Top 3 Best Cast Characters Thread...

[Aldhelm]

Fellowship Of The Ring
1: Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen)
2: Boromir (Sean Bean)
3: Sam (Sean Astin)

Two Towers
1: Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies)
2: Saruman(Christopher Lee)
3: Eowyn (Miranda Otto)

Return Of The King
1: Theoden (Bernard Hill)
2: Pippin (Billy Boyd)
3: Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen)

Overall
1: Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen)
2: Saruman (Christopher Lee)
3: Theoden (Bernard Hill)

Special mention to Merry (Dominic Monaghan)

[Count Comfect]

I'd have to say

FotR
Sir Ian McKellen/Gandalf
John Rhys-Davies/Gimli
Ian Holm/Bilbo

TTT
Sir Ian
Bernard Hill/Theoden
Miranda Otto/Eowyn

RotK
Sean Astin/Sam
Billy Boyd/Pippin
Andy Serkis and some computer geeks/Gollum

Overall
Sir Ian
Sean Astin
John Rhys-Davies (I like dwarves)

But they were pretty much all good - and more important, they all grew on me as the films went on.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

as i can't decide, i will say
Viggo Mortensen as best cast actor throughout
with
Christopher Lee
Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Holm
Bernard Hill
+ Hugo Weaving
all taking honourable mention
and John Rhys Davies, for portraying
Gimli and Treebeard, that must have been hard!!

and i would also like to say John Noble, as
he could have been in my list, if the Movie Denethor had
been more akin to the Book Denethor

[AL.D]

Best:
Ian McKellen - Never has a hat been used to such good effect.
Ian Holm - Brilliant in everything he does, and doubly so in this.
Andy Serkiss - Made CGI watchable.

Worst:
Sponge-head orc thing - Not the actors fault, but what WERE the designers thinking?
Hugo Weaving - Good eyebrows do NOT an elf make.
Karl Urban - Looked like an Aussie soap star on a horse.

Honourable mention to:
Miranda Otto - She is no man!
Viggo - cool

[Finrod Felagund]

FotR
1. Gandalf - I don't know what to say, deserving of that oscar that he should've gotten, personally movie wise, I was a bigger fan of gandalf the Grey than Gandlaf the white.
2. Boromir - amazing performance, he IS Boromir
3. Aragorn - Great, brilliant


TTT
1. Theoden - Definitely well cast
2. Gollum - need I say anything
3. Eowyn - She's adorable, perfect for the part

RotK
1. Samwise - definitely outshone his performance from the first two filmns
2. Aragorn - great once again, save for a few scripting problems
3. Frodo - Also his best perormance out of the three


Overall

1. Gandalf - Shakespearean acting is a good start as we can see
2. Gollum - I don't know what to say
3. Sam - Film three cemented him for me...awesome

[Vicky]

FOTR:
1) Pippin - Billy Boyd
2) Gandalf - Sir Ian McKellen
3) Aragorn - Viggo Mortensen


TTT:
1) Treabeard - John Rhys Davis
2) Saruman - Christopher Lee
3) Gollum - Andy Serkis


ROTK
1) Sam - Sean Astin
2) Eowyn - Miranda Otto
3) Gimli - John Rhys Davis

Overall
1) Aragorn - Viggo Mortensen
2) Sam - Sean Astin
3) Gollum - Andy Serkis

[Entlover]

Originally posted by Aragorns Dimple
Didn't ANYONE like Elijah Wood as Frodo?!?!?! I mean, he carried the whole film, and who could forget those girly-boy tears he shed after Gandalf fell in Moria? They were real tears, goshdarnit!

I totally agree with A's Dimple: my three favorites overall were Elijah, Viggo, Sean and Sir Ian. 3, count them.

By the way, I had the difficult task of speaking with someone whose wife had recently been murdered, and during our conversation he shed a tear which reminded me utterly of Elijah's after Gandalf died. That was very true to life. And heartbreaking when it's for real -- nothing girly about it at all.

[Meriadoc Brandybuck]

The Fellowship of the Ring
1.) Meriadoc Brandybuck-Dominic Monaghan
2.) Peregrin Took-Billy Boyd
3.) Aragorn-Viggo Mortesen

The Two Towers
1.) Meriadoc Brandybuck-Dominic Monaghan
2.) Peregrin Took-Billy Boyd
3.) Gandalf-Sir Ian McKellen

The Return of the King
1.) Meriadoc Brandybuck-Dominic Monaghan
2.) Frodo-Elijah Wood
3.) Eowyn-Miranda Otto

Overall
1.) Meriadoc Brandybuck-Dominic Monaghan
2.) Peregrin Took-Billy Boyd
3.) Gandalf-Sir Ian McKellen

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

Originally posted by AL.D

Worst:
Sponge-head orc thing - Not the actors fault, but what WERE the designers thinking?

In fact, most people actually think that
Gothmog, the Lieutenant of Minas Morgul, was not an Orc,
but in fact a Black Numenorean, such as was the Mouth of Sauron
(who was also the Lieutenant of Barad-Dur)

[Nurvingiel]

Originally Posted by Last Child of Ungoliant

In fact, most people actually think that
Gothmog, the Lieutenant of Minas Morgul, was not an Orc,
but in fact a Black Numenorean, such as was the Mouth of Sauron
(who was also the Lieutenant of Barad-Dur)

Whatever he is, it would have been a huge bonus to his character had the designers not made him look laughably stupid. And why did he get so much camera time (the scene where he was very disappointingly not crushed by hurled masonry) instead of Prince Imrahil, Éomer, Aragorn, or someone useful to the plot!?


