Movies Gallery Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring cast: Where are they now? Bringing viewers to the vast world of Middle-earth, the first installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy made its cultural impact on cinema by reviving the fantasy genre. After they not-so-simply started their walk into Mordor, see what the film's stars have been doing since beginning their journey to destroy the One Ring in this 2001 adventure flick. By Dylan Kickham Updated on April 13, 2023 03:57PM EDT Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: New Line J.R.R. Tolkien's high fantasy epic The Hobbit was first published in 1937 and followed by the exciting and adventure-packed The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the mid-1950s. It then took nearly half a century for the trilogy to be adapted into epic live-action films, though it was worth the wait. Peter Jackson's 2001 movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is widely considered a landmark achievement in fantasy filmmaking, receiving widespread critical acclaim. It was soon followed by two successful sequels (2002, 2003), a prequel trilogy based on The Hobbit (2012–2014), and an Amazon Prime Video prequel series. Along with bringing Tolkien's books to life, the films also launched its cast into superstardom — even those actors already famous before The Fellowship of the Ring gained a large, new fanbase because of their roles. Take a look at what these actors have been up to after the film's release, ahead. 01 of 15 Elijah Wood (Frodo) Everett Collection; Mike Windle/Getty Images Elijah Wood had already found success as a child actor before The Fellowship of the Ring, but it was his lead role as the hobbit Frodo in the saga that launched him into stardom. Since then, Wood has landed major roles in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Green Street Hooligans (2005), Happy Feet (2006) and its 2011 sequel, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), Come to Daddy (2019), and No Man of God (2021). Wood has also led successful TV series, starring on the quirky comedy Wilfred, the Emmy-winning animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall, and the BBC America two-season series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. The actor also earned a recurring role as Walter Tattersall in season 2 of Yellowjackets. 02 of 15 Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee) Pierre Vinet/New Line; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Sean Astin was a recognized name in the film industry long before he took the role of ever-loyal Samwise Gamgee in The Fellowship of the Ring. As a young actor, Astin led the adventure comedy classic The Goonies (1985) and the beloved football film Rudy (1993). Astin has had no shortage of work since starring in The Lord of the Rings. He's appeared in some Adam Sandler films like 50 First Dates (2004), Click (2006), and The Do-Over (2016); lent his voice to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants; worked in movies like Gloria Bell (2018) and iMordecai (2022); and nabbed recurring roles on 24, Stranger Things, Young Rock, and Perry Mason. 03 of 15 Ian McKellen (Gandalf) Pierre Vinet/New Line; David M. Benett/WireImage Sir Ian McKellen has had one of the most prolific careers of any actor. Beginning as a stage performer, McKellen went on to receive international fame for his various big-screen roles. To many, though, he is perhaps best known for his gravitas-filled roles, such as Magneto in several movies in the X-Men franchise (2000–2014) and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. McKellen has gone on to star on the British sitcom Vicious; play the fussy clock Cogsworth in the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast film; and take on the feline role of Gus for the 2019 movie musical adaptation of Cats. Oh, and he's also constantly winning over everyone's hearts by being besties with Patrick Stewart. 04 of 15 Orlando Bloom (Legolas) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Orlando Bloom is a household name now, but he was relatively unknown before taking the part of elven archer Legolas in The Fellowship of the Ring. Since the film, Bloom found himself in a leading role of another successful franchise, The Pirates of the Caribbean (2003–2017), and has also gone on to star in many movies, including Troy (2004), Elizabethtown (2005), The Three Musketeers (2011), The Outpost (2019), and Needle in a Timestack (2021), as well as on the Amazon fantasy series Carnival Row. 05 of 15 Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) Pierre Vinet/New Line; Steve Granitz/WireImage Cate Blanchett was already reeling in major awards before portraying the royal elf Galadriel in The Lord of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Since the role, she hasn't stopped receiving accolades, including the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator (2004) and Best Actress for Blue Jasmine (2014) — the same category for which she has also been nominated for critically acclaimed performances in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Carol (2015), and Tár (2022). The actress has also earned credits for Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2019), Mrs. America, Nightmare Alley (2021), Don't Look Up (2021), and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022), among other titles. 06 of 15 Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) Pierre Vinet/New Line; Angela Weiss/Getty Images Though he had appeared in films like G.I. Jane (1997) and Psycho (1998) beforehand, Viggo Mortensen's big break to an international audience was his role as brave leader Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring. Since his time in Middle-earth, Mortensen has earned Oscar nominations for Best Actor for Eastern Promises (2008), Captain Fantastic (2016), and Green Book (2018). He's also gone on to star in films like A History of Violence (2005), The Road (2009), Falling (2020), Crimes of the Future (2022), and Thirteen Lives (2022). 07 of 15 Sean Bean (Boromir) Pierre Vinet/New Line; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images One of Sean Bean's many characters to get killed on screen is Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring. It's a trend that would continue in many of his roles, most famously culminating in his portrayal of Ned Stark on Game of Thrones. Though some of his characters may die, Bean's reputation as an actor — for better or worse — lives on. (In August 2022, Bean made some candid statements about intimacy coordinators that caused some commotion in the industry.) He's since earned roles in films such as The Martian (2015), Possessor (2020), and Knights of the Zodiac (2023), as well as on the series Legends, The Frankenstein Chronicles, and Snowpiercer. 