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Characters: The Lord Of The Rings Film Trilogy
These are the Loads and Loads of Characters in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

For the original versions in the book by J. R. R. Tolkien, see here. For characters in The Hobbit, go here.
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    The Fellowship 

Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood)

"I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

The protagonist of The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from his uncle (technically, cousin once removed) Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in Mount Doom.

Samwise "Sam" Gamgee (Sean Astin)

"Hey! Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me."

Frodo's loyal servant and gardner, who was determined to follow his master wherever he went, even when he was not invited. Sam proved to be a brave and loyal companion and became Frodo's closest friend. His Hobbit-sense and his love for Frodo saw them both through danger and hardship to the end of the quest. Sam was unwilling to give up hope even when things seemed darkest.

Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan)

"We're under orders from Treebeard, who has taken over management of Isengard."

A sensible Hobbit whose concern for his cousin Frodo led him to mastermind the "conspiracy" that ensured that Frodo embarked on his quest with his friends at his side. Despite his feelings of uselessness and self-doubt, Merry becomes a Knight of the Riddermark and plays a significant role in the War of the Ring. Through his loyalty and courage, he helped defeat one of the Dark Lord's most terrible servants, the Witch-King.

Peregrin "Pippin" Took (Billy Boyd)

"What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?"

A silly Hobbit who insisted on accompanying his cousin Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring. Pippin's youth and curious nature gets him into trouble on occasion, but his steadfast friendship and unquenchable cheerfulness helps carry him and his companions through the darkest times. During the quest, he grows up quickly and becomes an important member of the Fellowship and a Knight of Gondor.

Gandalf (Ian McKellen)

"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!"

A wizard who assisted both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in their quests across Middle-Earth. Gandalf is a member of the Istari, a group of Maiar that were specially chosen by the Valar to aid the people of Middle-Earth in the fight against evil. The Istari, who are often called wizards by various races, take the form of a human, but possess much greater physical and mental power. For over 2,000 years, Gandalf worked faithfully against the rising powers of evil in Middle-Earth.

Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen)

"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail."

The 16th Chieftain of the Dúnedain of the North; Aragorn lived much of his life as Ranger, but was later crowned King Elessar Telcontar (March 1, TA 2931 - FO 120 or SR 1541), the 26th King of Arnor, and the 35th King of Gondor and First High King of the Reunited Kingdom. He was a great warrior, and as the heir of Isildur bore the shards of Narsil, reforged and renamed Andúril ("Flame of the West"), in the War of the Ring.

Legolas (Orlando Bloom)

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

An elf who was part of the Fellowship in the Third Age. He is the son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood and a Prince of the Woodland Realm as well as a swift messenger and master bowman. Legolas eventually became great friends with the dwarf Gimli, who was also a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Gimli (John Rhys-Davies)

"I'm wasted on cross-country! We Dwarves are natural sprinters, very dangerous over short distances."

A well-respected dwarf warrior in Middle-Earth and the son of Glóin, who reclaimed the Lonely Mountain with Bilbo Baggins sixty years prior to the War of the Ring. Gimli was a member of the Fellowship of the Ring and was the only dwarf to readily fight alongside elves in the war against Sauron at the end of the Third Age. After the defeat of Sauron, he was given lordship of the Glittering Caves at Helm's Deep.

Boromir (Sean Bean)

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such a little thing."

Favorite son and Heir of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Boromir is a mighty warrior of his people and their champion, more focused on feats of arms than his wiser and more bookish little brother, Faramir.

    Men 

Théoden (Bernard Hill)

"Arise! Arise, Riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day... a red day... ere the sun rises!"

