English high fantasy inventor J.R.R. Tolkien offered some of literature’s best heroes in his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, and some of these came through in the movies too. Released in three parts between 1954 and 1955, The Lord of the Rings novel was influenced by medieval romances and epics, and its heroes were resultantly chivalrous. But Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies didn’t quite adapt all of these faithfully, so their best heroes aren’t the same as the best in the books. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has its own unique top-10.

By The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’s ending, these heroes had already started to make themselves known, and would go on to be up there with the best of Hollywood’s characters. Released in 2001, the movie introduced Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, Billy Boyd as Pippin Took, Dominic Monaghan as Merry Brandybuck, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Sean Bean as Boromir, and John Rhys-Davies as Gimli. Yet, not all of these were the greatest heroes of the trilogy.

10

Galadriel

Elf Of Eldar Royalty In The Lord Of The Rings

Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) is one of the most powerful Elves in The Lord of the Rings, so it is little wonder she is one of the greatest heroes of The Lord of the Rings movies. Galadriel is adapted faithfully in the movies, so her greatness does translate to the screen. She is a queen already, ruling Lothlórien beside her husband Celeborn, while the Fellowship is on their way to greatness at the start of the trilogy.

Galadriel appears more powerful than other LOTR Elves in both the book and movies, using ósanwe (Middle-earth’s version of telepathy) to reap intel from Sauron’s mind and read the Fellowship. She uses advanced Elvish technology to aid them in opposing Sauron, including hithlain rope, lembas bread, the Mirror of Galadriel, and the Phial of Galadriel. The Fellowship wouldn’t have won without Galadriel’s gifts.

9

Boromir

Human Son Of Lord Of The Rings’ Steward Of Gondor

Boromir was an epic knight in The Lord of the Rings book and movies, but in the book, he was vastly outshone by his brother, Faramir, in the heroism stakes. The Lord of the Rings movies’ Faramir changes neutered the quiet majesty of his gentle nature, and how this bucked the trend of typical masculinity. It made Faramir a truly Byronic hero – independent and isolated for exactly what made him heroic. But Boromir was a hero of a different sort, and this was timelessly immortalized by Sean Bean in the trilogy.

Bean’s endlessly memed Boromir was a lesson in character development. He went from a brash, barely likable ruler of Middle-earth’s most powerful realm to a man brought low, who finally had his eyes open. Dying to save Merry and Pippin, Boromir redeemed himself from his lowest point – trying to take the One Ring from Frodo. Providing the perfect ending to part one of the trilogy, Boromir made the final sacrifice. And to top it all off, he realized his folly in opposing Aragorn with his dying breath, swearing allegiance.

8

Gimli, Son Of Glóin

Dwarf Descendant Of Durin The Deathless

What happened to Gimli after The Lord of the Rings in the book proves why Gimli is one of the story’s greatest heroes, but the movies made him heroic for totally different reasons. Gimli became one of the greatest Dwarves in history, ending up as Lord of the Glittering caves and a rebuilder of Gondor after the War of the Ring. Although the trilogy cut this, it did portray Gimli’s stout nature and friendship with Legolas.

Rhys-Davies’ Gimli was used for comic relief in the movies in a way he never was in the book, but this worked wonders to communicate his budding friendship with Legolas to a modern audience. The bromance shared by these two was, in the end, what made Gimli one of Lord of the Rings’ greatest heroes. Gimli’s friendship with Legolas was a diplomatic victory, building bridges between the typically conflictive Elves and Dwarves.

7

Arwen Undómiel

Elvish Princess Descended From Lúthien Tinúviel

Arwen occupied a stereotypical gender role for medieval fiction in Tolkien’s 1950s novel, and no one could blame her, but she transcended this in the movie trilogy to be one of its greatest heroes. Played by Liv Tyler, Arwen took Glorfindel’s place at the Ford of Bruinen, saving Frodo. Fleeing Lord of the Rings’ nine Ringwraiths, Arwen cut a tragic and desperate figure with no one but her horse and a limp Frodo in her arms.

Nine men pursuing one woman to her death was the perfect image of women’s subjugation at the hands of men, which Tolkien was just as acutely aware of in his novel, but more through Éowyn than Arwen. Arwen’s defeat of the Ringwraiths was one of the trilogy’s most incredible and empowering victories, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats till the last. Lord of the Rings’ Arwen movie changes widened the appeal of the trilogy and made Aragorn more relatable, ultimately making Arwen a lovable hero.

6

Éowyn

Rohan’s Greatest Shieldmaiden In The Lord Of The Rings

Éowyn is one of the greatest heroes of The Lord of the Rings in the trilogy and the book. 2024’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim movie focused on one of the books’ minor characters as its main character, using her to dive into the lore of shieldmaidens. Hèra recreated what was special about Éowyn, but was, of course, a pale shadow of Éowyn herself, who had to disguise herself as a man to fight in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

This Lord of the Rings movie continued Éowyn’s legacy, proving her lasting popularity and influence on literature and cinema. In the 1950s, Éowyn was a completely radical character, discontented with the home and family life. In some ways, Tolkien was ahead of Second Wave feminist Betty Friedan, who published The Feminine Mystique in 1963. Thankfully, Miranda Otto captured this beautifully in the trilogy with her long-suffering diplomacy and huge strength.

