History Characters / TheLordOfTheRingsFilmTrilogy

* MyGrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: She is Arwen's grandmother and later Aragorn's grandmother-in-law.

* IgnorantOfTheCall: Doesn't consider himself any sort of hero at all, despite the fact that he performs heroic actions as easily as regular people breathe. The only time he comes close to acknowleding that he's a hero is when, during the fight in Balin's Tomb, he kills a goblin with a frying pan and says, "I think I might be getting the hang of this." Apparently, Tolkein himself considered Sam more of a hero than Frodo.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Pippin's curiosity has him attempting to pull a key from a corprse, only for it to fall into the wall which end up catching the attention of several orcs as well as a cave troll.

* OnlySaneMan: Part of this is [=McKellan=]'s often weary delivery, but Gandalf still often shows himself to be the only one with his mind together and in the right place throughout his many adventures - particularly in situations where he is desperately trying to give good advice to others and nobody will listen to him, most obviously with Thorin and Denethor. Sometimes feels like SurroundedByIdiots instead - such as in the Hobbit where attempting to reason with the bullheaded Thorin results in him just leaving for a few hours to vent steam.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In ''The Hobbit'' films, he's clearly in love with the elf Tauriel[[spoiler: but when he sees that she's in love with the dwarf Kíli he does his best to warn her that it can't work out]]. Apart from that he doesn't interfere, and he feels sorry for Tauriel [[spoiler: when Kíli is killed in the course of trying to rescue her from the CurbStompBattle she's getting from Bolg. He goes on to save her himself, and finally succeeds in killing Bolg only after an epic battle. Not that it does him any good.]]

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: While Legolas shared his species FantasticRacism, he did call out his father on their willingess to ignore what's happening in the outside world.

** He's very quiet and calm, even in battle, but when Aragorn falls during his fight with the amored troll in ''Return of the King'' you can see him really panicking. You can't hear what he's saying but even if you aren't an expert at lip-reading you can make out that he's screaming his friend's name. In three movies, he loses his cool exactly ''twice''.

* {{Foil}}: To Denethor. Whereas Denethor went mad from grief from Boromir's death, Théoden managed to pull himself out of his despair and find the courage to save the day. He's also a lot more noble than the more devious Denethor. He also doesn't pick favorites amongst his children. While Denethor ''very'' clearly favors Boromir over the more quiet and sensitive Faramir, Théoden shows a fairly equal amount of concern and favor to Théodred, Éomer, and Éowyn. And despite his grief over Théodred's death, he doesn't harbor any resentment towards Éomer and easily accepts his nephew's position as Rohan's new heir-apparent.

* BurnBabyBurn: He tries burning both himself and Faramir, who was bearly alive. Thankfully, Gandalf and Pippin came just in time to save the latter, while Denethor...wasn't so lucky. He falls off the cliff of Minas Tirith, still ablaze.

* DespairEventHorizon: The counterattack failing, Faramir's apparent death (though he was actually uncoscious), and an extremely large invasion force at his doorstep.

Denethor's younger son and Boromir's little brother. Unlike his brother and father, Faramir does not enjoy combat or power politics, something that has led to him becoming TheUnfavorite of Denethor. However, despite his father's constant detractions, Faramir still tries his hardest to serve and protect Gondor from the invading forces of Mordor. Despite his distate for violence, he is nevertheless an excellent soldier and captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, an order akin to the Rangers of the North, who ambush Gondor's enemies in its lost territory of Ithilien, as well as a deadly shot with a longbow.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Subverted in that he was never a villian, but he was more hostile to the hobbits in the movie than he was in the books, and is tempted by the Ring, until Samwise tells him what the Ring did to Boromir's mind.

* HeroicLineage: He's the son of Eärendil, who's currently flying a chariot with a Silmiral as the morning star.

* MayflyDecemberRomance: She's got over a millenium on Aragorn.

* NeutralNoLonger: Marches against Saruman in respones to the direct attack on Fangorn.