King of Rohan, father of Théodred, uncle of Éowyn and Éomer. Théoden was betrayed by his servant Gríma Wormtongue, who enfeebled and confused him. While Gandalf helped him come to his senses, the damage had already been done: his armies were in disarray, bands of wild men had ransacked the countryside, and his only son and heir was dead. Théoden faced the challenge of standing amongst legends in the midst of his failure trying to find his own strength again, which he eventually did in the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: This seems to be a trend in Rohirrim families, namely through the paternal side. Théoden's father was named Thengel; his youngest sister, Théodwyn; and his son, Théodred.
  • Badass
  • Battle Cry
  • Big Damn Heroes
  • Dying as Yourself
  • 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.
  • The Good King
  • Good Parents: Théoden treats Éowyn and Éomer as if they were his own children, openly showing affection or pride towards them at several points. And upon his awakening, the first person Théoden asked for after seeing to his niece and nephew was his only son and heir, Théodred.
    "No parent should have to bury their child."
  • He's Back: When Gandalf finally breaks him out the spell that Saruman had cast over him.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Merry.
  • Locked Out of the Loop
  • Named Weapons
  • Oh Crap: When the Oliphaunts arrive. "BRING IT DOWN BRING IT DOWN BRING IT DOWN!"
  • Parental Substitute: To Éowyn and Éomer. He treats both of his sister's children with great affection and acts more like a father than an uncle to them, expressing regret when relating to Aragorn that he wasn't there for Éowyn when she needed him.
    • And oddly enough to Merry, apparently, even though Merry's father Saradoc is alive and well. At least, Merry claims Théoden was as a father to him. Perhaps in the sense that Théoden was a positive authority figure during a time of great maturation in Merry's life.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: As all Rohirrim are.
  • Redemption Equals Death: He seems to think so. He's very hard on himself about his failures until he finds the courage to come to Gondor's aid. As he's dying, he smiles knowing that he's earned his place in the halls of his fathers.
  • Rousing Speech: Théoden gets quite a few, but the main ones are at the Battle of Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: He's much more capable than Denethor and personally leads his men straight into battle, fighting alongside them without fear for his own life. He gets killed in battle, but dies happy nonetheless.
  • The Southpaw: Bernard Hill being left-handed and all.

Éowyn (Miranda Otto)

"The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain."

Éomer's sister, Théodred's cousin, and much beloved niece of Théoden... as well as Gríma Wormtongue. She's a dedicated shield-maiden of the Riddermark and does not hesitate to battle those who threaten the people of Rohan.
  • Action Girl: As a shield-maiden of Rohan, she definitely qualifies.
    • Her exploits in the Battle of Pelennor Fields get taken up a notch in the movies. Not only does Éowyn take down an oliphaunt pretty much single-handedly, she also temporarily disables Gothmog in a duel, decapitates a Nazgûl dragon, and defeats the Witch-King of Angmar (with an assist from Merry).
  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: Éowyn's father was named Éomund; her brother, Éomer; and her eventual son, Elboron.
    • Though Elboron was more likely named for Boromir, his late uncle.
      • Besides for the fact that his name isn't even Rohirric (Probably Sindarin — very likely, given his father's taste for the Elvish).
  • Badass
    • Badass Normal: Aside from her training as a shield-maiden, Éowyn is a normal human woman. And yet, it was she who killed the Witch-King, a grand feat that many stronger, older, and wiser than her had tried and failed at over the centuries.
    • Badass Princess: She charges into battle alongside her uncle and brother, taking down orcs and oliphants alike. And she slays the Witch-King.
  • Beta Couple: With Faramir.
  • Big Damn Heroes
  • Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: Ends up with Faramir after learning that Aragorn does not feel the same way toward her.
  • Death Seeker
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Goes up against the Witch-King of Angmar and, with Merry's help, defeats him.
  • Don't You Dare Pity Me!
  • Everything's Better with Princesses
  • Go Through Me: She pulls this on the Witch-King when he tries to kill her fallen uncle.
    "I'll kill you if you touch him!"
  • Lady of War: As the niece of King Théoden and sister of the heir-apparent, she is the official holder of this title in Rohan.
  • Loving a Shadow: Aragorn's response to her is the Trope Namer.
  • Mama Bear: Spectacularly inverted. When Théoden is attacked and defeated by the Witch-King, she steps between them and says that she'll kill the Nazgûl if he gets close to her uncle, and demonstrates the credibility of her threat by effortlessly decapitating his mount when he mocks her.
  • Meaningful Name: "Horse-joy".
  • No Man of Woman Born: One of most famous examples of this.
  • Oh Crap: When she sees how pissed the Witch-King is, and how huge his flail is.
  • Parental Abandonment: Orphaned at a young age, but raised by her uncle.
  • Pair the Spares / Hooked Up Afterwards: With Faramir. The books do a much better job than the films at showing how they fell in love, but the extended edition does remedy this a bit with several scenes of them comforting each other at the Houses of Healing.
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: "I am no man!"
  • Proud Warrior Race Girl: There's plenty of this to go around in Rohan, and Éowyn does not allow the males of her family to hog all the glory.
  • Rebellious Princess: She seems to be fairly obedient of her uncle's wishes most of the time, but if a battle for Rohan is taking place, Éowyn will be there.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like her brother, uncle, and cousin, Éowyn will not hesitate to take to the battlefield alongside the Rohirrim troops in order to protect her homeland. And when she's not in a combat situation, Éowyn can be seen tending to the needs of her people, especially the Rohirrim women and children.
  • Second Love
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man
  • Sweet Polly Oliver: Considering the mentality of Rohirrim women, it's very likely that Éowyn wasn't the only woman or girl disguised as a male soldier at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The fact that everyone in Rohan seems to have long hair probably helped them blend in as well.