5

Frodo Baggins

Heir To Bilbo Baggins’ Estate And Ring

It was a small shame that Frodo occasionally came off as something of a wet blanket in the movies, because he was truly worthy of his spot as main character in the book. Nonetheless, Elijah Wood was amazing. In the book, Frodo was every bit the Baggins and followed in his uncle Bilbo’s footsteps to his very core. Like Bilbo, Frodo never married in The Lord of the Rings, but was married to the road instead. Both Bilbo and Frodo defied everything they were supposed to be to leave home, travel the wider world, and seek adventure.

These everyday heroes gave readers and viewers the anchors they needed to relate to the Fellowship of the Ring’s members, reflecting what heroism was for many in the ’50s and still is today. The iconoclastic Frodo sacrificed social acceptance to seek knowledge of the world and, mostly, to save the Shire. Despite these humble beginnings, it was none other than Frodo who got the One Ring to Mount Doom. It took a miracle to get the ring in the lava, but as Tolkien said in a letter, “Few others, possibly no others of his time, would have got so far.“

4

Legolas Greenleaf

Prince Of The Woodland Realm Of Mirkwood

Son of Lee Pace’s outstanding Thranduil in The Hobbit, Legolas was no less than a force of nature in The Lord of the Rings movies. Legolas is often cited as the greatest hero of the whole trilogy, and it can be hard to argue against this, especially given Orlando Bloom’s iconic performance. Legolas was considered a dreamboat for many audience members but he also bragged some of cinema’s most epic scenes.

Peter Jackson invented a lot of Legolas’ ridiculous stunts, such as surfing downstairs on a shield while shooting Orcs in The Two Towers. Whatever he did, it worked, and Bloom’s heartthrob role consolidated him as one of Hollywood’s H๏τtest properties. Legolas himself was unimpeachable as a hero. He never faltered, but also never made a big deal out of it – humble, kind, and one of the greatest warriors in Middle-earth’s history.

3

Samwise Gamgee

Frodo Baggins’ Gardener

Samwise Gamgee was the real revelation of The Lord of the Rings movies. Occasionally subject to a small-town mentality, and not always in possession of Frodo’s farsighted mercy, Sam nonetheless may have shown more strength than anyone else in the trilogy and may have come further than any other. At times, it looked like he shouldered more than anyone else too, lugging Frodo’s weak form up a mountain when he could no longer walk. But Frodo carried the ring.

Where Sam really shone was his undying hope and optimism, which may just have been the one thing standing between Sauron and his total domination of Middle-earth, all said and done. Iconically, when Frodo gave up on the mission and asked Sam what they were holding on to, Sam replied, “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” Frodo may have been wise beyond his years and Legolas may have sH๏τ straight arrows, but Sam just sH๏τ straight, the only working-class member of the Fellowship and the last one standing at the endpoint of the mission.

2

Gandalf The Grey

Lord Of The Rings’ Only Loyal Istar

Frodo was The Lord of the Rings’ main character, but Gandalf the Grey masterminded the mission, and everyone knows it. What was so special about the book, which came through perfectly in the trilogy, was that the quest to destroy the ring would have failed without every single member of the Fellowship. It was the perfect demonstration of teamwork. But if the Fellowship could be said to have a leader, that leader was Gandalf.

One of Lord of the Rings’ five Wizards, or Istari in Quenya, Gandalf was an immortal Maia sent by demigods, the Valar, to oppose Sauron. And the Valar were only one below Lord of the Rings’ God (Eru Ilúvatar) in the chain of command. But of the five Wizards, only Gandalf remained true to his task, deserted by the others in one way or another. His body was painfully destroyed saving the Fellowship, but he was sent back to Middle-earth by Eru to finish the job.

1

Aragorn Elessar

The King Returned From Wandering In Lord Of The Rings

Aragorn was The Lord of the Rings’ primary knight in shining armor, and Jackson sacrificed the heroics of characters far and wide to make time for it, but what a knight he was. Peter Jackson leaned into Mortensen’s potential, carving out one of the best on-screen heroes ever from Tolkien’s character. Tolkien’s Aragorn always believed in himself, but Jackson’s Aragorn understandably lacked self-worth. He was a lonely Ranger with a star-crossed romance way out of his league, doomed to wandering, whose royal family was long-ousted from their seat in Gondor.

Facing unbelievable odds, Aragorn stepped up to the plate as the long-lost heir of both Isildur and Anárion to earn his place as the rightful king of Gondor. Although he feared that the ring would get the best of him as it did his ancestor, Isildur, Aragorn redeemed his bloodline. Isildur clung to the ring and power. Contrastingly, at Aragorn’s coronation, he wouldn’t let the Hobbits bow to him, and instead, had everyone bow to them. An exemplary king and role model, Aragorn was unquestionably The Lord of the Rings movies’ greatest hero.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon тιтled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Movie(s)

The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Cast

Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt

TV Show(s)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Video Game(s)

The Lord of the Rings Online (dupe), Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria

<ʙuттon type="ʙuттon" class="show-more-new icon i-chevron-down-solid">Expand