Annarep sends along a selection from Empire’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of all time.
Aragorn makes it to # 31: Like Gandalf, Aragorn undergoes considerable development across the Rings trilogy, but it’s in Return Of The King that Aragorn must confront his destiny, and ergo that’s when the character has most to do. Mortensen owns the part by this stage, and reliably provides great work in a monumental role that requires as much quiet expression from his eyes as it does from being able to swing a sword
Gandalf makes it to #28: It’s quite a transformation for Gandalf across the span of the Rings trilogy. Sure, leading the charge down to Helm’s Deep at the end of The Two Towers took some beating, but it’s in Return of the King that Gandalf the White reallygets it together – and not just sprouting wisdom in the quiet bits. Between temporarily deposing the deranged Steward (Denethor), whipping the army of Gondor into shape, and occasionally breaking out the staff to up a can of whupass on a few orcs, he’s pretty much the whole action thing covered.
Gollum is #13: Similarly to Yoda, our first fascination with Gollum is with his appearance and his strange speech pattern (as well as being a digitally imposed character), but as the second instalment of Lord Of The Rings progresses, it becomes apparent that he’s not one person, but two. It’s all galvanised by one fascinating, heartbreaking, classic scene, but Serkis’ performance continues to consistently display the demented halfling’s highly volatile state.
