*TTT - Sam (Sean Astin)*

[Orual]

Sam has been my favorite character since Gandalf caught him eavesdropping when I first read Fellowship. He is the perfect friend, the perfect companion, the perfect character. He is the true hero of the Lord of the Rings.<P>And Sean Astin does him justice. Not only does he really <I>look</I> like Sam, he captures the essence of Sam's personality. His final speech was the only part of the movie that brought tears to my eyes--and did it ever bring tears to my eyes! I was still sniffling as I left the theatre. And though I was kind of going "what the heck?" when Frodo attacked him, his lines ("Don't you recognize your Sam?") came very close to bringing me to tears. He was really the movie's saving grace for me. With the other characters changed so much, especially Faramir and Frodo (and Gimli, I'm tempted to say), Sam being Sam encouraged me.<P>Congratulations, Sean, and if you don't get nominated for an Oscar it'll be a sin.<P>~*~Orual~*~