Which actor or actress do you think deserves more credit?

[Lathriel]

Ok, there are many people who always credit Viggo, Elijah,or in Orlando's case for his looks. <BR>But don't you sometimes feel like other actors should get a bit more credit for their acting in LOTR.

[Lord of Angmar]

I thought Sean Bean, John Noble (despite the alteration of his character, in which he should be held blameless), Ian Holm and Ian McKellan deserve particular credit for their work. Sean Bean was a splendid Boromir, in my opinion improving upon the character from the book (particularly with his death scene). John Noble was the perfect Denethor, and did extremely well in playing the admittedly rather insane version of Denethor Steward of Gondor. Ian McKellan is simply a stupendous actor, and his proud and unrivaled history of Shakesperean acting made him perfect for a role in a Midieval, English-mythos fantasy world. Ian Holm, as far as I can tell, <I>is</I> Bilbo Baggins, so there was no problem with the casting there. Not to take anything away from the rest of the cast, but these four actors stood out the most for me (a few close seconds were Aragorn, Wormtongue and Saruman).<P>[EDIT]: And of course I had forgotten the hobbits, all of whom played their roles splendidly, especially Sean Astin and Billy Boyd (despite the impediment of having the only Scottish accent in the films).<p>[ 4:22 PM January 04, 2004: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

I think that out of all of them, Andy Serkis (gollum) is by far the best actor in the whole movie. He also had the hardest part, because he has to act as this creature with multiple personalities, both very detailed. He also has to get the right emotions and reactions from the audience (sadness, pity, hate) and he does it so well that he becomes almost real.<BR>But among the fellowship, I'd say that Viggo Mortenson was the best actor.

[Foolofatook]

Please let us not forget Andy Serkis who was actually considered for best actor in TTT and Brad Dourif who was simply phenominal as Wormtongue. Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Miranda Otto, Bernard Hill etc. And oh please let us not forget Christopher Lee. If he was such a Tolkien freak then why did he mispronounce Caradhras whereas McKellen didn't? (That's ok, I make the same mistake on purpose). Saruman was chilling, excellent job.

[Meela]

Definitely John Noble. He played one of the most complex characters, and one of the most memorable, judging by that death... and he rarely gets recognised. Apparently he was once mistaken for a security guard... *hides her amusement*<P>Also the hobbits should get more credit. And definitely Sean Bean. I suppose people think that since they're not *main* main characters, they haven't put in as much effort as the others, yet they have.<P>I'm glad to see Andy Serkis is getting a lot of credit. At the beginning, wasn't he rather understated because he was only a voice in the actual film?

[Lathriel]

I also think David Wenham who plays Faramir isn't mentioned enough. I think he does a great job. he and John Noble realy acted well together in the father/son scene.<BR>Also I think Billy is often forgotten though he got more material to work with in ROTK.

[Meela]

Actually, I think David Wenham is getting a lot of credit. Or at least more than he did for TTT. But it might just be my own experience...

[Lord of Angmar]

This thread may well turn into a listing of all the actors and actresses involved in the <I>Lord of the Rings</I>, since for the most part they all did such an excellent job and since the ones who didn't do quite as well will still be recognized by the many fans of the characters from the book that they portray (or because they are young, good-looking blond men ). Of course Andy Serkis as Smeagol deserves tons of credit, which I should have mentioned in my first post. He acted and looked almost exactly like how I imagined the old rascal.

[Evisse the Blue]

