Peter Jackson’s trilogy ofThe Lord of the Ringsfilms came out in the early 2000s to landmark crossover appeal, thanks in no small part to a phenomenal cast that combined some incredible up-and-coming actors with some of the greatest stars of the silver screen. Nothing helped legitimize fantasy cinema as well asIan McKellen truly embodying Gandalfas he consoled Frodo —and by extension, the audience — that all we have to decide in life is what to do with the time that is given to us.
In the 21 years sinceThe Return of the King,we have seen huge changes in how films are made.While most of the stars of the trilogy have gone on to phenomenal careers in acting, much of it has been through smaller-scale independent projects or streaming series, such asSean Astin’s acclaimed role inStranger Things. But quite a few of the Fellowship (and others in the cast) have continued to appear in incredible movies like the following.
Cast
This blockbuster adaptation of Alan Moore’s 1988 dystopian thriller comic series stars Weaving as the titular V. V is a political prisoner turned anti-government vigilante who uses the trappings of the British historical rebel Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up the British Parliament in 1605, to deliver his message in a near-future whereBritain is trapped in the death grip of a fascistic political party. When V rescues Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) from being sexually assaulted by a group of secret police, he winds up drawing her into his plot to destabilize the government.
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Hugo Weaving’s portrayal of V breathed new life into the character, who the film’s script also made more sympathetic than in Moore’s original comic. In the years immediately after the release of the film,V became an icon for political activists of all stripes, and social media continues to be flooded with memes and posts about the movie every 5th of November. Weaving’s acting created a legacy that will remain in pop culture for some time, which is pretty impressive considering he never showed his face in the film.
A History of Violence
A History of Violence, directed by David Cronenberg, follows a quiet family man whose life changes dramatically after he becomes a local hero following an act of self-defense. As media attention grows, his past comes back to haunt him, revealing hidden truths and impacting his family’s perception of him.
Viggo Mortensen calledA History of Violence"one of the best movies [he’s] ever been in"in aHollywood Reporterinterview, and the 88% rating it has onRottenTomatoesmakes it clear that critics agreed. Directed by thriller auteur David Cronenberg,A History of Violencefollows diner owner Tom Stall (Mortensen), who is dragged into the spotlight as a national hero for defending his diner from robbers. With that attention, though, comes the revelation of Tom’s past as a mob hitman, which results in him being torn between his loyalties to his wife and children and to his mafioso brother.
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Although at first glance the film is a departure from Cronenberg’s usual directorial fare,A History of Violenceis actually redolent with his style. Instead of his standard grotesque body horror, however, hehighlights the brutality of the violence Tom and the other mobsters perpetrate with such ease.A History of Violencewas released to significant critical acclaim, garnering a lot of attention at film festivals (including a nomination for Cannes' esteemed Palme d’Or) until finally netting two Oscar nominations at the 78th Academy Awards.
8Cate Blanchett
Tár (2022)
Cate Blanchett’s career afterLord of the Ringssaw her blossom into a significant creative powerhouseas she supplemented her acting talents with a stint directing the Sydney Theatre Company, followed by a Broadway debut in 2017, all the while appearing in numerous films. 2022 saw her star in the psychological dramaTáras Lydia Tár, a world-renowned orchestra conductor who slowly loses control of her life as she pursues several toxic affairs with her coworkers until one of them commits suicide, at which point Tár’s life (along with her sanity) completely shatters.
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A complicated examination of abuse,Tárwas a massive critical success despite its mediocre box-office performance.Blanchett herself received numerous awards from film critics, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, although neither she nor the other five nominees fromTárwon. Still, the significant acclaim from critics and other filmmakers like Martin Scorsese make it clear that Cate Blanchett gave one of the best performances of her career inTár.
Black Panther
Black Panther follows King T’Challa as he returns to Wakanda to assume the throne of the technologically advanced African nation. Faced with internal and external challenges, T’Challa dons the Black Panther mantle, uniting with allies to protect Wakanda from potential global conflict.
