40 Photos of the Lord of the Rings Cast, Then and Now

Before starring as Frodo in Lord of the Rings, Wood already had some acting credits with roles in Flipper, Radio Flyer and Paradise.

Wood has continued acting since starring in the franchise, appearing in shows like Wilfred and films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Celeste and Jesse Forever. He also has been doing voiceovers for video games.

Before portraying Legolas, Bloom had very few credits to his name, but had starred in Black Hawk Down and an episode of Midsomer Murders.

Since the franchise wrapped, Bloom went on to star in films like Kingdom of Heaven, The Three Musketeers and another fantasy franchise: The Pirates of the Caribbean. He's even dabbled with mumblecore indie comedy, appearing in a memorable episode of Joe Swanberg's Netflix series, Easy. Having recently been on the Broadway circuit, his most recent screen credit was the Amazon Prime series Carnival Row.

By the time he was cast as Gandalf in the trilogy, McKellen was already a well-known and highly-respected actor, with multiple Olivier, Tony and Golden Globe Awards to his name.

Continuing his acting career, McKellen starred in films like The Da Vinci Code, Beauty and the Beast and continued his recurring role as Magneto in the X-Men franchise. His most recent role was portraying Gus the Theater Cat in the widely-panned 2019 film adaptation of Cats.

Before Lord of the Rings, Blanchett already found a place in Hollywood with films The Talented Mr. Ripley and Elizabeth, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

Since then, Blanchett has continued acting and becoming a force in Hollywood. She won two Academy Awards for her roles in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, and most recently starred in Where'd You Go Bernadette? and the FX on Hulu series Mrs. America.

Before starring in the franchise as Arwen Undomiel, Tyler was known for her roles in films such as Empire Records and Armageddon.

After the franchise finished, Tyler continued acting in projects like Jersey Girl, The Leftovers and Ad Astra. Fans can see her currently in the TV series 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Before portraying the now-iconic Gollum in the franchise, Serkis was a popular British actor with projects like Pandaemonium and Loop.

Serkis' career took off after the trilogy wrapped, starring in multiple movie franchises, such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Avengers: Age of Ultron. He will be seen next in The Batman with Robert Pattinson, and is also directing the sequel to Venom, due out next year.

Before starring in the franchise as Samwise Gamgee, Astin was already an established actor, with roles in The Goonies, Toy Soldiers and Rudy.

Since the trilogy finished filming, Astin has continued acting, with roles in Stranger Things, No Good Nick and a guest-star spot on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Before portraying Bilbo Baggins in the franchise, Holm was already an established actor, with roles in The Fifth Element and Incognito.

Holm continued acting after wrapping, starring in films such as The Aviator and reprising his role as Bilbo Baggins in the recent The Hobbit films. Holm died in June 2020 at age 88.

Before Lord of the Rings, Weaving was an established actor with films like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and portraying Agent Smith in The Matrix.

Since then, Weaving continued acting, starring in V for Vendetta, Hacksaw Ridge and voicing Megatron in the Transformers franchise.

Before starring in the popular franchise, he had few credits to his name, with roles in Hostile Waters and the British crime TV series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

After the trilogy wrapped, Monaghan's career took off, with roles in projects such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. He also is known for portraying Charlie Pace in the hit series Lost.