* PlantPerson: Essentially a big mobile tree. (Other Ents look more specificlly like particular tree species.)

* BadassGrandpa: He beats the crap out of Nazgûls easiliy, and after his FaceHeelTurn, defeats Gandalf.

-->'''Saruman:''' Gandalf does not hesistate to sacrifice those closest to him, those he professes to love. Tell me... what words of confort did you give the halfling before you sent him to his doom? The path that you have set him on can only lead to death.

* WillfullyWeak: Like the rest of the Wizards, Saruman is actually operating at only a fraction of his full power. This is deliberate as the Valar decied to clothe the Wizards in the bodies of old men as they are meant to combat Sauron by wisdom and persuasion not brute strength or force. However Saruman ignored all that by deciding to join Saroun's forces.

* TimeAbyss: She is said to have been around when the earth was born. Although that is moreso her mother [[BiggerBad Ungoliant]].

* BloodKnight: When dismembered and impaled does not stop him from continueing the fight.

* YouShallNotPass: [[TropeNamers Trope Namer]]

[[caption-width-right:200:''"Hey! Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me!"'']]

** He's very quiet and calm, even in battle, but when Aragorn falls during his fight with the amored troll in ''Return of the King'' you can see him really panicing. You can't hear what he's saying but even if you aren't an expert at lip-reading you can make out that he's screaming his friend's name. In three movies, he loses his cool exactly ''twice''.

->''"I am no man!"''

!!Frodo Baggins

->'''Played By:''' Creator/ElijahWood

!!Samwise "Sam" Gamgee
->'''Played By:''' Creator/SeanAstin

!!Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck

!!Peregrin "Pippin" Took

->'''Played By:''' Billy Boyd

!!Gandalf

->'''Played By:''' Creator/IanMcKellen

-> "''I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. Go back to the shadow. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn! You shall not pass!''"

!!Aragorn

->'''Played By:''' Creator/ViggoMortensen

!!Legolas Greenleaf

->'''Played By:''' Creator/OrlandoBloom

->"''They have feelings, my friend. The elves began it, waking up the trees, teaching them to speak.''"

!!Gimli

->'''Played By:''' Creator/JohnRhysDavies

* InterspeciesFriendship: Obviously. They are the first elf and dwarf to have a friendship of any type in thousands of years,

!!Boromir
->'''Played By:''' Creator/SeanBean

%%* TheHighQueen

%%* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld

* StatuesqueStunner: In the books, she's described as being at least seven feet tall and one of the tallest elves ever born. In the films, she's played by the 5'9 Cate Blanchett, who was purposely filmed at angles that would make Galadriel seem much taller than those around her.

Treebeard, or Fangorn in Elvish, is the second-oldest being in Middle-earth (after the very first Elf to awaken far in the east, Círdan the Shipwright, still living in Middle-earth), and the namesake of one of the only remaining primordial forests in Middle-earth. Despite his great age, Treebeard is not counted among the Wise, and is quite unsophisticated.

!!The One Ring (voiced by Alan Howard)

%%* WizardBeard

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He comes across as just another haughty and callous elf in ''Fellowship'', but then Haldir and hundreds of Lórien archers appear at the gates of Helm's Deep during Rohan's darkest hour, fully prepared to fight and die alongside Aragorn and the Men of Rohan. Even if he's under Galadriel's and Elrond's orders, it's clear that Haldir believes in their cause and doesn't feel slightest by having to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with non-elven soldiers.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He comes across as just another haughty and callous elf in ''Fellowship'', but then Haldir and hundreds of Lórien archers appear at the gates of Helm's Deep during Rohan's darkest hour, fully prepared to fight and die alongside Aragorn and the Men of Rohan. Even if he's under Galadriel's and Elrong's orders, it's clear that Haldir believes in their cause and doesn't feel slightest by having to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with non-elven soldiers.

** BadassBeard: He's a dwarf and the son of Glóin; of course he's got one.

%%* InterspeciesFriendship: Obviously.

%%* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: TropeCodifier.

