It's Been 19 Years Since The First "Lord Of The Rings" Movie, So Here's What The Cast Looks Like Now

Honestly, they're all thriving and I love that for them.

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins

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What's he been up to: Wood's first role following the success of Lord Of The Rings was playing Patrick in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. He went on to score a number of film and TV roles in Sin City, Green Street, Celeste And Jesse, The Last Witch Hunter, Wilfred — which netted him a Satellite Award nomination — and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Oh, and he also reprised the character of Frodo in The Hobbit.

Like his co-stars, Wood has also found success in the voice acting world. He's appeared in Happy Feet (and its sequel), TRON: Uprising, Over The Garden Wall and even in the Legend Of Spyro video game trilogy.

Fun fact: Besides acting, Wood has become a well-known DJ. Alongside his friend, Zach Cowie, he's provided beats for a number of events, including a pre-Emmy party.

Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee

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What's he been up to: Since wrapping up Lord Of The Rings, Astin has most notably appeared in 50 First Dates, Click, 24 and Stranger Things. He's also expanded into voice-over work, with roles in Special Agent Oso, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Justice League Action. Astin's next project is a crime thriller called Adverse that's set to be released in early 2021.

Fun fact: In 2004, Astin released a memoir of his film career, which focused on his experiences during production of the Lord Of The Rings movies. The title, There And Back Again, is taken from JRR Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit.

Dominic Monaghan as Merry

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What's he been up to: Building on the success on Lord Of The Rings, Monaghan nabbed a huge role playing Charlie Pace in Lost. Alongside that, he's appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and Flashforward. Since 2012, he's also hosted a nature program called Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan, which has earned him both an Emmy and Critics' Choice award nomination.

Fun fact: Monaghan and Megan Fox played a couple in the music video for Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie".

Billy Boyd as Pippin

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What he's been up to: After charming the hearts of everyone through his portrayal of Pippin, Boyd has had a couple of roles over the years in Seed Of Chucky, Empty, Outlander and Hollywood. He's also been in stage productions of Macbeth and wrote and performed a song called "The Last Goodbye", which appears over the end credits of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies.

Fun fact: Boyd also fronts a band called Beecake, which apparently got its name from when Monaghan sent a picture of a cake covered in bees.

Ian Holm

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What he's been up to: Post Lord Of The Rings, Holmes appeared in a couple of movies like The Day After Tomorrow, The Aviator and Ratatouille. He also reprised the character of Bilbo in The Hobbit movies, with The Battle Of The Five Armies being his final role before he died in June 2020.

Fun fact: Holm previously played Frodo Baggins in the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of Lord Of The Rings.

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

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What's he been up to: Mortensen's been on a winning streak since appearing as Aragorn in Lord Of The Rings. His next big role was in A History Of Violence, which earned him a Satellite Award nomination. This was followed up by an Academy Award-nominated performance in Eastern Promises, as well as Captain Fantastic and Green Book, which earned him three more Academy Award noms.

He also appeared in The Road and Reclaiming The Blade, where he talked about his passion and experience with sword work in films. Mortenson's next project is Falling, a drama film that has been written and will be directed by him.

Fun fact: Using part of his Lord Of The Rings earnings, Mortensen founded the Perceval Press, a publishing company that specialises in works that might not be suitable for more traditional venues. It's also the home of Mortensen's own personal projects, which includes paintings, poetry, photography and music.

Orlando Bloom as Legolas

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What's he been up to: Bloom has aged like a fine wine and continues to steal the hearts of everyone around the world. His first big role post Lord Of The Rings was in Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, which spawned several sequels. He continued this success in Troy, Kingdom Of Heaven and The Three Musketeers, as well as reprising Legolas in The Hobbit film series.

Bloom currently stars in a series called Carnival Row. Oh, and he also got engaged to Katy Perry, who gave birth to their daughter in August 2020.

Fun fact: Bloom made his Broadway stage debut in Romeo And Juliet in 2013. Who did he play, you ask? Romeo, of course.

John Rhys-Davies as Gimli

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What he's been up to: Rhys-Davies has kept busy, appearing in several films and TV shows since his Lord Of The Rings days. Most notably, you may have spotted him (or his voice!) in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Wizards, Aquaman and The Shannara Chronicles.

Fun fact: Alongside a number of other celebs, like Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson and Andy Serkis, Rhys-Davies has been involved in the production of video game Star Citizen. His facial expressions and voice have been captured for the single-player campaign.

Sean Bean as Boromir

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What he's been up to: There's no doubt you'll recognise Bean as the man who played Ned Stark on Game Of Thrones, a role which earned him critical acclaim. While it's become one of his most memorable roles — alongside playing Boromir in Lord Of The Rings, of course — Bean has had several other major roles which are worth mentioning. — Bean has had several other major roles which are worth mentioning. He's appeared in Troy, Flightplan, Silent Hill, Jupiter Ascending, Legends, The Frankenstein Chronicles and The Martian. Plus, he currently stars in the TV show adaptation of Snowpiercer.

Fun fact: Bean has a fear of flying in helicopters, so much so that he chose to take a ski lift into the mountains and then hike the last couple of miles where the crew were filming a Lord Of The Rings scene. He was also in full costume!

David Wenham as Faramir

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What he's been up to: Since wrapping up Lord Of The Rings, Wenham has picked up a variety of successful roles. You may have spotted him (or his voice!) in Van Helsing, 300 (and its sequel 300: Rise Of An Empire), Top Of The Lake, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Peter Rabbit. He'll next appear in an upcoming Netflix series called Pieces Of Her, as well as Baz Luhrmann's production of Elvis.

