"than in their equivalent books, and he appears in several scenes that are not depicted in Tolkien's work. In the films, Saruman is depicted presenting himself outright as a servant of Sauron. Smith and Matthews suggest that Saruman's role is built up as a substitute for Sauron—the story's main antagonist—who never appears directly in the book. Jackson confirms this view in the commentary to the DVD. They also suggest that having secured veteran British horror actor Christopher Lee to play Saruman, it made sense to make greater use of his star status. Despite this increased role in the first two"
"begins roughly where Bakshi's film ends but does not include Saruman's character. BBC Radio's second adaptation of ""The Lord of the Rings"", from 1981, presents Saruman much as in the books. Smith and Matthews report Peter Howell's performance as Saruman as ""brilliantly ambiguous ..., drifting from mellifluous to almost bestially savage from moment to moment without either mood seeming to contradict the other"". Saruman is played by Matti Pellonpää in the 1993 television miniseries ""Hobitit"" that was produced and aired by Finnish broadcaster Yle. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy (2001–2003), Saruman is significantly more active in the first two films"
"Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor and film director. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation and voice work for such computer-generated characters as Gollum in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy (2001–2003) and """" (2012), King Kong in the eponymous 2005 film, Caesar in the ""Planet of the Apes"" reboot series (2011–17), Captain Haddock / Sir Francis Haddock in Steven Spielberg's ""The Adventures of Tintin"" (2011), and Supreme Leader Snoke in the first two ""Star Wars"" sequel trilogy films, """" (2015) and """" (2017)."
"Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor, singer, military officer, and author. With a career spanning nearly 70 years, Lee was well known for portraying villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a sequence of Hammer Horror films, a typecasting situation he always lamented. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film ""The Man with the Golden Gun"" (1974), Saruman in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy (2001–2003) and ""The Hobbit"" film trilogy (2012–2014), and Count Dooku in the"
"of the Caribbean"" movies, """", ""Deadpool 2"", Braven, ""Sleepless"", and ""Mile 22"". Baker was also a part of the miscellaneous crew in the making of ""The Last Samurai"" in 2003. Sala Baker Sala Baker (born September 22, 1976) is an actor and stuntman from New Zealand. He is best known for portraying the villain Sauron in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson. Sala Baker is a nephew of actor Ben Baker. Originally hired as one of several stunt performers for ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy, he ended up landing the part of the Dark Lord"
"Sala Baker Sala Baker (born September 22, 1976) is an actor and stuntman from New Zealand. He is best known for portraying the villain Sauron in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson. Sala Baker is a nephew of actor Ben Baker. Originally hired as one of several stunt performers for ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy, he ended up landing the part of the Dark Lord Sauron. In addition, he also played several Orcs, a Gondorian, and one of the Rohirrim. Outside of ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy, Baker has performed in """", two ""Pirates"
"King Louis XVI, Maximilien de Robespierre, and others. Lee played Saruman in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy. In the commentary, he stated he had a decades-long dream to play Gandalf, but that he was now too old, and that his physical limitations prevented him from being considered. The role of Saruman, by contrast, required no horseback riding and much less fighting. Lee had met J. R. R. Tolkien once (making him the only person involved in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy to have done so) and made a habit of reading the novels at least once"
"who played Saruman in the film. The Tolkien Ensemble contacted him and he agreed to take part in the ensemble's third Album ""At Dawn in Rivendell"", partly as narrator, partly as singer of Treebeard's songs. The cooperation with Christopher Lee combined with the growing interest for the work of Tolkien, resulted in a huge success for the ensemble's Third album. The album was released in 22 countries throughout the world, played on the radio in a great number of countries, and was given excellent reviews. The International Herald Tribune called the ensemble's music: 'Total Lord of the Rings magic!' ""At"
"David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy, Carl in ""Van Helsing"", Dilios in ""300"" and its sequel """", Al Parker in ""Top of the Lake"", and Lieutenant John Scarfield in """". He is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in ""SeaChange"". Wenham was born in Marrickville, Sydney, the son of Kath and Bill Wenham. He has five older sisters; Helen, Anne, Carmel,"
"Marton Csokas Marton Paul Csokas (; born 30 June 1966) is a New Zealand actor. His roles include Celeborn in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film series (2001–03), Yorgi in ""xXx"" (2002), Guy de Lusignan in ""Kingdom of Heaven"" (2005), Trevor Goodchild in ""Æon Flux"" (2005), Hora in ""Romulus, My Father"" (2007), Nico in ""Dead Europe"" (2012), Jack Barts in """" (2012), Lieutenant Barnes in ""Pawn"" (2013), and Nicolai Itchenko in ""The Equalizer"" (2014). Marton was born in Invercargill, New Zealand, the son of Margaret Christine (née Rayner), a nurse, and Márton Csókás I, who worked as a mechanical engineer."
"Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He gained recognition for his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's ""Spider-Man"" trilogy. His other major films include ""Pleasantville"" (1998), ""The Cider House Rules"" (1999), ""Wonder Boys"" (2000), ""Seabiscuit"" (2003), ""The Good German"" (2006), ""Brothers"" (2009), and ""The Great Gatsby"" (2013). He was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe Awards, and received two Saturn Awards, including one for Best Actor. He established his own production company in 2012 called Material Pictures, and co-produced ""Good People"" that same year."
"Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He gained recognition for his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's ""Spider-Man"" trilogy. His other major films include ""Pleasantville"" (1998), ""The Cider House Rules"" (1999), ""Wonder Boys"" (2000), ""Seabiscuit"" (2003), ""The Good German"" (2006), ""Brothers"" (2009), and ""The Great Gatsby"" (2013). He was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe Awards, and received two Saturn Awards, including one for Best Actor. He established his own production company in 2012 called Material Pictures, and co-produced ""Good People"" that same year."
"Rankin/Bass animated version of ""The Return of the King"", and by Elin Jenkins in BBC Radio's 1981 serialisation. Éowyn also appears briefly in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 adaptation of ""The Lord of the Rings"", but does not have any dialogue. In Peter Jackson's films """" (2002) and """" (2003), Éowyn is played by Miranda Otto. (The role was first offered to Iben Hjejle, who turned it down because she did not like the idea of being away from Denmark; Uma Thurman was slated for the role at one point.) In the original novel and Jackson's adaptation, it is implied that Saruman"
"Howell's most recognised role was as Dr. Peter Harrison in television hospital drama series ""Emergency – Ward 10"" from 1958 to 1964, making brief returns to the series in 1966 and for the show's final episode in 1967. He made guest appearances in ""The Avengers"", ""The Prisoner"", the ""Doctor Who"" serial ""The Mutants"" and ""Yes Minister"". He played the prison governor in the 1979 film ""Scum"". On BBC Radio 4, Howell played Saruman in the 1981 adaptation of ""The Lord of the Rings"" and had a recurring role as the Right Reverend Cyril Hood, Bishop of Felpersham, in the long-running"
"was confirmed that Christopher Lee would reprise his role as Saruman the White. Lee had originally said he would have liked to have shown how Saruman is first corrupted by Sauron, but would not be comfortable flying to New Zealand at his age. Lee went on to say that if a film were made, he would love to voice Smaug, as it would mean he could record his part in England and not have to travel. On 10 January 2011, it was reported that Lee had entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Saruman. On 21 March 2011, Jeffrey"
"in the book of ""wraithing"", a distinctive 20th-century view of evil that he attributes to Tolkien in which individuals are ""'eaten up inside' by devotion to some abstraction"". Referring to Saruman's demise, Kocher says that he is one example of the consistent theme of nothingness as the fate of evil throughout ""The Lord of the Rings"". Saruman has appeared in film, audio and stage adaptations of ""The Lord of the Rings"". BBC Radio produced the first adaptation in 1956, in which Saruman was played by Robert Farquharson, and which has not survived. Tolkien was apparently disappointed by it. In Ralph"
"Kari Väänänen portrayed Gollum () in the 1993 live-action television miniseries ""Hobitit"" [The Hobbits] that was produced and broadcast by the Finnish network Yle. In Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy, Gollum is a CGI character voiced and performed by actor Andy Serkis. He is smaller than both Frodo and Sam. Barely glimpsed in """" (2001), he becomes a central character in """" (2002) and """" (2003). The CGI character was built around Serkis' facial features, voice, and acting choices. Serkis based the iconic """"gollum"""" throat noise on the sound of his cat coughing up hairballs. Using"
"main cast of AMC's martial arts drama series ""Into the Badlands"", playing the major role of Quinn. In 2016, he co-starred with Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga in the Jeff Nichols-directed drama film ""Loving"", starred alongside Vera Farmiga in the comedy-drama ""Burn Your Maps"". Csokas stars alongside Emilia Clarke in the supernatural thriller ""Voice from the Stone"", scheduled for release in April 2017. Marton Csokas Marton Paul Csokas (; born 30 June 1966) is a New Zealand actor. His roles include Celeborn in ""The Lord of the Rings"" film series (2001–03), Yorgi in ""xXx"" (2002), Guy de Lusignan in ""Kingdom"