Galadriel's husband, grandfather of Arwen, and Lord of Lothlórien. He and his wife also aid and shelter the Fellowship on their quest.

* CainAndAbel: The Cain to his cousin Deagol's Abel; Sméagol murdered him for the Ring.

* HeinzHybrid: Although he's called "half-elven", he's a descendent of Beren and Luthien and both of his parents were called "half elves".

* HeroicLineage: She's a descendent of Luthien and Beren, and her dad is a hero in his own right.

%%* DreamWeaver

* TheHighQueen: She is the ruler of the Elven kingdom of Lothlórien, one of the remnants of the great forest that once spanned Middle Earth.

Galadriel's husband and Lord of Lothlórien.

!!Haldir [-Craig Parker)-]

Galadriel's husband and Lord of Lothlórien

* ArcherArchetype: Somewhat averted, at least in comparison to Legolas and other elves. Haldir is shown with a bow on two occasions, but he primarily uses his sword throughout most of the Battle of Helm's Deep.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He comes across as just another haughty and callous elf in ''Fellowship'', but then Haldir and hundreds of Lórien archers appear at the gates of Helm's Deep during Rohan's darkest hour, fully prepared to fight and die alongside Aragorn and the Men of Rohan. Even if he's under Galadriel's orders, it's clear that Haldir believes in their cause and doesn't feel slightest by having to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with non-elven soldiers.

* TheAce: To almost ridiculous levels. In Film/TheReturnOfTheKing, he takes down a fully-armed War Mumak and its crew all by himself.

** He's very quiet and calm, even in battle, but when Aragorn falls during his fight with the amored troll in ''Return of the King'' you can see him really panicing. You can't hear what he's saying but even if you aren't an expert at lip-reading you can make out that he's screaming his friends name. In three movies, he loses his cool exactly ''twice''.

* TranquilFury: In DOS, he falls into one of these after Bolg successfully injures him, something that ''nobody else'' has managed. It was only a nosebleed, but the look on Legolas' face was of barely contained rage, and the last we see of him, he's on his horse, trying to run Bolg down and kill him in retribution. Which, given that Bolg is likely fleeing toward the Orc army moving out from Dol Goldur, is probably a bad thing.

* BreakTheCutie: He suffered from looking into the Palantir, for starters.

* ConstantlyCurious: He tries grabbing a key from a dwarf's corpse before it falls down the well, then looks into the Palantir just to see it once.

** His long struggle via the Palantir with Sauron, which was a major factor in his crossing the DespairEventHorizon, is also removed.

* TheSpymaster: In the books, he possesses a Palantir, which explains his wide-ranging knowledge. In the films, he lacks the Palantir, and alludes several times to learning (true) things via rumour and reports. Also counts as AdaptationExplanationExtrication.

* TheHeavy: For The Two Towers, as he and his forces are terrorizing more or less everybody except for Frodo and Sam. Even towards the end of Fellowship, he's the one that breaks up the Fellowship.

%%* InsufferableGenius

%%* ManipulativeBastard: Especially to the Rohirrim.

%%* TheRival: To Gandalf.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Originally he wanted to [[EvilIsNotAToy learn everything about the Enemy so that he could defeat him]], but [[FatalFlaw his arrogance led to his downfall]] (for example, using the palantir against Gandalf's advice).

[[quoteright:220:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Faramir3_3072.jpg]]

%%* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Over 6000.

* TimeAbyss: She's one of the oldest elves in Middle Earth.
* WomenAreWiser: In ''An Unexpected Journey'', she reassures Gandalf that he has her support after Saruman dismisses Gandalf's concerns and proof about the Necromancer, and in ''The Desolation of Smaug'' she is the one Gandalf sends Radagast to bring as backup when he confronts the Necromancer.

A Elven Captain of Lothlórien and commander of the small Elven force sent to aid the Riders of Rohan at Helm's Deep.

