Lord of the Rings finished 12 years ago – where are Gandalf and the rest of the cast now?
By Chris Harkin ⋅ From Movie Pilot

After recently rewatching the final hobbit film, I found myself wondering how some of the original Lord of the Rings cast members have gotten on since the huge films. The cast of the trilogy was so large that it was inevitable some of them would go on to be huge stars. Some got the kick start their careers needed with Lord of the Rings, and some fell into obscurity. Three of them are in the MCU, and some of the others are part of massive franchises! Everything from Transformers to Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Trek! Check out below how they’re getting on!

Ian McKellen (Gandalf)

Yes it is.
Sir Ian McKellen has stayed strong since the Lord of the Rings, with his continued appearances in the X-Men Franchise with “The Last Stand”, “Days of Future Past” and “The Wolverine”. He has also had roles in big films like “Stardust”, “Flushed Away” and “The DaVinci Code”, not to forget that he recently reprised his epic role of Gandalf the Grey in The Hobbit Trilogy.

Upcoming: McKellen is currently starring in “Mr Holmes” as an older version of the legendary detective, and is set to star in several other big productions in the next couple of years, most notably in the live action “Beauty and the Beast” as Cogsworth. In short, McKellen is set to be around for quite a while longer.

Orlando Bloom (Legolas)

Watch the hair!
Orlando has continued strongly in the action genre since Lord of the Rings, with leading roles in “Troy”, “Kingdom of Heaven” and as Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Most recently he too reprised his role as Legolas in the latter stages of The Hobbit Trilogy.

Upcoming: Orlando doesn’t have a lot planned right now, but he is set to reprise his role of Will Turner in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”.

Sean Bean (Boromir)

Oh… it came.
Sean Bean has done well for himself since Lord of the Rings, although it seems that for the most part he has turned villain. You can debate about who the villain was in “Troy”, but there’s no doubting that his characters were villainous in films like “National Treasure” and “The Island”. More recently, he took on the role of Zeus in “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”, and then infamously became Eddard Stark on “Game of Thrones”, before SPOILER WARNING: Got beheaded.

Upcoming: Bean may reprise his role of Zeus in future Percy Jackson films, but we know for certain that we will see him shortly in “The Martian” alongside a huge cast, including Matt Damon and Kate Mara.

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel)

Oh please!
Cate Blanchett has one of the longest lists of films since Lord of the Rings of anyone on this list. Her credits include “The Aviator”, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Robin Hood”, “How to Train Your Dragon 2”, The Hobbit Films and even as the infamous Stepmother in the recent live-action version of “Cinderella”. She has worked with a long list of mega-stars including Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe, Harrison Ford and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Upcoming: Blanchett is set to reprise her role as the mother of Hiccup in the third installment of the How to Train Your Dragon series, and will also be in Jungle Book: Origins, as Kaa the Python. Watch out for Cate, she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

John Noble (Denethor)

Who me?
John Noble has settled more into TV since Lord of the Rings. He has had big roles in Fringe, as Dr. Walter Bishop, and more recently Sleepy Hollow, as Henry Parrish. He also voiced Dr. Jonathon Crane (Scarecrow) in the new Batman: Arkham Knight game.

Upcoming: Noble only has Guardians of Luna on his upcoming list, but rest assured that more is to follow.

Andy Serkis (Gollum)

Hello precious!
Andy Serkis is possibly THE most successful actor on this list right now. He is taking on roles across multiple mega-franchises. Since Lord of the Rings he has starred in “King Kong” as the infamous ape, “The Prestige”, “Flushed Away”, “Inkheart”, “Burke and Hare” and “Arthur Christmas”, not to mention his big franchise roles in “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” as Captain Haddock, in the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” films as Caesar, and in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” as Ulysses Klaue.

Upcoming: The mega career that Serkis is building for himself is set to get even more massive in the next couple of years. He is set to star in further films in The Planet of the Apes and Tintin series, and he will be back as Ulysses Klaue as the main antagonist in “Black Panther”. He is also set to direct and star in “Jungle Book: Origins” as Baloo the Bear, and is even set to have a big role in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Liv Tyler (Arwen)

I don’t wanna miss a thing guys
Liv Tyler has fallen into some obscurity since the Lord of the Rings, compared to some of the big roles that she had before the trilogy. She has been in “Reign over Me” and “The Ledge” and most famously starred as Betty Ross in “The Incredible Hulk”. More recently she starred in “The Leftovers”.

Upcoming: Tyler is set to reprise her role in following seasons of “The Leftovers”. Beyond that she has nothing planned, but there is always the possibility she could return as Betty Ross in future Marvel films.

Karl Urban (Eomer)

What, my turn?
One of my favourite actors hands down, Karl Urban’s career really kicked off after Lord of the Rings. He starred in “Chronicles of Riddick”, “Doom” and “Bourne Supremacy” before landing one of his biggest roles to date in the reboot of “Star Trek” as Dr McCoy. Since then, he has had big roles in “RED”, “Priest” and “Riddick” as well as “Star Trek Into Darkness” and possibly his greatest role of all, as the infamous Judge Dredd in 2012’s “Dredd”.

Upcoming: Urban has plenty on his schedule right now, like “Star Trek Beyond” and “Pete’s Dragon”, and, we can only hope, a Dredd Sequel.

Hugo Weaving (Elrond)

Suns out guns out!
Hugo Weaving played an epitome of good as Elrond in Lord of the Rings, but since has played almost exclusively villains. True, he was an anti-hero in the excellent comic adaption of “V for Vendetta”, but since has been villains in “Happy Feet”, The Transformers films as Megatron and in “Captain America: The First Avenger” as Red Skull. He recently took on the role of Elrond again in the Hobbit films.

Upcoming: Not much on Weaving’s schedule for the moment, except for a role in “The Dressmaker” alongside Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth. But we can always hope that he will return as Red Skull again!

David Wenham (Faramir)

Yes, me now.
David Wenham has been in way more than I realised since Lord of the Rings. He has starred in “Van Helsing” alongside Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, “300” and it’s sequel alongside the likes of Gerard Butler, Eva Green and Lena Headey, “Australia” and “Public Enemies”.

Upcoming: Wenham is actually set to star in the next installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise alongside Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.

Christopher Lee (Saruman)

Rock on you legend!
Last on this list needs no introduction. Sir Christopher Lee was already an incredible legend by the time he starred in Lord of the Rings, but since then he managed to add a few more excellent credits to his astounding career. He starred as the villainous Count Dooku in the Star Wars Prequel films, and in films such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “The Golden Compass”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “Season of the Witch”, “Hugo” and of course the Hobbit films.

Upcoming: As most people reading will know, Sir Christopher died on 7th June this year, at the age of 93. He has 278 acting credits on his IMDB profile. In a fitting fashion, the last film he starred in before his death, to be released later this year, is about angels, and is called “Angels in Notting Hill.” Thank you and farewell Sir Christopher Lee.

Thanks for reading guys! If you want more throwback articles and articles about anything I think of in my strange little mind, please click on the big blue follow button found on the link below!

Star Wars 2+3, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Golden Compass, Alice in Wonderland, Season of the Witch, Hugo, Hobbit. Death Date: 7th June 2015.

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