Top 20 Best Lord of the Rings Characters: Wormtongue, The Army of the Dead, Boromir and More

An epic high-fantasy novel written by English author and scholar JRR Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings is much less a book as it is a movement. Characters from this epic have gone on to achieve epic fame or infamy, depending on whose side they are on. The story is set in Middle-earth, and started as a sequel to the 1937 book by Tolkein, called The Hobbit, but spawned into something bigger. This is one of the best selling books ever written, with more than 150 million copies sold. The characters in the book were truly brought alive on screen, in a series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel. Titled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003), the series is an international venture between the US and New Zealand. The movies feature an ensemble cast consisting of the finest actors of our generation, including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean. The movies have brought alive the characters which has in turn made the series come alive. So which characters from Lord of the Rings are the most significant? Read this list and find out. 

List of Lord of the Rings Characters

Wormtongue – Played by Brad Dourif

 

Slimy and evil, Wormtongue is the disciple of Saruman. Evil but weak, he acts as an advisor to the old and ailing Theoden, using the senile king as a front to push his own agenda. He soon grabs power in Rohan, banishing Eomer, Theodore’s nephew. Soon he himself gets banished when Saruman’s spell on Theoden breaks and the latter sees the true evil nature of Wormtongue. 

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The Army of the Dead

The Army of the Dead- an army of regular soldiers and their king, risen from the dead to fight once more, were as powerful as any conventional army, and were well trained and ready to fight. The only difference is that they were no longer a part of the living world. That was where they had an advantage – you cannot kill someone from the Army of the Dead. They also felt no pain and couldn’t be felled by any weapon, making them a fantastic addition to any battle party. Even though they had no particular magic or strength, their sort of immortality allowed them to fight beyond the limits of mortals. 

Boromir – Played by Sean Bean

The heir to the steward of Gondor, he has fallen victim to the desire for the ring more than any other fellowship member. When the Fellowship of the Ring ends, he jumps on Frodo, trying to wrest the ring from his hands. For this slip-up, he tries to cover up by fighting the oncoming Uruk-hai army. Sadly he loses his life in battle but it is because of his bravery that other fellowship members survive. 

Éowyn – Played by Miranda Otto

 

She is Eomer’s sister and Theoden’s niece, who has been adopted by the latter after her parent’s death. She loves Aragorn but he doesn’t return it. Eowyn rides into battle with Merry and kills the witch-king despite being commanded by Theoden not to do so. She is a Rohan shieldmaiden, who, after the War of the Ring, married Faramir, and bore him a son Elboron. Before the War of the Ring, Eowyn had to stay in Meduseld and care for her dying uncle for several years, as the influence of Grima Wormtongue and Saruman weakened him. Once Gandalf restores the king, he gets ready to defend Rohan against Isengard. As Theoden had decided to ride into battle himself, he asked Hama, his door warden, to pick a leader for the people in his absence. Hama picked Eowyn who, although a woman, was fearless and loved by all. 

Shelob

If you don’t like spiders, you should stop reading this right now. In fact, if insects creep you out, stay away. A fair warning to those scared by spiders – this is terrifying, huge and paper-demon. Shelob is not a creature to be messed with, courtesy of deadly venom and the ability to paralyze her prey so she could feast on them undisturbed. Shelob was evil – she had a habit of keeping her victims alive for a while, suspending them in a sort of torturous limbo before finally consuming them. Sam was the only one with the courage to take her on and managed to inflict a terrible wound on her. Her fate remains known to both the folks of middle earth, and fans of Lord of the Rings. 

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Gimli – Played by John Rhys-Davies

A bearded axe-wielding warrior dwarf, Gimli is a brave and faithful member of the fellowship of the ring. The son of Gloin, he represents the race of Dwarves, being a member of the fellowship of the ring. One of the pivotal characters in the story, during the adventure, he assists Frodo, takes part in the War of the Ring, and becomes good friends with Legolas. The son of Gloin, Gimli is a Dwarf of the House of Durin, but unlike the other Dwarves, he readily fought alongside Elves in the War of the Ring against Sauron once the Third Age ended. After Sauron’s defeat, in the early Fourth Age, he was granted the lordship over the Glittering Caves at Helm’s Deep. On his father’s side, Gimli was also the first cousin once removed of Balin, Lord of Moria and Dwalin, his brother, two more former companions of Bilbo. Gimli was also prevented from travelling with his father on the Quest of Erebor because Thorin and Company deemed him too young, though Gimli considered himself ripe for adventure and was sad on being left behind. 