Éomer (Karl Urban)

"What business does an Elf, a Man, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!"

Théoden's nephew, Éowyn's brother, and Third Marshal of the great corps of mounted riders that are the main strength of Rohan. Gríma Wormtongue had him exiled to further throw the country into disarray, but Éomer was not so easily dissuaded. As Théoden's nearest male blood relative, the death of Théodred devolves the role of heir-apparent onto him.

Denethor (John Noble)

"Is there a captain here who still has the courage to do his lord's will?"

Denethor is the Steward of Gondor, ruling from Minas Tirith in the absence of the King. He is used to being in charge, and does not like the idea of having to give up power to the rightful heir to the throne.
  • Abusive Parents: Clearly favors Boromir over Faramir, and doesn't seem to care about Faramir until he seemingly dies.
  • Adaptational Villainy: In the novel, he starts off as a wise ruler dedicated to his people who personally has the beacons lit and the civilian population of Minas Tirith evacuated, though it's balanced out by his verbally abusive treatment of Faramir, though he does admit this later on. In the film, he's a paranoid Jerkass from the start, sends Faramir on a suicide mission, and never really shows any redeeming qualities.
  • Burn Baby Burn
  • Anti-Hero: Type III before jumping off the slippery slope. Type V at best when we see him.
  • The Chessmaster
  • Despair Event Horizon: The counterattack failing, Faramir's apparent death, and an extremely large invasion force at his doorstep.
  • Driven to Suicide: And unfortunately is about to take his still living son with him.
  • The Eeyore
  • Fallen Hero
  • Fatal Flaw: Pride and Despair.
  • Flanderization: The movie plays up his madness and Jerkass-ness to a far greater extent than the book, so much so that if you weren't familiar with the original, you wouldn't know he had any redeeming qualities.
  • Foil: To Théoden. Where Théoden managed to pull himself out of his despair and find the courage to save the day, Denethor went mad from grief from Boromir's death. He's also a whole lot more devious than the noble Théoden and doesn't treat his children with equal love and respect.
  • Jerkass: In the movie.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: vs. Sauron, via the Palantir.
  • Insufferable Genius
  • It's All About Me
  • Parental Favoritism
  • Pride
  • Prophetic Fallacy
  • Regent for Life: "Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn son of Arathorn, and I tell you now... I will not bow to some ranger from the north!"
  • Sanity Slippage
  • Self Immolation: His death.
  • Taking You with Me: His son, who he believed to be dead.
  • 24-Hour Armor: Seen as a symbol of his stubbornness and pride, but also redeeming values thereof.