While much of Andy Serkis' post-LOTRcareer has been focused onhis groundbreaking work in motion-capture acting(King Kong, multiplePlanet of the Apesfilms,Star Wars, etc.), he has also continued to appear on camera and diversify his skills as a director and producer. One of his most recognizable live-action roles has been the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s recurring character of Ulysses Klaue inAvengers: Age of UltronandBlack Panther.
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As Klaue, Serkis was able to flex his acting skills as he demonstrated the South African arms dealer’s descent into bloodlust, showing a marked contrast between his suave persona inAge of Ultronand his more manic portrayal inBlack Panther. Unfortunately, Klaue’s death at the hands of Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) inBlack Panthermakes it unlikely we’ll see Serkis appear again in the MCU — although since then he’s been busy with theVenomfilms and the upcomingThe Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, soclearly he still enjoys making genre films.
Hugo
Based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo follows the titular character, a young boy living alone in a train station in Paris. While working to restore an automaton found by his late father, Hugo becomes involved in a mystery surrounding the automaton and filmmaker Georges Méliès. Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Jude Law as part of the main cast.
With a seven-decade-long film career that placed him in such culturally eternal roles as Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and Death, Christopher Lee was already one of the greatest actors by the time he played Saruman inThe Lord of the Rings.After the trilogy was completed, though, his star only shone brighter, as he became involved in the heavy metal scene (becoming the oldest living artist to release aBillboardtop 20 hit in 2013 with his Christmas single “Jingle Hell”), recorded numerous audiobooks, and continued to release films until his death in 2015.
In 2011, Lee played a minor role in Martin Scorsese’s adventure dramaHugo. Set in Paris in 1931, the film follows young protagonist Hugo (Asa Butterfield), an orphan who tends the clocks in the Montparnasse train station as he tries to fix a small clockwork automaton his father left him. Lee, as the station bookshop’s owner Monsieur Labisse, helps direct Hugo and his friend Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) to the Film Academy Library. While it was only a small role,it was a chance for Lee to act against type and show his gentler side.
Ad Astra
Brad Pitt stars in Ad Astra as astronaut Roy McBride, who embarks on a mission to Neptune to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) in the outer reaches of space. Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland appear in this 2019 sci-fi movie directed by James Gray.
While Liv Tyler’s career started with thrillers (Silent Fall), comedies about music (Empire Records,That Thing You Do!), and epic summer blockbusters (Armageddon),her roles after playing Arwen inThe Lord of the Ringshave broadened significantly. She’s appeared in films as varied as Kevin Smith’s 2004 flopJersey Girl, 2008’sThe Incredible Hulk(with a reprisal of her character Betty Ross reportedly n the works for 2025’s upcomingCaptain America: Brave New World), and moody horror-fantasyWildling, where she appeared alongside fellowLOTRalum Brad Dourif.
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Aside from her stint in the MCU, one of Tyler’s biggest recent films was 2019’sAd Astra, a dense sci-fi puzzler. Brad Pitt stars as Roy McBride, a 22nd-century astronaut who travels to a space station above Neptune to follow up on his father’s mysterious “Lima Project,” which has been putting off radiation that threatens the entirety of Earth.Tyler plays Eve McBride, Roy’s estranged wifethat he returns home to at the end of the film as he grapples with having learned that humanity really is alone in the universe, but that universe is still full of opportunity.
The Martian
Adapted by Ridley Scott from Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, The Martian follows the plight of astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) after he finds himself stranded alone on Mars after he is falsely presumed dead during a mission. Unable to communicate with Earth and armed with little more than his scientific expertise as a botanist, Watney must find a way to survive on the barren planet until the next scheduled mission arrives.
While Sean Bean’s post-LOTRcareer has mostly been defined by his portrayal of Ned Stark in the first season ofGame of Thrones, the acclaimed English actor has been extremely prolific, and despite popular culture’s conceit to the contrary,most of those roles have not involved him dying on-screen. In fact, in 2019, he specifically announced he would no longer continue playing doomed characters (viaTIME).