Legolas – Played by Orlando Bloom

A boyish elf with unmatched archery skills, Legolas has a kill number always higher than Gimli. He is a courageous and loyal member of the fellowship of the ring, just like his dwarf friend. A Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm, and one of the 9 members of the Fellowship who want to destroy the One Ring, Legolas is the son of the Elvenking Thranduil of Mirkwood. He was Mirkwood’s prince, a messenger and great archer. His keen eyesight, sensitive hearing and top notch bowmanship makes him valuable to the Fellowship as they travel across Middle -earth. He is a good friend of the dwarf Gimli, despite their long-standing differences. 

Gwaihir the Windlord, Giant Eagles of Manwë

 

Imagine a regular eagle, only around twenty times larger. Terrifying? Absolutely. Gwaihir and his Giant Eagles are quick, strong and smart and always turn up right on time to save the day. A giant eagle is one way to scream power, and Gwaihir is the epitome of power. Gwaihir is a descendant of Thorondor, the greatest Eagle that ever lived. Gwaihir and his brother Landroval helped Thorondor in rescuing Beren and Luthien from Angband. At some point in Gwaihir’s life, Gandalf saved him from a poisoned arrow. 

Treebeard

 

Also known as Fangorn, Treebeard was the most ancient of the Ents, ancient tree-like creatures. According to Gandalf, Treebeard was “the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth” , and a protector and shepherd of trees. He was strong, like the rest of the Ents, and could crumple iron like tin, as claimed by Pippin and Merry. Since Treebeard has been around longer than most other things in middle-earth, he has witnessed wars, love, loss and the changing of the times. Together with his army of Ents, he was able to destroy Isengard’s walls and people, after 3 days of deliberation as well as destroy the dam walls depriving Wizards Vale of water, flooding Saruman’s mines and undermining his war efforts. However, all his efforts weren’t enough to stop Saruman after the wizard got imprisoned. 

Aragorn – Played by Viggo Mortensen

 

This character, at the beginning of the trilogy is a ranger named Strider, this in spite of being Gondor’s rightful king. Aragorn isn’t on the throne, which is why the weak state of the kingdoms of men is revealed. A great leader with a clean heart, he is immune to the pull of the ring, and always works for the fellowship’s survival even if he gets hurt in the process. Arwen, the elf princess is his love, and he fights for her survival so the ring gets successfully retrieved to Mordor. Okay with asserting his royal identity, he declares himself ruler of Gondor only when he speaks to the men of the mountain in Return of the King. As the series winds down to a close, Aragorn proves himself to be a worthy leader by the time he is crowned king. 

Durin’s Bane, Balrog

A terrible demon monster of fire and death, Durin’s Bane was once a primordial spirit called a Maia, and was asleep under the Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dum before being woken up by the Fellowship of the Ring as they passed through Moria. Not only could Durin’s Bane control hellish fire and wield giant flaming weapons like most Balrogs, but could also cast spells, a leftover from its time as a Maia. It faces off against Gandalf, also a Maia at one point, countering his spells and forcing him to stay behind while the remainder of the fellowship escape. In fact it is Durin’s Bane that causes Gandalf to yell the famous line “You shall not pass”, as he confronts it before the bridge under it collapses, dragging Gandalf down to the depths with its fiery whip. Even then Durin’s Bane does not get destroyed. Instead, its fire gets put out by the freezing dark waters of an underground lake. It fights Gandalf, before chasing and ultimately dying at his hands. However, only its mortal form was killed, with the fate of its spirit unknown.

The Witch-King of Angmar

The Witch-King was Sauron’s second–in–command and the leader of the Nazgul, until he was killed by Eowyn. Once he turned mortal, he was corrupted by the Ring of Power, which all but robbed him of his original identity. He got surrounded by an aura of fear that went everywhere with him. No weapon could bring him down and anyone who tried would be poisoned. He also possessed dark magic, and was able to manipulate objects with just a single wave of his hand, cast spells to create lightning-like explosions and weaken strong gates. Just like all Nazgul, he gained his strength from the night as well as from Sauron himself, becoming even stronger than his master. 

Elrond – Played by Hugo Weaving

 

The ruler of the Rivendell elves, and Arwen’s father, Elrond’s only objective is to ensure that his elf subjects remain safe, although he is in line with the goal of the fellowship. The elves need to make a choice. They could leave middle-earth for immortal life or can put off their departure and assist in the battle against Sauron. Elrond doesn’t have a high opinion of men because he was with Islidur when the king couldn’t destroy the ring of power. He hence doesn’t want to assist in the war against Sauron, and he is afraid for Arwen’s life. Finally, he goes with the ancient alliance of elves and men, sends an army for the defense of Rohan, and reforges Islidur’s sword for Aragorn.