"Patrick Bach Patrick Bach (born 30th March, 1968) is a German actor and voice actor. His parents are Beate Molina and lawyer Horst Bach. He was discovered while playing a football game and was given the title role in the miniseries ""Silas"", based on the books by Cecil Bødker. Bach is best known for his lead roles in the two miniseries ""Silas"" (1981) and ""Jack Holborn"" (1982). He is married, with two children, and currently lives with his family in Hamburg. He is the German voice of Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy and"
"Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. He has portrayed Leonard McCoy in the ""Star Trek"" reboot film series (2009–), Éomer in the and installments of Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy, Vaako in the ""Riddick"" film series, Gavin in ""Pete's Dragon"", John Grimm in ""Doom"", and Judge Dredd in ""Dredd"". He earned a Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the New Zealand film ""Out of the Blue"". Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, a German immigrant, owned a leather goods store,"
"is able to resist the One Ring, in direct contrast to the portrayal in Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy. In Rankin/Bass' 1980 adaptation of ""The Return of the King"", a dark-haired man is shown next to Éowyn in greeting Aragorn as he arrives to Minas Tirith. This character could be interpreted as Faramir. In the ""Lord of the Rings"" movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, Faramir is played by David Wenham. The actor jokes that he got the role because he and Sean Bean, who played Boromir, both had large noses. Faramir and his brother's appearances"
"Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy (2001–03) and the ""Hobbit"" trilogy (2012–14), both of which are adapted from the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. Other films include the critically lauded drama ""Heavenly Creatures"" (1994), the mockumentary film ""Forgotten Silver"" (1995), the horror comedy ""The Frighteners"" (1996), the epic monster remake film ""King Kong"" (2005), the supernatural drama film ""The Lovely Bones"" (2009), and the"
"Records and The Haçienda nightclub. In the DVD commentary, Wilson notes a review that described Hannett as Serkis' ""strangest role"" and points out that Serkis is best known for his portrayal of Gollum in Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy. Wilson concludes that the reviewer's implication is correct, that indeed, Hannett was far stranger than the ""Lord of the Rings"" character. Hannett was portrayed by Ben Naylor in Anton Corbijn's film ""Control"" (2007). Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer and an original"
"John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a British actor, voice actor and producer, known for his portrayal of Gimli in the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy and the charismatic excavator Sallah in the ""Indiana Jones"" films. He also played Agent Michael Malone in the 1993 remake of the 1950s television series ""The Untouchables"", Pilot Vasco Rodrigues in the mini-series ""Shōgun"", Professor Maximillian Arturo in ""Sliders"", King Richard I in ""Robin of Sherwood"", General Leonid Pushkin in the James Bond film ""The Living Daylights"", and Macro in ""I, Claudius"". Additionally, he provided the voices of Cassim in Disney's"
"the 1981 BBC Radio serial of ""The Lord of the Rings"". Kari Väänänen portrayed him in the 1993 Finnish television miniseries ""Hobitit"". In the ""Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy (2001–2003) directed by Peter Jackson, Aragorn is played by Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen who took over the role from Stuart Townsend after four days of shooting because Jackson felt Townsend was too young for the role. In these movies, Aragorn begins his journey with the Fellowship with no desire to claim the kingship; he only arrives at such a decision in the third film after spending much time battling his"