08 of 15 Liv Tyler (Arwen) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; David M. Benett/WireImage Already a recognizable actress thanks to '90s films like Empire Records (1995) and Armageddon (1998), Liv Tyler grew her fanbase much more by taking the role of Arwen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tyler has gone on to star in The Incredible Hulk (2008), Space Station 76 (2014), and Ad Astra (2019). She's also made TV appearances on The Leftovers, Harlots, and 9-1-1: Lone Star. The actress is also set to reprise her Marvel Cinematic Universe role of Betty Ross in Captain America: New World Order in 2024. 09 of 15 Dominic Monaghan (Merry) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; Mike Windle/BAFTA LA/Getty Images Before The Fellowship of the Ring, Dominic Monaghan had a few television roles in the U.K., but his career blew up after accepting the role of the hobbit Merry. Following the international attention from his Lord of the Rings role, Monaghan took regular gigs on major television series, such as Lost and FlashForward, and has made appearances on Quantum Break and Moonhaven. 10 of 15 Billy Boyd (Pippin) Pierre Vinet/New Line; Harmony Gerber/WireImage Billy Boyd's first major film role was that of Pippin in The Fellowship of the Ring. In the story, Pippin is best friends with Merry, and that relationship mirrors Boyd's actual friendship with Merry actor Monaghan. Boyd has acted in films and television steadily since, and also started the band Beecake, which he fronts. He wrote and performed a song called "The Last Goodbye," which plays over the credits for the final installment of The Hobbit trilogy in 2014. The actor has also earned credits for Outlander, Hollywood, Doom Patrol, Chucky, and The Legend of Vox Machina. 11 of 15 John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; Michael Stewart/Getty Images John Rhys-Davies has a seemingly endless string of acting credits stretching back to the mid-'60s, but most of his fans probably know him mainly as the warrior dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (in addition to the voice of Treebeard in The Two Towers and The Return of the King). Rhys-Davies did have some memorable roles prior to Gimli, such as the jovial Egyptian excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and as a voice actor for various children's cartoons. Since The Fellowship of the Ring, Rhys-Davies has continued to add to his extensive acting and voice work. He voiced characters in episodes of Once Upon a Time, Aquaman (2018), and Guillermo del Toro's Wizards. The actor also appeared in films like I Am Patrick (2020), Bad Cupid (2021), and Kingslayer (2022), and returned to the role of Sallah in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). 12 of 15 Christopher Lee (Saruman) Pierre Vinet/New Line; Heerde/ullstein bild via Getty Images Sir Christopher Lee was in so many major films that every generation probably knows him as a different iconic character. He first gained attention for playing Count Dracula in various films throughout the '50s, '60s, and '70s. He also played Lord Summerisle in the critically praised horror film The Wicker Man (1973) and the villainous Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun (1974). In the early-2000s, Lee gained a ton of new fans by playing magic-wielding villains in huge fantasy franchises — Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Count Dooku in two Star Wars prequel films (and a 2008 animated spin-off movie). After The Lord of the Rings movies, Lee starred in a number of Tim Burton projects — including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), and Dark Shadows (2012), to name a few — reprised his role of Saruman in two installments of The Hobbit trilogy, and began releasing heavy metal songs. Lee died at age 93 due to heart failure in 2015 13 of 15 Hugo Weaving (Elrond) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; Don Arnold/WireImage Hugo Weaving had already found film success before playing the half-elven lord Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring. He made a name for himself in the '90s for major roles in films like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Babe (1995), and The Matrix (1999). After playing Elrond — though he reprised the role in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies — Weaving continued to star in blockbuster movies, appearing in V for Vendetta (2005), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Cloud Atlas (2012), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), and Mortal Engines (2018). The actor also earned TV credits for Seven Types of Ambiguity, Patrick Melrose, and Love Me. 14 of 15 Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins) Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; David M. Benett/Getty Images Ian Holm came into the Lord of the Rings movies as an award-winning veteran actor of stage and screen. The English performer won the 1967 Tony award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in The Homecoming, and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of King Lear. Holm added Bilbo Baggins to his list of iconic film roles, such as Ash in Alien (1979), Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981), and Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element (1997). Holm continued to act in major films alongside his role of the older Bilbo, with featured parts in Garden State (2004), The Aviator, and Ratatouille (2007). Holm's last onscreen credit was The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies before he died at age 88 in 2020. 15 of 15 Andy Serkis (Gollum) Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Andy Serkis' role in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as Gollum, a former hobbit named Smeagol wracked with obsession, helped start his prolific career as the go-to motion capture actor in Hollywood. (Serkis also played Smeagol in The Return of the King and Gollum again in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.) Since then, he's become a giant gorilla in King Kong (2005); an animated sea captain in The Adventures of Tintin (2011); and a chimpanzee in the Planet of the Apes reboot film series (2011–2017). He's also acted on screen (as a human character) in films, such as 13 Going on 30 (2004) and The Prestige (2006). In 2015, Serkis joined the MCU as Ulysses Krane in Avengers: Age of Ultron (and would reprise the role in 2018's Black Panther) and the Star Wars franchise as the villainous Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy, later playing prisoner Kino Loy in Disney+'s Rogue One prequel series, Andor. His other film credits include Long Shot (2019), The Batman (2022), and Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023).