Faramir (David Wenham)

"The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he comes from, and if he really was evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home, and would he not rather have stayed there... in peace? War will make corpses of us all."

Denethor's younger son and Boromir's little brother. Unlike his brother, Faramir does not enjoy combat or power politics, something that has led to him becoming The Unfavorite 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.

    Elves 

Elrond (Hugo Weaving)

"Nine companions. So be it. You shall be the fellowship of the ring."

The Half-Elven, Master of Rivendell, father of Arwen, and bearer of one of the three elven Rings, Vilya the Ring of Air, given to him by Gil-galad before the latter's death at the end of the Second Age. He is a venerable warrior and cunning strategist, but also acts as opposition to Aragorn from a much less lofty post: that of Overprotective Dad.

Arwen (Liv Tyler)

"This was my choice... ada, whether by your will or not, there is no ship now that can bear me hence."

Daughter of Elrond, granddaughter of Galadriel and Celeborn. Arwen Undómiel, the Evenstar, is a half-elven woman of great beauty whom Aragorn hopes to marry. She must choose between immortality or a mortal life if she wishes to remain in Middle-Earth with the King of Gondor.

Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)

    Other Main Characters 

Gollum, originally Sméagol (Andy Serkis)

Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies)

Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm)

See his character sheet in ''The Hobbit'.

    The Forces of Evil 

Sauron (Sala Baker)

The One Ring (voiced by Alan Howard)

Saruman (Christopher Lee)

Grí­ma Wormtongue (Brad Dourif)

Lurtz (Lawrence Makoare)

The Witch-King of Angmar (Bret McIntyre / Lawrence Makoare, voice by Andy Serkis)

Orcs

  • The Ageless: Like the Elves they were supposedly created from, but it isn't fully clear.
  • Always Chaotic Evil
  • Bad Boss: Any given orc in a position of power will probably be one of these.
  • Band of Brothers: Compared to their Orc cousins, The Uruk-hai seems to be this, as they at least treat each other with respect, and when they suffered their first casualty at the Battle of Helm's Deep, their reaction went from threat display to Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
  • Black Blood
  • Blood Knight: All the Uruk-hai, but Ugluk stands out in particular.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Those orcs who aren't Blood Knights are really into this.
  • Conservation of Ninjutsu: The Uruk-hai,
  • Dirty Coward: "Standard" orcs, which is why whip-wielding superiors and/or Nazgûl stand behind them.
  • Enemy Civil War: The only thing keeping the orcs held together is the will of Sauron. Whenever that slackens for whatever reason, they remember that they hate each other almost as much as they hate the other races and almost immediately go for each other's throats. Unless there are people of other races nearby, in which case different tribes of orcs will band together to kill them, then turn on each other.
  • Evil Minions
  • Fantastic Racism: Against Elves, Men, and even other Orcs (there is a rivalry between the Orcs of Mordor, the 'Northerners' from the Misty Mountains who are used to running their own affairs, and Saruman's Uruk-hai).
  • Faux Affably Evil: For the most part.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: The most likely origin of the Uruk-hai.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: They're not very... selective in their diet.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Grishnakh.
  • Mooks
    • Elite Mooks: Uruk-hai (Black Speech for "Orc-people").
    • Mook Lieutenant: Lurtz from the Fellowship film adaptation, Ugluk from The Two Towers, and Gothmog from the Return of the King film adaptation.
      • Gothmog also appears in the book, but it's never specified whether he is an orc or a human.
  • No Cure for Evil: Averted. Orcish medicine is among the most advanced in Middle-Earth, but it tends to be very painful and has heavy scarring.
  • Our Orcs Are Different: Actually, to a degree they are, despite being the Trope Namer. Tolkien's actual orcs are much more advanced and intelligent, and not as physically powerful, than the crude barbarians Always Chaotic Evil orcs are generally portrayed as.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Uruk-hai only. "Standard" orcs are sneaks and cowards.
  • Smug Snake: Grishnakh.
  • Torture Technician: Just about any orc with brains will be one of these.
  • Was Once a Man: The origin that made it into the books is that they were once elves. This is only one possibility, though, and it kept changing right up until Tolkien's death — he didn't like the implications that had for their eternal souls, even though he did not want evil to be capable of independent creation, which would have conflicted with his Christianity.

