It has been 20 years since audiences heard the words “one ring to rule them all” and this was certainly the film trilogy to rule them all, as The Lord of the Rings enchanted audiences across the world.
It also enchanted the box office, raking in a huge £2.2billion and spawning a prequel trilogy, The Hobbit.
During filming of the original trilogy, which lasted over three years in New Zealand, the cast grew close and have remained friends ever since.
However, actor Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry, has said that due to the size of the cast, it is difficult to get them all together at one time.
He told Forbes: “It’s very hard for all of us to be in the same room together. It’s like herding cats at the best of times.
“So unless you’re together for a Lord of the Rings-based thing, but at any given point, there’s nine members in the fellowship.
“Of those nine members, I wouldn’t think any of us have been in the same city at any point in the last 20 years all together.”
Over 20 years since the original Fellowship of the Ring met, Daily Star looks at where some of the cast of the first film in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy are now.
Elijah Wood
(Image: Getty Images)
Elijah Wood was already a huge Hollywood star by the time he took on the role of Frodo, having starred in films including Deep Impact, The Faculty and Forever Young.
However, Frodo propelled him to new levels of stardom, with fans going into meltdown after Elijah reprised the role briefly in The Hobbit film series.
Although he was gifted a pair of Hobbit feet by the Lord of the Rings make-up department, he told The Guardian that they’re now stored safely in a box and that he doesn’t recreate the character at fancy dress parties.
He also spoke about the happiness he has found in becoming a father with his partner Mette-Marie Kongsved, who he has been in a relationship with since 2018, saying: “My son was born seven or eight months before lockdown, so we’ve had this kind of unbelievable, uninterrupted family time that we’re probably never going to have again.
“I love being a father. It’s all-consuming and it’s everything.”
Elijah has continued to act in films including Tron: Uprising and TV series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, as well as being a producer.
Sean Astin
(Image: Getty Images)
Like his co-star Elijah Wood, Sean Astin rose to fame as a child actor in huge Hollywood films including The Goonies.
After playing Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, Sean has continued to act in TV series including 24, The Strain and voiced Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.
However, while attending a comic convention, fans kept telling him about the hit series Stranger Things and its comparisons to The Goonies.
After his agent called him to say that he had an audition for a role in the series, Sean said to Variety that he told his wife that it couldn’t have been a co-incidence, and he eventually won the role of Bob Newby in the series.
He said about reuniting with co-star Winona Ryder, who he had previously worked with: “Winona and I knew each other, sort of grew up alongside each other in the industry.
“Then we did a little movie together like a decade ago. Whenever we were on set together, there was just this warm, good, positive just enjoyment of being around each other. And I think it comes through on-screen too.”
He has been married to Christine Harrell since 1992 and the couple have three children together.
Dominic Monaghan
(Image: Getty Images)
Although Dominic Monaghan had roles in television series including Hetty Waithrop Investigates in the late nineties, it was his role as Merry in The Lord of the Rings that propelled him to fame.
From there, he starred as Charlie Pace in Lost from 2004 to 2010, and began a romance with co-star and Marvel star Evangeline Lily.
The couple dated from 2004 to 2007, but have never publicly spoken about their relationship or break-up.
Since then, Dominic has appeared in TV series including Quantum Break and blockbuster Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as well as hosting Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan and providing voice work for video games.
He also told The Guardian that he spends time helping animals, including rehabilitating snakes that were rescued from theme parks, and that his love of nature has helped him through tough times.
He said: “They’ve got me through deaths and breakups, and they’ve kept the joy of life very close to my consciousness.
“Nature has made me want to wake up and get into the garden or hike in a forest. Any ability I might have to get an animal healthy is in some way me trying to pay that gift back.”
Billy Boyd
(Image: Getty Images for ReedPOP)
Billy Boyd was the humorous, light-hearted best friend of Merry in The Lord of the Rings, with the actor showing off his impressive singing skills as Pippin in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Merry and Pippin’s friendship translated off-screen too, with actors Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan launching their own podcast called The Friendship Onion in May 2021.
Since its first episode, the podcast has already surpassed 1million downloads, and the duo regularly invite their Lord of the Rings cast members, including Elijah Wood, onto the show.
They also spend time together, with actor Dominic Monaghan telling Forbes magazine that they regularly go on holiday, take part in activities like scuba diving and watch sporting events.
Like his fellow Lord of the Rings cast members, Billy has continued to act in TV series including The Witches of Oz and Outlander.
In a link to his singing past, he also performed the song The Last Goodbye for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack in 2014.
Since 2010, Billy has been married to Alison McKinnon and the couple have a son called Jack.
Sean Bean
(Image: PA)
A member of the fellowship of the ring, Sean Bean’s character Boromir succumbed to the power of the one ring as he tried to take it from Frodo, before being killed in the first film’s climactic final scenes.
Along with a long acting career that included Sharpe and Bond film Goldeneye, Sean has since gone on to appear in Hollywood blockbusters including National Treasure, Mirror Mirror and TV series The Frankenstein Chronicles.
He most recently won praise for his portrayal of Mark Cobden in BBC drama series Time, opposite Stephen Graham.
In his private life, the actor has been married four times, including to Coronation Street actress Melanie Hill from 1990 to 1997 and to wife Ashley Moore from 2017.
He also has three daughters called Molly, Evie and Lorna.
Orlando Bloom
(Image: Getty Images)
Orlando Bloom landed his breakout role in The Lord of the Rings as Legolas, a role he reprised in a further two films in The Hobbit series from 2013 to 2014.
From there it was onwards and upwards for the actor, landing high profile roles in films including Pirates of the Carribbean and Kingdom of Heaven.