Sean Bean and Sean Astin don't look a thing like each other! LOL They just have the same first name is all. Easy enough to mix up...

A lot of people didn't like Boromir's character in the book... something about being a corrupted villain... but I always liked his character. That's why I was so excited when he was played brilliantly in FOTR! I believe Sean Bean also played Trevalian (sp?) in a James Bond movie. So he's skillful at playing handsome bad-guys.

My top three remain:
1. Samwise - Sean Astin
2. Aragorn - Viggo Mortensen
3. Éowyn - Mirando Otto
but a definite honourable mention goes to
Boromir - Sean Bean
and
Treebeard - John-Rhys Davies
(I absolutely loved his voice!!)

EDIT: What made Arwen stand out for you in ROTK Tolkienfan? Just curious. (I mean, even with all the added stuff, she didn't have that much camera time... )

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Well at least he didn't choose her in FotR!

[Nurvingiel]

Hey leave the guy alone, he only has seven posts!

I'm legitimately curious about the reasons, because I didn't particularly like Arwen in the movies. Actually, I downright loathed her in FOTR and TTT, not for what she was (mostly), but for what she stole from other characters. But I'm not going to turn this thread into yet another Arwen-bashing-fest...

However, despite the ire I built up towards her from the first two movies, in ROTK, I liked Arwen! Yes, even after my ENDLESS rants from FOTR, I really liked Arwen in ROTK.

I have no idea why, and I was hoping Tolkienfan would shed some light on this for me. (Please don't be intimidated by my spastic ranting! )

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

I wasn't having a go at him! I was saying that it was good that he didn't chose her in FotR!

[Ragnarok]

The Fellowship of the Ring
1) Gandalf
2) Saruman
3) Boromir

The Two Towers
1) Eomer
2) Gollum
3) Treebeard

The Return of the King
1) Theoden
2) Aragorn
3) Sam

Overall:
1) Sam
2) Gandalf
3) Aragorn

I think for the most part all of the characters were portrayed well.

[The Nameless One]

All the performences were excellent. Nuff said...but if I had to chose....


FOTR:

1. Boromir
2. Gandalf
3. Bilbo

TTT:

1. King Theoden
2. Gollum/Smeagol
3. Faramir (better portrayal in the EE)

ROTK:

1. Samwise Gamgee
2. Peregrin Took
3. Eowen

Overall:

1.Sam
2.Theoden
3.Boromir
These three seemed to have the strongist will of any other character in the movies. They had so much pride and love for their people(especially Theoden and Boromir) that I was brought to tears in some scenes. I love pride and honor when its portrayed on screen...its so epic.

[Snowdog]

The Fellowship of the Ring:

• 1) Boromir - Sean Bean
• 2) Bilbo - Ian Holm
• 3) Sarumann - Christopher Lee

The Two Towers:

• 1) Éowyn - Miranda Otto
• 2) Gollum - Andy Serkis
• 3) Wormtongue - Brad Dourif

The Return of the King:

• 1) Pippen - Billy Boyd
• 2) Sam - Sean Astin
• 3) Aragorn - Viggo Mortenson

This was tough as most actors portrayed their parts well. I thought Sean Bean took the book Boromir character and 'fleshed it out' with feeling. Ian Holm did the same to a lesser extent with the Bilbo character.

Anyway, these are my top 3 picks for each movie.

Top three best cast characters?

I'd have to say Glorfindel, Elrohir, and Elladan.

Love it!

[Selwythe]

FotR
1) Boromir - Sean Bean
2) Saruman - Christopher Lee
3) Gandalf - Ian McKellen

I didn't like Boromir in the books, but liked Boromir in the movies, and it's all because of Sean Bean's portrayal. Saruman was also nicely fleshed out, and I think Christopher Lee's knowledge and experience with the books really helped and showed through.

TTT
1) Saruman - Christopher Lee
2) Éomer - Karl Urban
3) Merry - Dominic Monaghan

Oh well, Boromir died, so Saruman moved up the list. I liked Urban; he looks like a warrior, speaks like one and had this noble aura around him. Was disappointed he did not get more screen time. Merry and Pippin also became more than just stock characters, and I liked the emotions in some of Monaghan's expressions. I like Grima, but I feel he wasn't sneaky or evil enough in the movie, so no Brad Dourif here.

RotK
1) Theoden - Bernard Hill
2) Pippin - Billy Boyd
3) Éowyn - Miranda Otto

Man, I'd ride with Bernard to battle any day. Total show-stealer. Movie also got kinda less interesting once he died. Pippin really became a complete character here, and Boyd's acting and portrayal of innocence is impeccable. Otto would have been put higher up, had she not totally butchered the Witch-king scene for me.

[Minielin]

1. Saruman
2. Pippin
3. Boromir

[Wayfarer]

Christopher Lee's part as Saruman pissed me off.

Not the acting - that was great, even though the scripting and directing was (once again) horrible. But it infuriates me that he was cast as Saruman. And I don't need to explain why. You can figure it out.

[Minielin]

Originally Posted by Wayfarer

But it infuriates me that he was cast as Saruman. And I don't need to explain why. You can figure it out.

Are you referring to the fact that JRR gave him his blessing to play Gandalf?