Trolls

The Mouth of Sauron (Bruce Spence)

Shelob

Shelob was one of the countless brood of Ungoliant, a Great Spider and a relic from a time before Sauron's Shadow. Shelob was the greatest of Ungoliant’s spawn, many times larger than even the largest of Mirkwood's spiders. A purely neutral character, she only served herself, and her hunger and bloodlust would be satisfied by any creature she could consume.
  • Achilles Heel: Her underside is not as tough as the rest of her body; when she gives up trying to paralyze Sam with her venom and decides to crush him, he shoves Sting into her guts.
    • The book emphasizes that unlike dragons, Shelob has no weak spots save for her eyes. Sam is only able to pierce her skin and tissue because she unwittingly slams on his blade with her own, massive strength.
  • Animalistic Abomination: Just like Mommy.
  • Casting a Shadow: Like her mother, she weaves webs of unlight that are perceptible to the Hobbits.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Sauron treats her as his pet. Shelob doesn't care.
  • Eye Scream: Sam stabs her in one eye with Sting during their fight.
  • Giant Spider
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Of the "pure evil" variety. She was stated to be immune to the ring's temptations because power holds no interest for something that just wants to eat everything.
  • Meaningful Name: "Lob" is an archaic word for "spider". She's female. "She-Lob".
  • Nigh Invulnerable
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Her ultimate goal seems to be to eat the whole planet. Mercifully, she's nowhere near accomplishing that.
  • Primal Fear
  • Shrug of God: Whether Sam killed her or not.
  • Spiders Are Scary
  • Time Abyss: She is said to have been around when the earth was born. Although that is moreso her ancestor Ungoliant.
  • The Voiceless: The fact that she was able to work out a deal with Gollum implies she can speak, but she never does during her appearance in the text.
    • Or just that she understands speech, and relented her attack when Gollum begged for his life and promised to bring her tasty things to eat.
  • Weakened By The Light

The Balrog

  • Big Red Devil: He's effectively this on fire.
  • Dark Is Evil
  • Eldritch Abomination: At least, you could tell that Sauron's minions were warped versions of their original selves. This demon is one of many "that should not see the light of day".
  • Fallen Angel: Believe it or not, that demon who just snared and just happens to have a sword and whip, belonged to a race of hyper-intelligent warriors from hell that made the Ringwraiths look like pansies.
  • Iconic Characters
  • Knight of Cerebus: The story was already serious, but he upped the ante and paved the way for the Fellowship's breaking by bringing down Gandalf. (Of course, Gandalf got better.) It also introduced the epic one-on-one fights that would occur later in the story.
  • Large and in Charge: Much larger than the orcs and trolls in Moria, and they seem to be almost as afraid of him as the Fellowship is. In the Peter Jackson films, Durin's Bane is nearly twenty feet tall.
  • Playing with Fire: The movie makes it looks like he's literally a demon of flame.
  • Rasputinian Death: Falls down a deep pit along with Gandalf, as they try to stab one another as they plummet down to the bottom. Once they land, they are immediately submerged, carried down the stream presumably, until they reached the base of a mountain, climb the Endless Stair to the peak of Celebdil, where they fought until Gandalf manages to pierce its heart, causing it to fall down to its death.
  • Whip It Good: He uses a flaming whip in conjunction with a Flaming Sword.

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