Let's not forget that it was Elijah Wood who got to 'carry the burden' of being the main character and all. In FOTR for instance it all revolved around him and that's a heavy task. A poor performance coming from him would have reflected badly on the entire film, while a poor performance from, say, Legolas or Arwen would have been more easily overlooked and forgiven. He's also the youngest of them all, which made the achievement even more outstanding. In my opinion, he really deserves 'best actor'.<P>There's also Sean Bean who is an outstanding actor per se and he shines, no matter what sort of movie he's in. Even in relatively poor films (take 'Don't say a word', for instance), his performance is one to be remembered. The same is with Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee.<P>The one actor who really amazed me in this movie (as opposed to not liking him at all in other movies) was Viggo Mortensen. He played Aragorn in such a way that made up even for the stupidest of lines he was sometimes made to utter ('Let's hunt some Orc' ). He really lived that part and captured the best of the character that is Aragorn, in the same manner that Sean Bean brought out the best in Boromir. There are moments in the book, when (IMO) Aragorn comes off as arrogant, but Viggo played it with determination yet honesty. <P>Oh, and I agree that some folks get too little credit. I may be wrong, but it's my impression Andy Serkis and Dominic Monaghan are mainly overlooked, which is a shame.<P>I have to mention I haven't seen ROTK yet (I know, I know... , blame slow Eastern Europe movie-traffic; going to see it tomorrow, though ), so my opinions are based on FOTR and TTT.

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>If he was such a Tolkien freak then why did he mispronounce Caradhras whereas McKellen didn't?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>how did he pronounce it? isn't it supposed to be "Carathras" with the "th" voiced as in "then" based on how the welsh say it? i've been confused on that for a while so someone help. <BR>And I thought Frodo, despite having to "carry the burden" wasn't really the best. Not that he was horrible, its just that he got kind of annoying every now and them.

[Failivrin]

Christopher Lee, David Wenham and Brad Dourif.<P>It takes something to make a character so chilling or heart rending as that.

[The Great Shadowfax]

i think Andy Serkis did a great job doing Gollum. He was only actually seen on the screen for one small part but i think he worked harder than some of the other actors. he had to do the takes with the actors, then go back and do his movements for the digital animation and then the voice too. i thought he did great.<BR>and of course Billy did great singing that song...not every actor can sing all by themselves and sound that good <BR>but thats just my personal oppinion...<BR>See you in the Great Plains in the sky...<BR>~Luindringiel~<BR>~Pennsarnien~

[Lathriel]

I agree with evisse the blue that Elijah had a large responsibility.<BR>If he wasn't the right actor the movie would have been a flop.

[Diamond18]

Well, I generally think all the actors did very well in their roles, but I guess if we're talking about deserving <I>extra</I> credit, Sean Astin stands out in my mind. By now we've all probably read the account of his and PJ's differences of opinion over Sam's portrayal, and so I'm really glad we got an actor who was willing to stand up for his character (without getting kicked out of the production!) And the way he had to gain all those extra pounds? My goodness. And that time when he stepped on the shard of glass and impaled his foot? Ouch! He deserves all the credit in the world. Kudos!

[Rosenberg]

Credit seems to be going where it should all around. I just don't understand why a lot of people seem to be so down on Hugo Weaving . . . but Christopher Lee, now there's a guy I enjoyed watching. Too bad he got shafted for ToTK. He could have showed off his speaking of the Dark Tongue like he did on the extended DVD interview segments.

[zb]

Re: Hugo Weaving.<BR>In FotR, I was kinda sceptical. In TT I cringed*. <P>In RotK, I went: he's done it! His character may have been screwed up by PJ**, but he has acted that character so well it doesn't matter. I nearly started clapping in the scenes at the end, when he's standing with Arwen. Whoo! Go Hugo!<P>Re: actors deserving of more credit:<BR>Dominic Monaghan; Billy Boyd; Miranda Oto; David Wenham.<P>*In hindsight this may have been due to the cringeworthy lines he was forced to utter.<BR>**Were there any characters who weren't at least somewhat screwed up by PJ?

Bernard Hill, as King Theoden!<P>I loved every scene with him in all three movies..he brought one of my favorite characters from the books to life extremely well!

[Liriodendron]

Mmmmm! I agree with that! Bernard Hill as Theoden was totally wonderful!

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I've enjoyed Karl Urban's performance as Eomer a lot! It was a pity that his role in the third movie was so small...<BR>And speaking as a girl, I thought he was very attractive too

[Liriodendron]

Yeah! I liked those little wrinkles on his forehead!