* HeroicBSOD: Has one after he's been mortally wounded by an Uruk, seeing so many of his dead kin who could have lived forever.
* MauveShirt: Appears briefly in the first film, only to be killed halfway through the Battle of Helm's Deep

%%* TreacherousAdvisor

* MysteriousPast: His past was never fully revealed. We only get hints of who he used to be. Which is a lot more than we get of his lieutenant, Khamûl the Black Easterling and the rest of the Nazgûl. He gets a bit of exposé in ''Film/TheHobbit'' that [[WritingAroundTrademarks differs significantly from what Tolkien wrote]], due to Jackson not being allowed to utilize several of the books that contain the Witch-King's past.

%%* TheUndead

* WasOnceAMan: He was once a man of Numenor

[[quoteright:220:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Eomer_1812.jpg]]

* BigBrotherInstinct: He's very quick to defend Faramir from their father's cruel detractions and shows his brother open affection whenever possible. He also develops this for Merry and Pippin during the first movie.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Remember that brief moment where Aragorn sees Borormir left his shield when they land? [[spoiler: Probably would've been better if he had remembered.]]

* NiceGuy: While he's rather prickly towards Aragorn, he's far more supportive of the Hobbits inclusion in the party, while everyone else (including Aragorn) seems to considers them TheLoad at first. Not only does he teach Merry and Pippin some fencing, but in the aftermath of Moria and Gandalf's death, when Aragorn pushes the devastated Hobbits to keep moving.
--> '''Boromir''': Give them a moment for pity's sake!

* PapaWolf: All warriors - especially Aragorn and Gandalf - have become this toward the Hobbits, who are the youngest in the company and not very battle-experienced (at first).

* BigBrotherInstinct: He's very quick to defend Faramir from their father's cruel detractions. He also develops this for Merry and Pippin during the first movie.

* ParentalFavoritism: Is often on the receiving end of this treatment from Denethor. The Extended Edition of ''Two Towers'' shows that he ''hates'' being the favorite and his father's tendency to act dismissive of and find fault in everything Faramir does.

* PosthumousCharacter: Even though he died early on, his background and character is explored by the other characters.
* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: See the book for more details,

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething / WarriorPrince: While the son of the Stweard, Boromir is one of most fiercest fighters in Middle-Earth, which is why his father favors him over Faramir.

* SiblingYinYang: He's the opposite of his brother, Faramir.

** In the Extended Edition of ''The Two Towers'', he has this reaction upon learning that Denethor has come to congratulate them for retaking Osgiliath.

* RealLifeRelative: His sister Hannah played one of the Rohirrim refugees.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: He uses this time and again to see Frodo's journey through.
* RealLifeRelative: His eldest daughter Alexandria, who was 4 at the time, played Sam's daughter Elanor in the ending of ''The Return of the King''.

* FountainOfExpies: Up there with Merlin in some circles.

* FountainOfExpies: Thanks to Viggo Mortensen's portrayal. He may have already been one anyway.

* TheOtherMarty: Stuart Townsend was cast as Aragorn, but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen a few days before filming supposedly for being too young.
* RealLifeRelative: His son Henry has played an Orc as well as a Rohirrim soldier.

* FountainOfExpies: Made even more so by Orlando Bloom's portrayal in the film version.

* FountainOfExpies: He usually serves as a base for many Dwarf character creations for fantasy roleplay, if it helps.

* BittersweetEnding: The Fellowship defeated Sauron, restored the kingdom of Gondor, and saved Middle-Earth. But Elrond had to part with his daughter Arwen ''forever'', even beyond the end of the world. His twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, [[ShrugOfGod may have]] become mortal as well, which would leave him with no surviving children.

* FountainOfExpies: Even people who haven't read the book or seen the film are familiar with Gollum, if only through PopCulturalOsmosis or his role as childhood NightmareFuel in ''Literature/TheHobbit''. Or, the reference to him in Music/LedZeppelin's "Ramble On."