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In Ridley Scott’s 2015 blockbusterThe Martian, which follows NASA astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) as he is stranded alone on Mars after an accident leaves him behind while the rest of his mission departs, Bean plays Mitch Henderson, the mission’s flight director who is caught between trying to watch over Watney and the other astronauts and his directives from NASA administrator Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels).Henderson willingly sacrifices his career on a long-shot chance to rescue Watney, which barely manages to succeed.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski, a couple who rediscover their love after erasing each other from their memories. The 2004 drama is written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and includes Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson in its cast.
Much like Daniel Radcliffe after the end of theHarry Potterfilms, Elijah Wood took a chance with his superstar success afterLord of the Ringsandpursued numerous oddball projects, such as providing the voice for the title character of theSpyro the Dragonvideo games and in Cartoon Network’s autumnal horror seriesOver the Garden Wall, or absurd comedy series likeWilfredandDirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. He’s also appeared in a significant number of independent films, like 2023’sThe Toxic Avenger.
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One of Wood’s most visible roles since hanging up his hobbit feet was as memory-erasure technician Patrick in the cerebral psychodramaEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. When Joel Barish (Carrey) discovers that his girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) has had her memories of him erased, he decides to follow suit, but after the procedure is completed, fate brings them back together. In the meantime, Clementine has been dating Patrick, who has been watching her memories of Joel as he erased them and used them as a blueprint to seduce her.
X-Men Days of Future Past
Based on the epic Marvel comic event and following up after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand and The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past is an action superhero film that sees Logan sent back into the past to attempt to avert a cataclysmic disaster. In the future, the last surviving members of the human and mutant races are facing the end of days as the Sentinel menace has nearly wiped everything out of existence. Out of options and out of time, Professor Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr (aka Magneto) agree to send Logan back into the past to prevent the assassination of a man that leads to the end of the world.
Aside from his tenure as Gandalf, one of Sir Ian McKellen’s longest-running and most recognizable roles over the years has been aseternal antagonist Magneto in theX-Menfilm series. Since 2011’sX-Men: First Class, he has shared the role with Michael Fassbender, thanks to timeline shenanigans that come to a head inX-Men: Days of Future Past, which splits its action between 2023 and 1973 as Logan (Hugh Jackman) is sent back in time to prevent an apocalyptic future from wiping out the X-Men.
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McKellen only portrays the older Magneto in the 2023 segments of the film, andhas not reprised the role since, as the two sequels,X-Men: ApocalypseandX-Men: Dark Phoenix, continued on with the 1973 versions of the characters. However, since Patrick Stewart had a cameo as Professor Charles Xavier in 2022’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, confirming theX-Menfilms as existing in some form within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is still a chance for McKellen to once again don Magneto’s iconic helmet and dispense justice against those who would oppress mutants.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is the third film in the blockbuster series directed by Gore Verbinski. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is trapped in Davy Jones' Locker, prompting Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to rescue him. As they battle the East India Trading Company, led by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), they must unite the pirate lords to fight against an impending extinction of piracy.
The Lord of the Ringswas the film series that first put posters of a young Orlando Bloom up in the bedrooms of elf-loving fangirls worldwide, but it was by playing Will Turner in thePirates of the Caribbeanfilms that got critics to start calling himthe Errol Flynn of the 21st century(viaThe Los Angeles Times). With a leading role in the first film trilogy and a cameo bookending 2017’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Bloom showed that he was a consummate swashbuckler.
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At World’s End, the epic finale to the originalPiratestrilogy, was the culmination of every larger-than-life story element that made the series such a blockbuster success, andprovided a fitting narrative conclusion for Will Turner’s character arc. Having begun the films as an upstart blacksmith’s apprentice, Turner finishedAt World’s Endas the new captain of the cursedFlying Dutchmanafter he killed Davey Jones (Bill Nighy).
