'The Lord of the Rings' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Sean Astin and Elijah Wood.

Plenty of fantasy novels have been adapted for film and TV, but arguably none have been as successful as Peter Jackson’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Beginning with 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by 2002’s The Two Towers and 2003’s The Return of the King, the films were critically acclaimed and remain beloved by fans two decades later.

The films were also life-changing for its cast members, many of whom were already well-known actors but are now globally famous following the success of LOTR. Ian McKellen, for example, had been acting since the 1960s, but his turn as Gandalf made him a household name in a way that none of his work had before.

“I still don’t quite know how Gandalf came my way,” he told British GQ in 2021. “I think because some of the actors who would have been offered it before me were rather put off by the idea of having to live in New Zealand for a year. ‘Where the hell is that?’ Well, more fool them.”

McKellen and seven other members of the film’s cast—Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean—famously got matching tattoos of the Elvish word for “nine” to commemorate their time working on the trilogy, which filmed for more than a year. (The only actor who declined was John Rhys-Davies, but his stunt double, ??Brett Beattie, got the ink instead.)

"It was one of those beautiful moments, where we all felt like we had been through this war, this battle, together in a lot of different ways," Monaghan told Entertainment Weekly of the tattoos in 2016. "That really brought together that family feeling."

The world of Middle-earth keeps growing, both with Jackson (The Hobbit trilogy) and in other realms. In 2022, Prime Video debuted the TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and in 2024, the animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will hit theaters. Nothing, however, has ever topped the original trilogy. Keep reading to find out where the cast is now.

Where is the cast of The Lord of the Rings now?

Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins)

Elijah Wood had already made a name for himself as a child actor before he put on the prosthetic Hobbit feet, but his turn as Frodo catapulted him to a new level of stardom. After LOTR, Wood starred in movies including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Everything Is Illuminated and led the casts of TV shows Wilfred and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. In 2023, he appeared as citizen detective Walter in Season 2 of Yellowjackets.

Wood and his partner, Mette-Marie Kongsved, welcomed a son in 2019 and a daughter in 2022.

Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee)

Like his costar Wood, Sean Astin also got his start as a child star, most famously in The Goonies. Following his turn as the absolute best friend in the history of film and literature, Astin starred in tons of movies, including 50 First Dates, Click, The Do-Over and Gloria Bell. His TV resume is similarly long, but some of his most notable roles include Bob Newby on Stranger Things and Sunny Gryce on Perry Mason.

Astin and his wife, Christine Harrell, share three daughters: Alexandra (born in 1996), Elizabeth (born in 2002), and Isabella (born in 2005). Alexandra had a small cameo in The Return of the King as Sam’s daughter, Elanor.

Billy Boyd (Pippin Took)

After playing “fool of a Took” Pippin, Billy Boyd racked up roles in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy and Walking With Herb. He also voiced Glen and Glenda, the offspring of evil doll Chucky, in 2004’s Seed of Chucky alongside LOTR costar Brad Dourif, who has voiced Chucky since 1988’s Child’s Play. In 2014, Boyd returned to Middle-earth when he cowrote and performed the song “The Last Goodbye” for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. On TV, Boyd has landed roles in Hollywood, Outlander, Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS: Hawai’i. He and fellow Hobbit Dominic Monaghan launched a podcast called “The Friendship Onion” in 2021.

Boyd married wife Alison McKinnon in 2010 in a ceremony attended by his LOTR castmates Wood and Monaghan. The couple share son Jack, who was born in 2006.

Dominic Monaghan (Merry Brandybuck)

After rounding out the Hobbit quartet as Merry, Dominic Monaghan starred as Charlie on Lost from 2004 to 2010. On the big screen, he appeared in X-Men: Wolverine and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. From 2013 to 2016, he hosted his own docuseries titled Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan.

Ian McKellen (Gandalf)

Following his iconic performance as Gandalf, Ian McKellen continued his storied career with roles in The Da Vinci Code, Mr. Holmes, Beauty and the Beast (he played Cogsworth), The Good Liar, Cats and several X-Men films (he’s Magneto). He also reprised his role as Gandalf in all three of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films.

Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)

Viggo Mortensen starred in the LOTR trilogy as Aragorn, the rightful king of Gondor and the hottest man in Middle-earth. He went on to star in several David Cronenberg films, including A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method and 2022’s Crimes of the Future. He’s also appeared in Hidalgo, The Road, The Two Faces of January, On the Road and Green Book.

Orlando Bloom (Legolas)

It’s hard to remember now, but The Fellowship of the Ring was only Orlando Bloom’s third film role. He’s since starred as Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as well as The Three Musketeers, Elizabethtown and 2023’s Gran Turismo. Bloom also reprised the role of Legolas in the latter two films in The Hobbit trilogy. From 2019 to 2023, he led the Prime Video series Carnival Row.

Bloom became a dad in 2011 with the arrival of son Flynn, whom he shares with ex-wife Miranda Kerr. He also shares daughter Daisy Dove (born in 2020) with fiancée Katy Perry, who he began dating in 2016.

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)

John Rhys-Davies pulled double duty in LOTR, playing Gimli the dwarf and voicing Treebeard, leader of the Ents. His extremely lengthy resume includes roles in The Shannara Chronicles, Documentary Now! and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. In 2023, he starred in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, reprising the role of Sallah, which he first played in 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

After LOTR, Rhys-Davies and partner Lisa Manning welcomed a daughter, Maia, in 2006. He also shares two sons with ex-wife Suzanne Wilkinson.