Glorfindel

Glorfindel is one of the most powerful elves to ever exist with an angelic presence. He remains one of the strongest characters in The Lord of the Rings, with powers like that of the Malar after being brought back from the dead to help in the Third Age and the War of the Rings. These amazing powers and his considerable talent as a healer and warrior meant that he was treated within Rivendell as one of the greatest elves in history. 

Saruman – Played by Sir Christopher Lee

Saruman the White or the great wizard who turned into an evil pawn courtesy the powers of temptation and darkness. Even Gandalf acknowledges Saruman’s talents of infinite wisdom and persuasion. His fall from grace shows that knowledge and magic is nothing in the face of temptation. Being Head of the White Council before Gandalf and chief of the Wizards, Saruman is well-versed in magic, able to make his own Uruk-hai, forges and explosives, as well as possessing the power to bend almost any mind to his will through speech. Saruman’s knowledge of the Rings of Power would eventually lead to his downfall, showing that while knowledge is power, it can also come with its fair share of destruction. 

Sauron

Sauron has it all – the big bad, dark wizard and the Lord of the Rings. He is a titular character and was once the mightiest of the Maiar, gaining incredible knowledge about the world. He then became Dark Lord of Middle Earth, crafted the Rings of Power, and began to wreak havoc. His powers are mostly left to the imagination, with only a few being fully revealed, like his ability to disguise himself, control over fire, mastery of deception and the manipulation of the world around him. Part of Sauron’s power stems from the mystery around him – there is so much to know and so little to find that the imagination shows us the worst possible. Fear is Sauron’s most powerful weapon. 

Galadriel – Played by Cate Blanchett

Also known as Lady of the Woods, Galadriel is an elf-queen, the leader of the Sylvian elves, giving Frodo spiritual help and counsel as well as good vibes during his quest’s dark days. She gives him a star of light which is vital for Frodo especially when he gets conned by Gollum and trapped in the webs of Shelob the spider. Galadriel is one of the greatest of the Elves of Middle-earth, surpassing nearly all others in knowledge, beauty and power. She possesses Nenya, one of the three Elven rings of power. She is the only daughter and youngest child of Finarfin, prince of the Noldor, and Earwen, whose cousin was Luthien. She also happened to be the niece of Feanor, the most important Elf of the early First Age. 

Gandalf – Played by Ian McKellen

Another iconic character from the series Gandalf is a grandfatherly wizard, one of the earliest to figure out the dangers of the ring that Bilbo possesses. His knowledge sets the whole trilogy in motion. He chooses the quiet Frodo to bear the ring, and the bumbling Sam to be Frodo’s protector, with the hobbits looking like the most unlikely choices in a dangerous mission. Gandalf possesses a lot of wisdom and insights into men and hobbits alike, and senses potential dangers where others don’t. Gandalf might be slow, affable and deliberate but he is a skilled warrior. His battle with Saruman and in the Moria mines are testament to his skill on the battlefield. When everyone assumes Gandalf dead in this battle, he comes back, transformed from a greying wizard to a white one. Often playful, he is concerned about the fate of Middle earth, and is always up to take up arms for its safety. When the trilogy ends ,he chooses immortality together with Frodo, Bilbo and the elves. Gandalf just appears human – he is as unconventional and a little better than any man could hope to be.

Tom Bombadill 

A strange and enigmatic creature, Tom Bombadill took no sides, could beat back dark forces with little to no effort, and who exercised power over mostly everything within his domain. Said to be the ‘oldest in existence’ and impossible to prison, he could resist the temptation of the Ring, and was able to see others who were wearing it, and even wear it himself without succumbing to its power. He could make it vanish into thin air and reappear in his hand. Tom is a personification of the properties of Middle Earth itself, which would probably explain his lack of knowledge and interest in the world of mortals. 

Sam – Played by Sean Astin

The best friend of Frodo and his constant companion, Sam’s job is to literally carry Frodo as he struggles up Mount Doom. A steadfast friend, he is as committed as Frodo is to returning the ring and the safety of the Shire. Sam is immune to the charms of the ring. He even carries the ring briefly and would have finished the mission himself if needed. When the four hobbits return to the Shire at the end of The Return of the King, Sam emerges from Frodo’s shadow. He has a woman in mind, he approaches her and they get married. He soon becomes a father of two with a lovely house and garden. In the Shire, Sam thrives, but Frodo does not. Sam is a pure soul, his life is a representation of mortal life lived to the fullest and he just wishes to thrive in the present. 

That does it for the top 20 characters of Lord of the Rings. So which one is your favourite?

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