, she takes it upon herself to be involved in the fight against the advancing armies of Saruman.
It is a critical moment because the poisonous words of Grima have swayed her ruling uncle. Eowyn must stand against her uncle and wait for the arrival of Gandalf. She also helps to nurse Theoden until he recovers and assumes leadership.
She is interested in having a romantic relationship with Aragorn, but he is not interested. So she goes to war and manages to overpower the Witch King even though Aragorn had forbidden her from going to war with them.
7. Gimli (John Rhys-Davies)
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Who is the weird character in Lord of the Rings? Without a doubt, Gimli stands out as odd. He is a dwarf who likes his liquor, and the character was mainly created for comic relief. He was the drunkard who would interrupt serious conversations by belching or murmuring irrelevant things.
Because he is always drunk, it becomes difficult for him to achieve his full potential, so he has to make lame excuses for his lack of endurance and diminutive size. He may be the only dwarf in the movie, but his role goes deeper than the comic relief, and the other characters from Lord of the Rings rely on him sometimes.
He is a potent ally in war and has managed to survive many battles. With an axe in his hand, he proves to be an asset to Aragorn and Legolas. Even though he made it clear from the beginning that he does not trust an elf, the battle experiences with Legolas end up making them friends.
8. Merry (Dominic Monaghan)
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Meriadoc Brandybuck is a hobbit who is like Pippin's shadow. Merry must be by his side wherever Pippin goes, and his role helps build Pippin's character. Through his devoted companionship, Merry proves his importance with his perceptiveness and intelligence.
He is quiet on most occasions, but that only sharpens his other skills, including being observant. He is like a depository of all good plans, and this is because he likes to read books. His geographic knowledge also comes in handy for the rest of the time in multiple times.
He'd be the first to know if they are in danger and develop a solution before the others grasp it. When it comes to it, he is not afraid to follow his heart, as is the case when he saves Eowyn's life when she sneaks into the battle, and she ends up killing the Witch-King.
9. Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)
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She is the undisputed queen of magic in this series. Galadriel’s character is that of a royal elf who is very knowledgeable. She knows all there is to know about the War of the Ring, and this is because she has lived for a very long time. Seeing how young she appears, one can't help but ask how old are the Lord of the Rings characters?
She is the one tasked with the narrations of the Fellowship’s opening passages. Despite failing to harness several mystical powers such as telepathy, predictive gift-giving, she can hypnotize mortals who encounter her. Despite Galadriel being so powerful, she did not stand a chance against the ring.
She deserves some praise for not harming Frodo when he hands her the ring but what follows is an episode of rants and even temporarily turning into a demon. However, seeing that she already had another ring, it could be that she couldn’t be able to handle both of them.
10. Elrond (Hugo Weaving)
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Elrond knows what the ring can do to someone, and because of that, he is ever hesitant to act. He takes a back seat throughout the War of the Ring because he knows better than taking on a challenge beyond him. However, he was there when Isildur failed to destroy the ring, and he learnt from it.
His most significant role is when he convenes the council, which establishes the fellowship. The Lord of Rivendell has devoted his time to the well-being of his people. However, when he sees that victory may not be achieved without him, he gives Aragorn the reforged sword, granting him his birthright as the King of Gondor.
The rest of the Lord of the Rings characters
The list of Lord of the Rings characters is quite long, with many more interesting heroes. However, some of these characters only play minor roles, such as soldiers whose scenes are only in the battleground. This is where Lord of the Rings elf characters come to life. The other Lord of the Rings character names are:
- Boromir (Sean Bean)
- Peregrin "Pippin" Took (Billy Boyd)
- Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm)
- Mrs Bracegirdle (Lori Dungey)
- Barliman Butterbur (David Weatherley)
- Gaffer Gamgee (Norman Forsey)
- Elanor Gamgee (Alexandra Astin)
- Rosie Cotton (Sarah McLeod)
- Farmer Maggot (Cameron Rhodes)
- Bree Gate-Keeper (Martyn Sanderson)
- Everard Proudfoot (Noel Appleby)
- Mrs Proudfoot (Megan Edwards)
- Old Noakes (Bill Johnson)
- Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (Elizabeth Moody)
- Otho Sackville (Peter Corrigan)
- Ted Sandyman (Brian Sergent)
- Celeborn (Marton Csokas)
- Arwen (Liv Tyler)
- Figwit (Bret McKenzie)
- Elrond (Hugo Weaving)
- Haldir (Craig Parker)
- Rumir (Jorn Benzon)
- Gorbag (Stephen Ure)
- Gollum/Smeagol (Andy Serkis)
- Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif)
- Gothmog (Lawrence Makoare)
- Grishnakh (Stephen Ure)
- Lurtz (Lawrence Makoare)
- Mouth of Sauron (Bruce spencer)
- Mauhur (Andy Serkis)
- The One Ring (Alan Howard)
- Saruman (Christopher Lee)
- Sauron (Sala Baker & Alan Howard)
- Sharku (Jed Brophy)
- Shagrat (Peter Tait)
- Ugluk (Nathaniel Lees)
- Snaga (Andy Serkis)
- Witch-King of Angmar (Brent Mclntyre, Andy Serkis & Lawrence Makoare)
- Denethor (John Noble)
- Damrod (Alistair Browning)
- Eomer (Kart Urban)
- Eothain (sam Comery)
- Freda (Olivia Tennet)
- Faramir (David Wenham)
- Grimbold 9Bruce Phillips)
- Gamling (Bruce Hopkins0
- Haleth (Calum Gittins)
- Hama (John Leigh)
- Irolas (Ian Hughes)
- Madril (John Bach)
- King of the Dead (Paul Norell)
- Theoden (Bernard Hill)
- Morwen (Robyn Malcolm)
- Theodred (Paris Howe Strewe)
- Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies)
- Deagol (Thomas Robins)
- Isildur (Harry Sinclair)
- Gil-galad (Mark Ferguson)
- Elendil (Peter McKenzie)
The Lord of the Rings is rightly regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films to be made. Its first promotional trailer was released in April 2000 and its 1.7 million hits in the first 24 hours set a new record for download hits. All three films received a total of 30 Academy Awards nominations and won 17 of them. The dark moment concerning the film is the legal disputes in which Lord of the Rings characters sued over profits.
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