Fun fact: In 2009, Wenham won the lead part in Jerry Springer: The Opera. This led to a six-day sold out run at the Sydney Opera House where he performed alongside singer Kate Miller-Heidke.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf

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What's he been up to: Despite his age, McKellen has not slowed down in the slightest and has continued to work extensively. Most notably, he's had roles in Coronation Street, The Da Vinci Code, Extras — which won him an Emmy —, Beauty And The Beast and Cats. He also reprised the role of Magneto for several X-Men films, as well as Gandalf for The Hobbit movies.

On the stage, he's been acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre, appearing productions of King Lear, The Seagull and Waiting For Godot. Oh, and earlier this year, it was announced that he would play Hamlet at the Theatre Royal Windsor.

Fun fact: McKellen became an ordained minister in 2013 to preside over the marriage of his friend and X-Men co-star, Patrick Stewart, to singer Sunny Ozel.

Christopher Lee

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What he's been up to: After playing Saruman, Lee — who already had extensive acting credits behind him prior to Lord Of The Rings — experienced a major career revival. He went on to appear in a number of Tim Burton movies such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Alice In Wonderland and Dark Shadows, as well as Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the critically acclaimed Hugo. Like many of his co-stars, he also reprised his character in The Hobbit. His final acting role before his death in June 2015 was in the indie movie Angels Of Notting Hill.

Fun fact: In addition to acting, Lee also released a heavy metal album in 2010, followed a number of singles over the years.

Liv Tyler as Arwen

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What she's been up to: Since playing Arwen, Tyler has gone on to appear in a number of movies, like The Strangers, The Incredible Hulk and Ad Astra. She's also had roles on The Leftovers, Gunpowder and Harlots and currently stars as Michelle Blake in 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Fun fact: Since 2003, Tyler has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.

Hugo Weaving as Elrond

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What he's been up to: Like his Lord Of The Rings co-stars, Weaving has continued to have a successful career. He's had roles in V For Vendetta, Captain America: The First Avenger, Cloud Atlas and The Hobbit movies to name a few. Oh, and he's also lent his voice for characters in Happy Feet (and Happy Feet Two), Legend Of The Guardians and the Transformers film series.

Fun fact: In 2014, Weaving returned to the stage and played Macbeth for the Sydney Theatre Company.

Miranda Otto as Éowyn

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What she's been up to: Since playing the badass that is Éowyn, Otto has continued to have a successful career. She's appeared in a number of major blockbusters, like War Of The Worlds, I, Frankenstein, Annabelle: Creation and Dance Academy: The Movie, as well as TV shows like Homeland and 24: Legacy. Oh, and let's not forget her fantastic portrayal of the iconic Zelda Spellman in Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.

Fun fact: Otto thought she would have to turn down her role in War Of The Worlds due to her pregnancy. But, director Steven Spielberg happily reworked the script to accomodate her.

Karl Urban as Éomer

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What he's been up to: Urban has since worked on a bunch of high profiles movies, like The Bourne Supremacy, Star Trek (and its sequels), Red and Thor: Ragnarok. He currently stars as Billy Butcher in The Boys.

Fun fact: Like his Lord Of The Rings co-star, Urban appeared in the documentary Reclaiming The Blade where he talked about his sword-wielding experience.

Bernard Hill as Théoden

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What he's been up to: Hill's last major acting role was in 2016 where he starred in Golden Years. Prior to that, he appeared in various TV shows and movies, like A Very Social Secretary, Wolf Hall and Unforgotten.

Fun fact: Hill did some voiceover work for the video game Fable III.

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel

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What she's been up to: Trying to fit all the roles Blanchett has taken on since Lord Of The Rings would fill an entire post, so let's focus on the highlights. Suffice to say, she's been absolutely killing it, with her performances in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine earning her an Academy Award. Meanwhile, Notes On A Scandal, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, I'm Not There and Carol all resulted in Oscar noms for the Aussie actress.

She also reprised the character of Galadriel in The Hobbit movies and appeared in a bunch of other successful movies, like the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy, Thor: Ragnarok and Ocean's 8. Looking back on 2020, Blanchett has made a return to TV, starring and executive producing two shows — Stateless (which she also created) and Mrs America.

Fun fact: In 2017 Blanchett made her Broadway debut in The Present, which earned her a Tony Award nomination.

John Noble as Denethor II

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What he's been up to: Noble's biggest acting role after Lord Of The Rings was playing Walter Bishop in Fringe, which earned him both a Critics' Choice and Saturn Award. He also appeared in Sleepy Hollow, Elementary and Legends Of Tomorrow. Plus, he's currently involved in a new sci-fi show called Home Invasion.

Fun fact: Noble has provided voiceover work for a number of notable video games, including Batman: Arkham Knight, Infinity Blade III and L.A. Noire.

Andy Serkis as Gollum/Sméagol

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What he's been up to: Following his memorable performance of Gollum in Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, Serkis has been involved in a number of other critically acclaimed roles involving performance capture and voice work. Some of these include playing the title character in King Kong, Caesar in the Planet Of The Apes reboot and Captain Haddock in The Adventures Of Tintin.

He's also appeared in Longford, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, as well as The Prestige, the Star Wars sequel trilogy films and two MCU films (Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Black Panther).

Serkis' next projects include playing Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman, plus he'll be directing Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Fun fact: Serkis has his own production company and creative digital studio called The Imaginarium Studios. It was founded in 2011 alongside film producer Jonathan Cavendish.