Cirdan the Shipwright...the most significant 'bit parter' in Middle Earth?

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by malickfan

Besides having a beard (rare for elves)

In a certain sense yes, in a certain sense no. If I recall correctly, elves go through three major "ages". Growing a beard is actually normal for a male elf when he reaches his third age (there was oneelf if I recall, who did grow one in his second age but that was the exception, not the rule) . It's just that, among those elves who lived in ME in the third age, Cirdain was the only one OLD enough to have a beard. He's not only the oldest elf, he is the oldest elf by quite a bit, so he already has a beard (and based on how long it is described as being, has probably had it for a while (I'm assuming elven hair grows at more or less the same rate as human.) But I imagine that, if you were somehow able to get a look at the returned elves now living in Aman, you would see quite a few elven men with facial hair (elves do keep ageing after they reach the blessed lands, right?).