[The Wraith]

Gollum is awesome!He had to do the voice(which was very hard).He read out the travel news on the radio!!It was hysterical.I liked Aragorn best.Oh yeh, Arwen, for her looks(Liv Tyler is one sexy elf!!)LOL.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I don't mean to turn this thread into a negative one (I'm sorry!) but I think Bernard Hill and David Wenham get a bit too much credit. I thought their performances were passable, but not great.<P>Karl Urban was fantastic with what small role he had. Overall, I think Ian McKellan is definitely the best actor out of the lot of them, but his <B>Staff Action</B> in <I>The Return of the King</I>, somewhat soured the movie character of Gandalf. A shame, as this was not McKellan's fault.<P>Overall, movie Eomer is closer to book Eomer than any other movie character is to their book counterpart, in my opinion. But I think Ian McKellan deserves most praise, as his was such a pivotal role and his acting was so wonderful. He can say more with one raise of his eyebrows than most actors can with their whole bodies and voices.<p>[ 11:05 AM January 05, 2004: Message edited by: Eomer of the Rohirrim ]

[The Only Real Estel]

I'd say that the most deserving actors would be:<P>*Ian McKellan<P>*Sean Bean<P>*Andy Serkis<P>*Sean Astin<P>*Viggo Mortensen<P>*Karl Urban<P>*Brad Dourif<P><BR> Occasionally Viggo 'talked through his nose' as some people say, but I find it hard to imagine another Aragorn. Sean Bean actually expanded on the character of Boromir & made him more understandable, & oh yeah, he did an awesome job of acting also . Sean Astin made a great Sam (great acting again), & Andy Serkis put in so much work on making Gollum so great that it's hard not to include him. Dourif did really well as Wormtounge, & Karl Urban did well in what role/screen time he was given, and of course Ian McKellan was the absolute perfect Gandalf & probably the best actor in the films (with Sean Bean awfully close).<p>[ 11:56 AM January 05, 2004: Message edited by: The Only Real Estel ]

[Foolofatook]

Karl Urban? Sorry, I guess I just didn't see a whole lot of acting out of Karl. He was passable in his confrontation with Gimli, a little flat in his confrontation with Grima (Though the EE shows a great scene when Eomer sees the banishment is signed by Theoden. That was his shining moment and it missed the actual film), and then he disappears completely. I think maybe he could have been one of the better actors in the movies he just never really shone the way some others did. My top five and in order: 1. Ian McKellen, some people considered not seeing TTT because they thought he was dead. 2. Brad Dourif, he makes Wormtongue as wretchedly devious as I always knew he was. Also the scene when Theoden tosses him down the stairs was gold. 3. Andy Serkis, Andy faced an unbelievable challenge as Gollum. His skitsofrenic (sp) scene in TTT made my eyes light up and he also did a great job in the opener as Smeagol in RotK. 4. Christopher Lee, preformed Saruman to a T but how could he not. An old power has arisen again. 5. Bernard Hill, he made Theoden one of the main characters of TTT by simply overpowering anyone else on screen with him. "Who am I Gamling?" "Now for wrath, now for ruin, and the red dawn!"<P>PS <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> We must take the paths of Ca-ra-thras <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Ian McKellen<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> So you tried to lead them over Car-a-dras <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Christopher Lee<P>The dh makes a hard th sound in Middle Earth but Saruman uses it as a d. I think I like him more for it though.

[The Only Real Estel]

I also should've added Christopher Lee to my list.

[Finwe]

I think that Ian McKellen is one of the best actors that I have ever seen. He can definitely communicate a LOT more with one lift of his eyebrow than many other actors can do in an entire movie.