Sean Bean (Boromir)

After playing Boromir in LOTR, Sean Bean starred in National Treasure, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Jupiter Ascending and The Martian. On TV, he’s appeared in Legends, The Oath, and Snowpiercer, but his most notable post-Boromir performance is certainly his one-season turn as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

Liv Tyler (Arwen)

Liv Tyler starred as Arwen Undómiel, whose role in the movies was greatly expanded from the books. She later appeared in The Incredible Hulk and Ad Astra, and she’s set to reprise her Marvel role of Betty Ross in 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World. On TV, she’s starred in The Leftovers, Harlots and 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Tyler became a mom one year after LOTR ended, welcoming son Milo in 2004 with then-husband Royston Langdon. She also shares son Sailor Gene (born in 2015) and daughter Lula Rose (born in 2016) with ex-fiancé David Gardner.

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Cate Blanchett (Galadriel)

After playing Galadriel in LOTR, Cate Blanchett didn’t diminish and go into the West—she won two Oscars (for 2004’s The Aviator and 2013’s Blue Jasmine) and delivered critically acclaimed performances in films including Notes on a Scandal, I’m Not There, Carol and Ocean’s 8. She also reprised her role as Galadriel in the latter two films in The Hobbit trilogy. In 2022, she so convincingly embodied the titular character in Tár that some viewers came away thinking Lydia Tár is a real person. Blanchett has also continued working on stage, starring in productions of Uncle Vanya and The Maids before making her Broadway debut in a 2017 production of Anton Chekhov’s The Present.

Hugo Weaving (Elrond)

Hugo Weaving’s turn as Elrond happened to coincide with his appearance in another major franchise of the late 1990s/early 2000s: The Matrix, in which he played Agent Smith. He later starred as Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger and voiced Megatron in Transformers, further boosting his cred with nerds. Weaving has also appeared in Cloud Atlas, Mortal Engines, Hacksaw Ridge and The Dressmaker.

His niece Samara Weaving has since become a movie star as well, appearing in Ready or Not, Babylon and Scream VI.

Andy Serkis (Gollum)

After serving as the voice actor and motion capture performer for Gollum, Andy Serkis (seen above out of character!) racked up a string of roles both in his human form and behind layers of CGI. He has since done motion capture work as Caesar in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars, and Kong in Peter Jackson’s King Kong. He also reprised his role as Gollum in 2011’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Without CGI, Serkis has starred in Black Panther, The Batman and Andor.

Christopher Lee (Saruman)

Christopher Lee was already 78 years old when he started filming The Fellowship of the Ring, but he kept acting until the end of his life. After LOTR, Lee starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Golden Compass and Dark Shadows, and reprised his role as Saruman in 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Lee died in 2015 at age 93.

Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins)

After his turn as Frodo’s uncle Bilbo in LOTR, Ian Holm went on to appear in The Day After Tomorrow, Garden State, The Aviator (in which he reunited with Cate Blanchett) and Strangers With Candy. He also played Bilbo again in the last two The Hobbit movies, the latter of which was his final film role. Holm died in 2020 at age 88 after battling Parkinson’s disease.

Karl Urban (éomer)

Karl Urban had a small role in LOTR as one of the Riders of Rohan, but he’s since become one of the franchise’s biggest stars. He went on to play Leonard “Bones” McCoy in 2009’s Star Trek and its sequels and starred as Skurge the Executioner in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Since 2019, Urban has played William “Billy” Butcher on the Prime Video series The Boys.

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Miranda Otto (éowyn)

Following her performance as shieldmaiden éowyn, Miranda Otto starred in films including Annabelle: Creation, The Silence and 2022’s Talk to Me. On TV, she’s appeared in Homeland, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and 24: Legacy. In 2024, she’s set to reprise her role as éowyn as a voice actor and narrator in the animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Otto became a mom in 2005 with the arrival of daughter Darcey, whom she shares with husband Peter O’Brien.

David Wenham (Faramir)

After playing Boromir’s little brother, Faramir, in LOTR, David Wenham appeared in Van Helsing, Public Enemies, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and 2022’s Elvis (in which he played Hank Snow). On the small screen, fans may recognize him from Top of the Lake, Iron First and 2022’s Joe vs. Carole.

Bernard Hill (Théoden)

Bernard Hill—whom fans may also recognize from Titanic as Captain E.J. Smith—went on to star in Wimbledon, The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse and Valkyrie. On TV, he played the Duke of Norfolk in the BBC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

Brad Dourif (Gríma Wormtongue)

Perhaps best known for his voice role as Chucky in the Child’s Play series, Brad Dourif had a brief but memorable role in LOTR as Gríma Wormtongue, corrupt advisor to Thédoen. He went on to star in Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II and the Werner Herzog films My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. On TV, he’s appeared in Deadwood and Once Upon a Time and reunited with LOTR costars in Fringe (John Noble) and Wilfred (Elijah Wood). He has also, of course, continued to voice everyone’s favorite haunted doll, including in the Syfy series Chucky, which has been airing since 2021.

John Noble (Denethor)

Denethor has a minor role in the trilogy compared to some of his Middle-earth counterparts, but John Noble’s performance looms large in the minds of LOTR fans, mostly because of the truly unique way Noble eats a tomato. Noble went on to star as Walter Bishop in Fringe, Henry Parrish in Sleepy Hollow and Morland Holmes in Elementary. In 2021, he appeared on the big screen in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

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