* FountainOfExpies: After the publication of ''The Lord Of The Rings'', it became ''de rigueur'' for the villain in a fantasy story to be a manipulative, rarely-seen EvilOverlord who lives in a dark tower in an evil realm, employs various horrible creatures to do his work, and is dependent on an artifact of his making for power and survival.

* NamesTheSame: No, he's not that pterodactyl guy from ComicBook/{{X-Men}} (who actually named himself after him!)

* ShrugOfGod: Whether Sam killed her or not.

%%* FountainOfExpies

* NamesTheSame: In-universe - the name Gothmog initially belonged to a Balrog who served as Morgoth's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. This Gothmog may have been named after that one.

* TheCassandra: The fact that Frodo becomes sympathetic towards Smeagol doesn't help, either.

* {{Badass}}: Saves Gandalf from an Uruk at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and later leads the hobbits in the Scouring of the Shire against Sharkey's men in the decisive Battle of Bywater.

* HeroicLineage: He is part of the long line created by both Beren and Luthien.

* InterspeciesFriendship: With Legolas for about sixty years, starting from after the battle of the five armies when Legolas [[spoiler: tells is father he cannot go home with him and is in turn told to search out "a young ranger by the name of Strider"]].

* RousingSpeech: Before the battle of the Black Gate.

* ElvesVsDwarves: Averted, eventually. Played straight in Film/TheHobbit, however.
* FantasticRacism: As shown in the second hobbit movie, Legolas originally shared his father's disdain for anyone who wasn't an elf, especially dwarves.

* InterspeciesFriendship: With Gimli. He's also been this with Aragorn for about sixty years, starting from after the battle of the five armies when Legolas [[spoiler: tells is father he cannot go home with him and is in turn told to search out "a young ranger by the name of Strider"]].
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In ''The Hobbit'' films he's clearly in love with the elf Tauriel[[spoiler: but when he sees that she's in love with the dwarf Kili he does his best to warn her that it can't work out]]. Apart from that he doesn't interfere, and he feels sorry for Tauriel [[spoiler: when Kili is killed in the course of trying to rescue her from the CurbStompBattle she's getting from Bolg. He goes on to save her himself, and finally succeeds in killing Bolg only after an epic battle. Not that it does him any good.]]

* MissingMom: His mother was killed by the orcs in Gundabad and he at one point tells Tauriel that his father has never even mentioned her since. It isn't until the end of the third ''Hobbit'' film that Thranduil notes that she loved her son more than anything else in the world - which is probably about half of what Legolas wanted to hear.

** In The Hobbit trilogy he has another moment of panic when Tauriel is in danger and, for the first time, he has run out of arrows.

* BigDamnHeroes: She arrives in time to save her uncle from the Witch-king.

* GlorySeeker: Since she's from a ProudWarriorRace, she frets at missing out on all the great deeds in battle because she's a woman. Amplified by becoming a DeathSeeker, since death in battle is most glorious for the Rohirrim. Even after she's injured killing the Witch-king, she doesn't like being stuck with the medics while the army of Rohan confronts Sauron.

* SiblingTeam: An unusual twist on this, as Eomer isn't aware that she's fighting in the Battle of Pelennor Fields with him but collectively they probably manage to do more damage than most of Rohan's army.
* StayInTheKitchen: For years she is relegated to tending Théoden while the men ride off to war. When Théoden himself finally rides off to war she wants to go too, but she's left in charge in his absence. Later she wants to follow Aragorn, but is rejected. She goes in disguise to the Battle of Pelennor Fields anyway where she kills the Witch-king. But played straight as Sauron is defeated, as she and Faramir fall in love and she stops seeking glory and death in battle, instead resolving to be a healer and nurturer. They eventually settle down as lord and lady of Ithilien.

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed my Uncle]]: She attacks the Witch-King after he wounds Theoden, causing his death.

* {{Badass}}: The Mumakil are devastating Rohan's forces at the Pelennor Fields. What does Eomer do? He takes down TWO of them ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome just by throwing a spear.]]''

* BigDamnHeroes: Is this along with Saruman and Galadriel for Gandalf by rescuing him from Dol Guldur and fighting the Nazgul.