[Iris Alantiel]

Even though I'm totally biased, I'm going to say that Sean Astin deserves more credit. There is only one character that I couldn't deal with seeing them get wrong, and that was Sam: I seriously would have cried if they had made mistakes with him, since he's always been my favourite. But I thought Sean was a brilliant Sam, and, like the real Sam, he so often gets overlooked in favour of Frodo.<P>Also, I think Miranda Otto did an excellent job of Éowyn. She's a much more complex character than, say, Arwen, I think, and Miranda really brings those complexities out so well. I was heartbroken that the Houses of Healing were left out and the relationship between Faramir and Éowyn (and her sudden lack of feelings for Aragorn) went unexplained, but that's not her fault. <P>Lastly, I thought Dominic Monaghan and, even more so, Billy Boyd really shone in RotK. That scene when Gandalf is taking Pippin to Gondor and he and Merry get separated was incredibly moving. I think it's particularly great how Pippin shows growth and emotional depth, but still keeps his fun, lovable, hobbit-like side, and I think that's something that's so hard to portray convincingly.

[Linaeve]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Let's not forget that it was Elijah Wood who got to 'carry the burden' of being the main character and all. In FOTR for instance it all revolved around him and that's a heavy task. A poor performance coming from him would have reflected badly on the entire film, while a poor performance from, say, Legolas or Arwen would have been more easily overlooked and forgiven. He's also the youngest of them all, which made the achievement even more outstanding. In my opinion, he really deserves 'best actor'.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>As an aside comment- I always thought that Orlando Bloom was the youngest? Personally, though, I think that Sean Astin deserves the most credit . . . he has so much character development to deal with, and he handled it all beautifully. Of all the characters, I think his portrayal stayed most true to how Sam was portrayed in the book.

[doug*platypus]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Let's not forget that it was Elijah Wood who got to 'carry the burden' of being the main character and all. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Quite true, Evisse. Just like Frodo in the book, Elijah doesn't quite seem to get the recognition he deserves. He is as close to Frodo in appearance and, well just overall feeling that anyone could possibly be, in my opinion. It's a real loss the way the writers destroyed Frodo's character. Elijah would have really made them his movies given a more complete character to work with, and some better lines.<P>Ian Holm did at least as marvellous a job as Ian McKellen, but doesn't seem to get talked about as much. Fair enough, I suppose as Bilbo was hardly in the last two movies. I think he's a large part of why FOTR was so well received, though. Kind of like how having Alec Guinness in the original <I>Star Wars</I> is one of the things that make you go back to it time after time. Ian Holm is pure gold.<P>David Wenham may not have acted up to his potential in the movies, but he deserves a lot of credit nonetheless. I'm impressed that he continued to turn up on set day after day. I saw an interview where he was saying how he read the book and then suddenly realised how his character had been totally butchered by the writers. Poor guy.<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Were there any characters who weren't at least somewhat screwed up by PJ? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Boromir, and only Boromir. But don't forget that it was PJ/FW/PB doing the writing, not just PJ. He had a <B>lot</B> of other things to do, as well. I'm starting to think that maybe it would have been better if the three movies <I>hadn't</I> been filmed at the same time.<P>Oh, yeah, also the performances by Karl Urban and Miranda Otto were one of the best things about TTT. Go Australia! Go NZ!!

[Frodo2968thewhite]

CHRISTOPHER LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<BR >He is my MOST FAVORITE ACTOR!!!!!!!!!!!<BR>He has studied Tolkien's works and has been a fanatic scince he was a kid, and I think that he deserves all the credit in the world!

[Kidd2323]

The best piece of casting was Brad Dourif as Wormtongue; and he didn't disappoint! I couldn't think of a better choice to play the snake-like, sniveling worm.<BR>Sean Bean did play Boromir excellently (the added bit in TTT-EE was phenomonal), and Sean Astin picked up his performance in RotK.<BR>The best actor/character, however, has to be Andy Serkis as Gollum; to think the creative team had to reprogram the visions of Gollum to make him more Andy-like speaks volumes about the job he did with the character.

[Lathriel]

I would just like to point out Iris Alantiel that with the character Eowyn the writers have lot more work with than with Arwen. Even in the appendices you don't learn much about Arwen's character other than that she is the most beautiful elf since Luthien and that she dearly loves Aragorn.<BR>However Eowyn is an important character in the book.

