We’re now two decades on from the release of The Return of the King, but Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy continues to thrill, move, and entertain audiences around the world. The combination of an all-time great cast, stunning real-world scenery, painstakingly detailed prop work, and smart use of CGI means the trilogy has barely aged a day.
Jackson’s follow-up effort, The Hobbit trilogy, didn’t quite hit those heights, but still scratches that Tolkien itch.
But with time steadily marching on we’ve lost several beloved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit actors, some of whom played key characters and others in memorable bit parts. So, let’s take a look at the actors who once walked Middle-earth but are now no longer with us.
Christopher Lee (Saruman)
Christopher Lee was a screen icon before he ever set foot in Middle-earth, but this was his dream project as he’d been a Tolkien scholar for decades. Lee read the novels annually and was the only person involved in the trilogy to have ever met Tolkien in person.
For decades he’d dreamed of playing Gandalf, though when casting for The Fellowship of the Ring began he conceded that he was too old to manage extensive horse-riding and combat sequences. He instead embraced the role of white wizard Saruman with open arms, resulting in a villain for the ages.
In 2015 Lee died at the age of 93 after being admitted to hospital for respiratory problems and heart failure.
Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins)
Bilbo Baggins doesn’t play a large role in The Lord of the Rings, though Ian Holm packs a lot of character into his brief time in the trilogy. Set many years after his adventures in The Hobbit, we meet an older Bilbo who’s beginning to show worrying signs of being corrupted by the One Ring.
But the Peter Jackson trilogy wasn’t even his first time with the franchise, as he played Frodo in a 1981 BBC Radio adaptation. Holm would also later briefly reprise BIlbo in An Unexpected Journey and The Battle of the Five Armies.
Holm was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease later in life and died in hospital in 2020 at the age of 88.
Barry Humphries (the Great Goblin)
Barry Humphries is best known for playing Dame Edna Everage across decades of television, in the process becoming one of the most famous antipodean cultural exports. Aside from his work in The Hobbit and as Dame Edna, Humphries also appeared in many movies in comedic roles, making him a smart choice to play the Great Goblin in An Unexpected Journey.
The role was played through motion capture and Humphries embraced the technology, cracking a joke:
“I always thought motion capture was something you did when you were taking a specimen at the doctor.”
Humphries suffered a fall in February 2023 and was admitted to hospital for hip surgery that April. He died from complications during the surgery at the age of 89.
Alan Howard (Sauron / The One Ring)
We never see Alan Howard during The Lord of the Rings, but his voice is a constant presence across the movies. Though Sauron spends the entire trilogy as a flaming, lidless eye, his voice is often heard by Frodo whenever he wears the One Ring, sinisterly hissing “I SEEEE YOUUUU”.
Howard was otherwise best known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, seeing him pick up multiple awards over his many years on the stage.
Howard died of pneumonia in 2015 at the age of 77.
Elizabeth Moody (Lobelia Sackville-Baggins)
Elizabeth Moody’s Lobelia isn’t seen in the theatrical cut of The Fellowship of the Ring, appearing only in the Extended Edition. Despite her very brief role, she’s worthy of recognition as a long-time collaborator with Peter Jackson. Moody played a central role in Jackson’s ludicrously entertaining splatter movie Braindead and also appeared in his breakthrough mainstream effort Heavenly Creatures.
In 2010 Moody was diagnosed with an abscess on her brain and was admitted to hospital, where she died of pneumonia three weeks later at the age of 70.
Bruce Allpress (Aldor)
You may not recognize this character’s name, but you probably remember his face. In The Two Towers‘ Battle of Helm’s Deep, Rohan is forced to conscript everyone who can raise a sword or shield against the Saruman’s army. This includes the very young and old, with Aragorn despairing at soldiers who’ve “seen too many winters”.
Bruce Allpress plays one of the elderly soldiers, with his arms shaking as he holds a bow taut. He then accidentally fires the first shot, killing an Uruk-hai and sparking the beginning of the battle.
Allpress was primarily known for his television work in New Zealand, though also appeared in The Piano and Nate and Hayes alongside Tommy Lee Jones. He died in 2020, six months after a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Noel Appleby (Odo Proudfoot)
Odo Proudfoot is another small but memorable role, appearing in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King as a resident of The Shire. Appleby makes an impression early on when he scowls at Gandalf, just as Frodo informs the wizard he’s considered “a disturber of the peace”. But this seems to be a front, as moments later his wife chastises him for chuckling at Gandalf’s fireworks.
Appleby also gets a single line during Bilbo’s birthday celebrations, proudly proclaiming “Proudfeet!” when Bilbo dubs them “Proudfoots”.
He died in 2007 at the age of 74 after suffering from stomach cancer.
William Johnson (Old Noakes)
Another brief role, but one that provides some subtle yet important information. Johnson appears as the elderly hobbit Old Noakes in the Ivy Bush tavern scene before Bilbo’s birthday, where he discusses “strange folk crossing the shire”.
Johnson went on to work with Peter Jackson again on King Kong and died in New Zealand in 2016 at the age of 92.
