Where are they now? - The Cast of LOTR - part 2

Who would have thunk it. Out of all of the Hobbits, Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck would have a biggest career? Funnily enough it is true. After the Lord of the Rings films finished Dominic Monaghan was cast as Charlie Pace in a little TV show you may have heard of called “Lost”.
This show is huge, and although Dominic is no longer in it, he has been able to keep the luck a going with a blossoming film career.
Not only is “I Sell the Dead” in post-production, a film about a grave robber, but then in 2009 he has a supporting role in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”. There he plays Barnell Bohusk aka ‘Beak’.
After that he has a psychological thriller called "Pet" about a man who bumps into an old flame and subsequently becomes obsessed with her, leading him to hold her captive underneath the animal shelter where he works. Getting lead roles now eh?
Of course no one can tell if these films will be any good, but he has parlayed his hobbit fame into a fairly high profile career.


If it really fair to see what Ian McKellen has been up to. He is after all one of the greatest actors ever. After LOTR he went the pay check route and landed high profile gigs in blockbusters. Even though the films failed, he was able to be a beacon of light. “The Da Vinci Code” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” were all vastly improved by his presence.
After lending his voice to films (“Doogal”, “Flushed Away”, “Stardust”, “The Golden Compass”) he will next be seen as King Lear on TV in the UK. Following that he acts alongside Colin Firth, Susan Sarandon and Rachel Weisz in “The Colossus”.
Finally he is still talking about reprising his role as Gandalf in “The Hobbit” Heeeeeeeeeeee!


Although near the end of the trilogy his character looked like an old gay eccentric, Ian Holm still made his presence known. Since then he has kept quiet, deciding on smaller fare and supporting roles in films like “The Aviator” , “Garden State” and “The Day After Tomorrow”.
He has also made strange choices in films such as “Stranger With Candy” that only ups his cool factor.
Although there was speculation as to whether he would reprise his role as Bilbo Baggins, it was quickly deemed that he was too old to play the youthful hobbit.
His last big performance was as the hysterically paranoid and evil Skinner in “Ratatouille”. He does do a wonderful French accent does he not?


Bernard Hill was far more Kingly in LOTR that Viggo was.
Hill actually was one of the most emotive actors of the bunch, and I thought it would give his career a push. The man who threw his chips and egg in “Shirley Valentine”, steered the Titanic in…well..’Titanic” and then commanded the rider of Rohan should not be making a movies called “Lesbian Vampire Killers”.

The premise is:
Thier women having been enslaved by the local pack of lesbian vampires thanks to an ancient curse, the remaining menfolk of a rural Welsh town send two hapless young lads out onto the moors as a sacrifice.

I know it is a comedy/horror, but still. I wanted more Theoden King!


Billy Boyd was wonderful as a comedic due of Merry and Pippin in LOTR. He even held his own with Ian McKellen in some heavy scenes. I guess being an actor in a fantasy film, even an amazing one like LOTR, is going to make it hard to break into other roles.

He has a nice supporting role in “On a Clear Day” but then nothing of particular note.
His future could be a little brighter though. This year he has the piano drama “Glenn”, a supporting role in the bio-pic of Ian Hamilton “Stone of Destiny” and Irish crime drama “The Best Years”. I am sure this will not be leading to awards, but if luck is on his side it could act as a reminder to casting agents everywhere.


Orlando Bloom lucked out big time.
What with LOTR and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy the man must be raking it in.

Sure he didn’t get the critical kudos he wanted out of films like “Troy”, “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Elizabeth Town” but he must have made a fortune. The was the face millions of teenage girls across the world touched themselves to.

Next up are two rumoured roles in “The Red Circle” with Liam Neeson and Yun-Fat Chow and “Prince of Persia” which is based on the video game.
I am sure he will not starve.


Since wrapping filming on the trilogy with her over the top performance as Galadriel, Cate Blanchett has gone to be nominated for four Academy Awards, winning one. PHEW!
She has made ten films since then and her future for roles is not looking to ease off any time soon (for some of us we wish it would).
This year alone she has the sure fire blockbuster “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and the Oscar bait “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.
I think if you had a competition for the LOTR cast as to who has had the most successful career ole Cate ‘I-never-stop-working’ Blanchett would win hands down.


Sean Bean is a sexy man. As the weak and flawed Boromir he only got juicy parts in the first instalment, but made cameo’s in parts 2 and 3.
Since then he has been busy busy making 13 films and getting his name out there.
He has landed parts in many high profile films such as: “Troy”, “National Treasure”, The Island”, “North Country”, “Flightplan” and “The Hitcher”.

Next up he tackles Oscar Wilde in “A Woman of no Importance”, “Black Death” a film about the bubonic plague, but more importantly he will be acting next to Tilda Swinton as Macbeth in “Come Like Shadows”


Was I the only one who really felt Sean Astin was slightly twee as Sam?
Although I have to give him props for keeping the accent going…..kind of tough to do that accent for a long time.
However his post “Rings” career has not been impressive at all. Sure his IMDB page has 29 listings since those films, I can only pick out one movie (“50 First Dates”) and a few TV guest parts (“24”, “Monk”, “My Name is Earl”) that I have heard of.
Coming up, well he has a lot of voice work and some supporting part in a Rugby drama.
Where is “Goonies 2”?