It’s hard to believe, but The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring premiered in theaters 20 years ago. It’s a whole different world today, but a lot of it, entertainment-wise, was shaped because of the trilogy directed by visionary filmmaker, Peter Jackson. The trilogy redefined the concept of an epic movie and introduced the genre to audiences all across the world, inspiring remakes, remixes, and rip-offs that try to reproduce its success to this day.
But none of this would have been possible without the magnificent cast that helped bring to life the characters that were unknown to most of the public - and now are some of the most beloved characters worldwide. So, two decades after the industry-changing film was released, what has the cast been up to?
Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen)
The warrior that became king has proven himself an incredibly eclectic actor after he was done with Middle Earth. Viggo Mortensen has since been nominated for three Academy Awards, and one of his most prominent roles was in Matt Ross’s indie film, Captain Fantastic. He played Ben, a father who decides to raise his kids away from society and technology. Mortensen made his directorial debut with Falling, in which he played a gay man at odds with his conservative father. His next movie is Crimes of the Future, his fifth collaboration with director, David Cronenberg.
Legolas (Orlando Bloom)
The interpreter of the world’s most badass elf had his career catapulted to stardom overnight as Legolas quickly became a fan-favorite. He followed up the successful franchise starring in another one – he played Will Turner in three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and then returned to Middle Earth to play a younger Legolas in two installments of the prequel trilogy, The Hobbit. Recently, Bloom starred in Prime Video’s neo-noir series, Carnival Row. In 2021, he starred in Needle in a Timestack, a sci-fi thriller directed by John Ridley.
Gimli (John Rhys-Davies)
Middle Earth’s bravest dwarf has worked a lot since the trilogy wrapped. Rhys-Davies has lent his powerful voice to several characters, including the troll, Grand Pabbie, in ABC’s Once Upon a Time, Galahad in Netflix’s Wizards, and the Brine King in 2018’s Aquaman. Outside the voice acting realm, Rhys-Davies was recently in The Shannara Chronicles, New Zeland dark comedy, Fresh Eggs, and indie film, Moments in Spacetime.
Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood)
The hobbit tasked with the most difficult job (carrying the One ring and destroying it) has also done a bunch of voice work, most notably in Happy Feet, God of War III, Star Wars: Resistance, and Summer Camp Island. Wood has also taken on roles in very different projects, such as sci-fi series, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and FX’s Wilfred, in which he played a dog (not voiced a dog, actually played one). He is set to star in 2022’s horror-comedy, The Toxic Avenger.
Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin)
If you are a Stranger Things fan, you know exactly where Sean Astin has been in the last few years. But aside from that, Astin has had fun on TV: he guest-starred in 24, Alphas, The Strain, The Librarians, The Big Bang Theory, Supergirl, and others. He lent his voice to Raphael in the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series and was the narrator in The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants. In 2021, he starred in the historical drama, Charming the Hearts of Men.
Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuk (Dominic Monaghan)
Shortly after playing one of the hobbits, Dominic Monaghan was cast in another cultural phenomenon – ABC’s long-running hit series Lost. After that, he played a mysterious character in the short-lived thriller series, Flash Forward. He was also in other TV shows such as The Hundred Code, The Unknown, and Quantum Break. For a while, he even starred in his own series: Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan had the actor looking for bizarre and dangerous animals and earned him an Emmy nomination. In 2021, he starred in Edge of the World alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Peregrin “Pippin” Took (Billy Boyd)
Billy Boyd was featured in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in a different way: the song “The Last Goodbye” from his band, Beecake, played in the end credits. Aside from that, Boyd was recently in Grey’s Anatomy and Outlander. In 2021, he starred in the horror indie film, An Intrusion, with Keir Gilchrist.
Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen)
Before The Lord of the Rings, McKellen had already become famous in the geek world by playing super-villain, Magneto, in the X-Men franchise. He last reprised the role in X-Men: Days of Future Past. From the original nine-member Fellowship, he was the only one to return for all installments of The Hobbit film series. Recently, he starred in the British comedy sitcom, Vicious. In the movies, however, he made a bad career choice and ended up in the cast of Cats, which was penned by critics and audiences alike. In 2021, he starred in the indie sci-fi film, Infinitum: Subject Unknown. He has maintained his devotion to the stage with productions such as Waiting for Godot and Hamlet.
Boromir (Sean Bean)
After betraying the Fellowship of the Ring, regretting it, and dying, Sean Bean surprised us once again in Game of Thrones by playing fan-favorite, Ned Stark, and starring in one of the most surprising plot twists in the series. Before and after that, he was in National Treasure, Flightplan, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and The Martian. On TV, he starred in The Oath, Medici, and most recently in TNT’s Snowpiercer. Bean was also cast as Alman Kiddo in the live-action version of Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac.
Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)
Cate Blanchett, the two-time Academy Award winner, has landed incredible roles throughout the years and played some important historical figures such as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. Aside from Sir Ian McKellen, she was the only cast member to return to all installments of The Hobbit trilogy. Recently, Blanchett played 13 different characters in the indie film, Manifesto, and the god of thunder’s long-lost sister Hela in Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and is set to star in Adam McKay's Netflix comedy, Don't Look Up. On TV, she starred in FX’s Mrs. America and is set to integrate the cast of the upcoming series Brideshead Revisited.
Saruman (Christopher Lee)
After the original trilogy, Cristopher Lee also returned for two installments of The Hobbit. He also teamed up with filmmaker, Tim Burton, multiple times and starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dark Shadows, and did voice acting for Alice in Wonderland and Corpse Bride. He also played Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II and III. Sadly, he passed away in 2015 at 93. His last work was as a narrator in The Time War, a TV series that will be released posthumously.
Elrond (Hugo Weaving)
Before he played the ages-old elf in the epic trilogy, Weaving was already known as the legendary villain, Agent Smith, in The Matrix. He then returned for the sequels released in 2003. After that, he voiced Megatron in the Transformers movies. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was the main antagonist in Captain America: The First Avenger. He also returned for a couple of Hobbit movies. Recently, he was in the cast of Mortal Engines, Hearts and Bones and in the miniseries Patrick Melrose.
Arwen (Liv Tyler)
After playing the daughter of Elrond and princess Elf, Liv Tyler entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Betty Ross in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, but then she was kind of dropped as the Hulk got recast and his storyline changed direction. She then starred in the HBO series, The Leftovers, and most recently in Hulu’s Harlots. Currently, she’s in the cast of 9-1-1’s spin-off series, 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Gollum (Andy Serkis)
There’s no denying it: Andy Serkis made history in motion capture performance when he played troubled creature, Gollum. And he was far from done: After that, he played none other than the title character, King Kong, in Peter Jackson’s version. After playing a giant ape, he was more than qualified to take on the role of Caesar in the Planet of the Apes remake trilogy. He was also Supreme Leader Snoke in the latest Star Wars trilogy and black-market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2021, he directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage and in 2022, we’ll see him as Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman.
Eowyn (Miranda Otto)
After playing one of the bravest warriors in the middle earth, Miranda Otto worked with Steven Spielberg in War of the Worlds. She was also in the Brazilian film, Reaching for the Moon, and horror films I, Frankenstein and Annabelle: Creation. On TV, she was in Homeland, 24: Legacy, and recently in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. In 2021, she was the lead actor in the Australian comedy miniseries, The Unusual Suspects.
Theoden (Bernard Hill)
Before he was the father of Eowyn and the king of Rohan, Bernard Hill was the captain of the Titanic that decided to go down with the ship. After that, he was in TV series such as Sunshine, Five Days, Wolf Hall, and Unforgotten. In 2016, he starred in the British comedy Golden Years and indie movie, Interlude City of a Dead Woman. He is set to star in Age, alongside Julian Glover and Amy Tyger.
Eomer (Karl Urban)
Long before he first appeared in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as Eowyn’s brother, Karl Urban had already gotten his geek on by playing Julius Caesar in Xena: The Princess Warrior. His career continued on being every RPG player’s dream: he was in the Star Trek reboot film series, Doom, RED, he played the title role in Judge Dredd, was featured in Thor: Ragnarok and even cameo’d as a Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Currently, he’s in the main cast of Prime Video’s super-hero series The Boys.
Faramir (David Wenham)
The brother of Boromir went monster-hunting with fellow Australian actor, Hugh Jackman, in Van Helsing, and then was the sole survivor of King Leonidas’ (Gerard Butler) army in 300. He was recently in the Academy Award-nominated film, Lion, and in Netflix’s Iron Fist. He played opposite Elisabeth Moss in the miniseries, Top of the Lake, and is set to star in Pieces of Her, an upcoming Netflix thriller series with Toni Collette.
King Denethor (John Noble)
After playing the completely bonkers King of Gondor, John Noble went on to star in the long-running series, Fringe. After that, he joined the cast of crime series, Sleepy Hollow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. He then played the father of Sherlock Holmes (Johnny Lee Miller) in Elementary and was most recently seen in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. He’s also lending his voice to The Diviner in Star Trek: Prodigy.
Gríma Wormtongue (Brad Dourif)
The chief advisor of King Théoden was secretly working for Saruman and eventually had his comeuppance. What you may not know is that Brad Dourif's other famous role has spent years ill-advising his victims and always comes back from the dead: the actor voices legendary killer doll, Chucky, across the entire franchise, which includes the Child's Play film series and the recent Chucky TV Show, which is his latest project. He was also in Deadwood: The Movie since he was a cast member of the HBO series, and he also guest-starred in TV shows such as Young Like Us, ABC's Once Upon a Time, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Wilfred.