However, he took some time out from acting for a brief period of time after starring is so many blockbusters, with Orlando telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I was sick of seeing myself. I was sick of the sight of myself, almost, with all the publicity that had to go along with all these movies, and inevitably, I think, you just burn out to an extent to yourself and for an audience.”
He has since made a return to our screens in The Hobbit film series and television programmes Carnival Row and The Prince.
In real life, Orlando was married to model Miranda Kerr from 2010 to 2013 and the couple had a son together.
A few years after they split up, Orlando was spotted getting close to singer Katy Perry at an awards party, and it was reported that they even had a dance off.
Their romance grew and, in 2020, the couple welcomed their first child together, a daughter called Daisy.
On October 26, 2021, Orlando paid tribute to Katy in a sweet Instagram post to celebrate her birthday, with a photo of the couple having dinner together.
Orlando captioned the post: “We do life, we do love and it’s fun. I’ll celebrate you today and everyday. I love you.”
John Rhys Davies
(Image: Getty Images)
John Rhys Davies played not just one, but two roles in The Lord of the Rings, as Gimli, and also as the voice of Treebeard.
Having landed his first role all the way back in the sixties as Gareth in Crossroads, John was no stranger to our screens, appearing in The Quest, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and Great Expectations.
He most recently appeared in the TV series Wizards and is listed as starring in a number of TV series and films currently in pre-production.
With a non-stop acting career, it’s no wonder that the star has a huge net worth of over $5million (£3.76 million).
Outside of acting, John has three children and was married to Suzanne Wilkinson from 1966 to 2010, before dating his partner Lisa Manning.
Viggo Mortensen
(Image: Getty Images)
After a number of film roles including Sam Loomis in 1998’s Psycho, Viggo Mortensen landed the role of the dashing Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
From there he has appeared in a number of Hollywood Blockbusters including Hildago, Captain Fantastic, Green Book and most recently, Falling.
As well as directing Falling, Viggo also runs his own independent publishing company and has a huge estimated net worth of $40million.
During an interview about Falling, he has also told GQ Magazine that he will be watching the new Lord of the Rings TV series when it airs, saying: “I’m interested to see what they do,” adding: “I’ll be curious to see what they do, how they interpret Tolkien.”
He has one son called Henry and was married to Exene Cervenka from 1987 to 1997.
Since then, he has been dating partner Ariadna Gil since 2009 and currently lives in Madrid, Spain.
Liv Tyler
(Image: Getty Images)
Before making her name as a Hollywood actress, Liv Tyler began modelling at the age of 14 and landed her first roles in films including That Thing You Do, Empire Records and Armageddon.
From there, Liv starred as Elf Arwen in The Lord of the Rings, before going on to star in films including Jersey Girl, The Incredible Hulk and most recently, Ad Astra.
She also starred in the music videos for Amazing and Crazy by Aerosmith, sang by her father Steven Tyler.
In her personal life, Liv has three children and was married to Royston Langdon from 2003-2009.
She then dated Dave Gardner for seven years, until the couple split up in 2021.
In an interview with The Sunday Post, Liv said: “I always wanted to be a mom and to be a family unit because, growing up, I had such an eccentric family.
“I had a really beautiful family but I lived with my mom for a while, then with my aunt for a while, with my grandma and I had two dads.
“So I think my greatest motivation has always been to have a family. I get the greatest pleasure out of that.”
Ian McKellen
(Image: Getty Images)
Icon of stage and screen Ian McKellen is well known for his role as the wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, a role he reprised in The Hobbit film trilogy from 2012 to 2014.
He’s no stranger to huge Hollywood film roles, playing Magneto in the X-men film series in the early noughties, as well as starring in The Da Vinci Code and lending his voice to films including Stardust and The Golden Compass.
Ian also played the role of Freddie Thornhill in the ITV series Vicious and had a 10 episode stint in Coronation Street as Mel Hutchwright in 2005.
He most recently starred in The Good Liar and Cats, and has an estimated net worth of £39million from his decades long career both onstage and onscreen.
In his personal life, Ian was previously in relationships with Brian Taylor from 1964 to 1972 and Sean Mathias from 1978 to 1988.
He is also the co-founder of Stonewall and an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
The actor also spoke about his career during a spoken word tour at theatres across the UK earlier this year, and told The Guardian that although he is 82, “as you get older, inside, you’re ageless. Inside? Quite honestly? I feel about 12”.
Christopher Lee
(Image: WireImage)
Acting legend Sir Christopher Lee had a number of defining roles, including Dracula in the Hammer House films, Count Dooku in Star Wars and of course, Saruman in The Lord of the Rings.
Like Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee reprised the role of Saruman in The Hobbit Trilogy, with the final film released one year before his death in 2015.
His acting career included films such as Wicker Man, The Man with the Golden Gun, Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Acting ran in the family too, as Christopher is also the uncle of huge UK actress Dame Harriet Walter, who appeared in films such as Sense and Sensibility and Atonement, as well as having a successful stage career.
One of her most recent TV appearances was as fearsome Russian gymnastic coach Dasha in Killing Eve.
Christopher was also knighted in 2014 for his services to drama and charity and was also awarded a BAFTA fellowship in 2011.
However, outside of acting, Christopher Lee had another passion, music, and surprised everyone by releasing a heavy metal album, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross, in 2010.
The legendary horror actor died aged 93 on June 7, 2015 after being hospitalised for heart failure and respiratory problems.
According to Celeb Net Worth, Christopher had a fortune of £18m at the time of his death after his lengthy acting career.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