"by an Inuit woman and her daughter, whom he later pits against one another. Bean's most prominent role was as Boromir in Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy. His major screen time occurs in the first installment, """". He appears briefly in flashbacks in """" and """", as well as in a scene from the extended edition of ""The Two Towers"". Before casting finished, rumours circulated that Jackson had considered Bean for the role of Aragorn, but neither Bean nor Jackson confirmed this in subsequent interviews. Bean's fear of flying in helicopters caused him difficulties in mountainous New"
"cinema's greatest villains. He meanwhile gave an acclaimed reading of Ludwig van Beethoven in ""Immortal Beloved"" (1994). In the 21st century, Oldman is known for his roles as Sirius Black in the ""Harry Potter"" series, James Gordon in ""The Dark Knight Trilogy"", Lord Shen in ""Kung Fu Panda 2"" (2011), George Smiley in ""Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"" (2011), a human leader in ""Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"" (2014), and Winston Churchill in ""Darkest Hour"" (2017), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Films in which he has starred have grossed over $11 billion. In addition to"
"Pictures Online Film Critics Society Screen Actors Guild Awards Billy Boyd (actor) Billy Boyd (born 28 August 1968) is a Scottish actor and musician. He played Peregrin ""Pippin"" Took in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy ""The Lord of the Rings"" (2001–2003), Barret Bonden in """" (2003) and Glen in ""Seed of Chucky"". Boyd was born in Glasgow, Scotland to William and Mary Boyd, who both died a year apart when Boyd was in his early teens. He worked as a bookbinder for six years before pursuing an acting career. After graduating from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama,"
"body attacks. Peter Woodthorpe Peter Woodthorpe (25 September 1931 – 12 August 2004) was an English film, television and voice actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of ""The Lord of the Rings"" and BBC's 1981 radio serial. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cult series ""Monkey"" and was Max the pathologist in early episodes of ""Inspector Morse"". In the summer of 1955 he played Estragon in the first British production of ""Waiting for Godot"". He had then just finished his second year reading Biochemistry at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and expected to"
"the Rings"", Théoden's death is described in song rather than dramatized conventionally. In this adaptation he is voiced by Jack May. Théoden is an important character in Peter Jackson's film adaption of the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy. As in the books, the character (played by Bernard Hill) first makes an appearance in """" (2002). However, unlike in the books, the Lord of the Mark is actually possessed and prematurely aged by Saruman (Christopher Lee). Gandalf (Ian McKellen) releases him from the spell, instantly restoring him to his true age, after which Théoden banishes Gríma Wormtongue (Brad Dourif) from Edoras."
"John Noble John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor and theatre director of more than 80 plays. He is best known for his roles as Dr. Walter Bishop in the American Fox science fiction television series ""Fringe"", and Henry Parrish in the Fox action-horror series ""Sleepy Hollow"". His most high-profile film role was as Denethor in Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy. He also provided the voice of the DC Comics supervillain Scarecrow in the 2015 video game """", where his character served as the main antagonist. In 2015, he joined the main cast of"
"Starring John Noble,"" he portrayed himself when Atom visited him on set of """" and had him record a fake rewrite which would be used to fool Nora Darhk. John Noble John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor and theatre director of more than 80 plays. He is best known for his roles as Dr. Walter Bishop in the American Fox science fiction television series ""Fringe"", and Henry Parrish in the Fox action-horror series ""Sleepy Hollow"". His most high-profile film role was as Denethor in Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy. He also provided the"
"categories; all three ""Lord of the Rings"" pictures as well as ""King Kong"" won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in their respective years. In total Jackson's directed efforts have been the most awarded films at three separate Academy Award ceremonies, the 74th, 76th and 78th. Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy (2001–03) and the ""Hobbit"" trilogy (2012–14), both of which are adapted from the novels of the"