The Lady of Light, Galadriel is a Noldorin Elf who co-rules Lothlórien as the Lady of Lórien, with her Sindarin husband Celeborn. One of the mightiest and wisest Elves in Middle-earth, she is a powerful sorceress (possibly; magic is very rare in Middle-earth, and her true power, and its nature, are only hinted at) and wields Nenya, the Elven Ring of Water, which aids her people in their fight against Sauron's forces. She and her husband also aid and shelter the Fellowship on their quest. After the destruction of the One Ring, she and her husband lead an attack on (the now destroyed) Sauron's citadel of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood, which she destroys completely (again, possibly by magical means), and thereby destroys the source of Mirkwood's corruption, allowing it to be renamed Greenwood the Great once again. Also one of only two Noldorin elves known to have had blond hair (all others have jet-black hair).

** BadassInCharge: She is a Queen of Lothlorien, after all.

* CurbStompBattle: In ''The Hobbit'', Lady Galadriel [[spoiler:sends Sauron and the Nazgul flying over the horizon]].

%%* AntiHero: Becomes a Type IV in The Two Towers before slipping back to his old ways.

* CainAndAbel: The Cain to his cousin Deagol's Abel; Smeagol murdered him for the Ring.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: He keeps wavering between "Gollum", the murderous sneaky bastard who wants to kill the thieves, and "Smeagol", the last vestige of his former self who yearns for friendship. Eventually Smeagol sides with Gollum outright.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Smeagol gets the upper hand in the second film and puts his trust fully in Frodo... and then Frodo has to trick him into getting captured by the Rangers of Ithilien, who are none too gentle.

* ManChild: Smeagol is very childlike and even playful, speaking in singsong and capering around. Sometimes he does this when he's happy that Frodo is being nice, sometimes he's happy because he's feeding Frodo to Shelob. And he's both at once during the riddle game with Bilbo.

* TalkingToThemself: Usually represented by having him talk to his reflection, with the camera focusing on himself for Smeagol and the reflection for Gollum.

* BadassGrandpa: He beats the crap out of Nazguls easiliy, and after his FaceHeelTurn, defeats Gandalf.

* TreacherousAdvisor: To most of Middle Earth before he reveals his true colors.

* DirtyCoward: He tries to get the hell away when Gandalf starts healing Theoden and crawls and grovels Théoden wants to kill him.

* HannibalLecture: He gives an especially cruel one to Eowyn when his attempt to seduce her fails, declaring her as alone and cold.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: His reason for getting rid of Eomer. "You see much, Eomer, son of Eomund. Too much."

* ManipulativeBastard: His poisonous words combine with Saruman's enchantments to turn Théoden into a weak old dotard, and Wormtongue convinces him to exile his beloved and loyal nephew Eomer.

* NoManOfWomanBorn: Tolkien's answer to this trope was to have him undone by a woman and a hobbit. Merry gets him in the knee to break the protective enchantment[[note]]although the technicalities of the anti-Morgul blade are left out[[/note]] and Eowyn stabs him in the face.

* WeakenedByTheLight: Although the Nazgul don't seem to loathe the sunlight the way Sauron's {{Mook}}s do, Gandalf is able to drive him and the others away with a beam of light.

* VillainousCrush: To Éowyn.

** SubmissiveBadass: Behind Gandalf, Legolas is also the best fighter of the Fellowship. He's also extremely loyal to Aragorn.

* {{Badass}}: A BoisterousBruiser capable of matching [[TheAce Legolas]] in their killing competition at Helms Deep.

* {{Badass}}: A BoisterousBruiser capable of matching [[TheAce ''Legolas'']] in their killing competition at Helms Deep.

* BackToBackBadasses: With Aragorn, during the Battle of Helm's Deep fighting the Uruk-hai.
* BadassBeard: He's a dwarf and the son of Glóin; of course he's got one.

!!Treebeard [-(JohnRhysDavies)-]