[Everdawn]

Well i am Biased to say KARL URBAN! - but putting away my Prada fangirl boots. I would say that it is impossible to say that there was one actor <I>better</I> than the rest.<P>However, i can say the following stood out.<P>Karl Urban: I loved the bitterness he felt after being exiled from Rohan.<P>Brad Dourif: Wow, i just shudder every time i see him! Which means the actor did a great job! - I think his lines to Éowyn over Théodred's body were my fave. of the whole movie.<BR>(A running joke between my girlfriends and i now is every time we see a clip of Wormtongue we yell "Take it off... er.. Put it back on!)<P>John Noble: ROTK, yes, i agree, (apart form his bad table manners) He did a wonderful job.<P>But above all, the actor which has sent me to tears the most has been *drum roll*<P>Hugo Weaving!: I was moved to tears in ROTK especially when he came to Aragorn and said "I come on behalf of one i love" and i just lost it. BUt not only ROTK but throughout the entire movie, Elrond has been special.<P>>>> I really do love everyone else though! it was Tops!<P><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Go Australia! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Indeed! Im so proud of our aussies who were cast. A wonderful plug for the sorry state of our film industry.<p>[ 4:40 AM January 06, 2004: Message edited by: Everdawn ]

I think Aragorn ought to be given lots of credit. He wasn't the original Aragorn they cast and so he had about a week between the time he was cast and he got on film. The guy that played Lurtz, because he had so much makeup and all. Gandalf because he was just perfect and could do everything he did well. Merry and Pippin becasue they are just perfect for the part. Personally I loved Galadrial. She has this elvish air surrounding her and has an awesome voice too. I didn't like Legolas (I'm biased because of the books), Denathor (He was played awesomly but when he eats I lose my stomach), Haldir (I'm not sure why), Eowyn (some of the parts bug me to death), Frodo (because all of his scenes are annoyingly slow), and finally Celeborn.

[Failivrin]

Linaeve: Elijah is 22 and Orlando is 26, i think.<P>To elaborate on my previous post:<P>CHRISTOPHER LEE: he was simply fantastic. For me, he embodied Saruman; he was wise, yet creepy and the fact that he has studied Tolkien for so long and actually MET him makes him even more deserving. Plus, i have a lot of respect for Christopher Lee and he is one of my faovurite actors.<P>BRAD DOURIF: he looks inherently evil and he seems to get every character he plays perfectly right. Has anybody seen Mississippi Burning? IMO, he completely stole that film. But anyway, i believe that these two actors were two of the best out of the whole cast and i can't forgive PJ for cutting them from ROTK; he just shot himself in the foot.<P>DAVID WENHAM: i really didn't like him in the theatrical cut of TTT, but in ROTK i thought he was wonderful. The scene between Denethor and Faramir was one of the only ones that made me cry and that was mostly due to David Wenham's fantabulous performance. Now if he could just have black hair he would be my perfect Faramir

I think Samwise did the most heroic stuff in the third movie

[elenquesse]

I think Andy Serkis deserves the most credit because when he first came on the set, a lot of the other actors didn't feel they needed him, just his voice. And of course there was the constant tearing of his vocal cords (it even sounds painful) and when he had to jump and roll around in a frozen lake.<P>Next I would say Sean Astin; his "Sam" was utterly unforgettable, and in my eyes, he was the star of RotK. Always the humble servant, but a strong ally as well.<P>I would also mention John Noble; I hated him so much as Denethor that must count for something.<P>P.S. I was shocked to hear that Stuart Townsend ("Queen of the Damned") was the first pick for Aragorn!!! PJ thankfully realized he was way too young.

[Everdawn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Personally I loved Galadrial <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I love the way Cate's voice just Purrs..<P>Oh and i just noticed this when i watched TTT and ROTK.<P>One of the animal actors which deservs some credit is Éomer's horse. Has anyone noticed what a handsome horse it is?

[Firefoot]

Thank you Everdawn. <P>I would say that Sean Astin did an excellent job as Sam. He is one that really stands out to me for playing his part well, and so often he gets overlooked because of Frodo.<P>Andy Serkis also did a good job as Smeagol. I would say he has one of the hardest parts because he is not actually in the movie, if you understand me, because Smeagol is a computerized character.