Sir Peter Robert Jackson, (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his Lord of the Rings film trilogy, adapted from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is also known for his 2005 remake of King Kong and as the producer of District 9. He won international attention early in his career with his "splatstick" horror comedies, before coming to mainstream prominence with Heavenly Creatures, for which he shared an Academy Award Best Screenplay nomination with his wife, Fran Walsh. Jackson has been awarded three Academy Awards in his career, including the award for Best Director in 2003.
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Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He rose to international fame for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).
Wood made his film debut with a small part in Back to the Future Part II (1989). He went on to achieve recognition as a child actor with multiple roles such as Avalon (1990) and The Good Son (1993). As a teenager, he starred in several films including North (1994), Flipper (1996), and The Ice Storm (1997). Following the success of The Lord of the Rings, Wood has appeared in a wide range of films, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Paris, je t'aime (2006), and I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017).
Wood's voice roles include Mumble in the Happy Feet film franchise (2006–2011), the title protagonist in 9 (2009), Spyro the Dragon in the Legend of Spyro video game trilogy (2006–2008), Beck on Disney XD's Tron: Uprising (2012–2013), Sigma in Season 10 of Red vs. Blue, and Wirt in the Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall (2014). He played Ryan Newman on the FX dark comedy series Wilfred (2011–2014), for which he received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor, and Todd Brotzman in the BBC America series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016–2017).
Wood founded the record label Simian Records in 2005, which was dissolved in 2015. He directed the 2007 music video "Energy" for The Apples in Stereo. In 2010, Wood co-founded a film production company for horror films, The Woodshed, renamed SpectreVision in 2013. Wood is a disc jockey, and has toured globally with his friend Zach Cowie as the duo Wooden Wisdom.
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Sean Astin (born February 25, 1971) is an American film actor, director, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24. He also provided the voice for the title character in Disney's Special Agent Oso.
Sir Ian Murray McKellen CH CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. With a career spanning more than sixty years, he is noted for his roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cultural icon and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, six Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and five Emmy Awards.
McKellen made his stage debut in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of its repertory company, and in 1965 he made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II. In the 1970s McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He has earned five Olivier Awards for his roles in Pillars of the Community (1977), The Alchemist (1978), Bent (1979), Wild Honey (1984), and Richard III (1995). McKellen made his Broadway debut in The Promise (1965). He went on to receive the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1980). He was further nominated for Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1984). He returned to Broadway in Wild Honey (1986), Dance of Death (1990), No Man's Land (2013), and Waiting for Godot (2013), the latter two being a joint production with Patrick Stewart.
McKellen achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in Richard III (1995), James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998), Magneto in the X-Men films, and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies. Other notable film roles include A Touch of Love (1969), Plenty (1985), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Restoration (1995), Mr. Holmes (2015), and The Good Liar (2019).
McKellen came out as gay in 1988 and has since championed LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in October 2014. McKellen is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. He is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation, and FFLAG.
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Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. (born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the state of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentina during his childhood. He is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and has been nominated for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings film series, a role he reprised in The Hobbit film series. He gained further notice appearing in epic fantasy, historical, and adventure films, notably as Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
Bloom appeared in Hollywood films such as Paris in Troy (2004) and Balian de Ibelin in Kingdom of Heaven (2005). He stars in the Amazon Prime Video series Carnival Row (2019–present).
He made his professional stage debut in In Celebration at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End in 2007 and starred in a Broadway adaption of Romeo and Juliet in 2013. In 2009, Bloom was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 2015 he received the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award.
Shaun Mark Bean (born 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of Romeo and Juliet in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire accent, he first found mainstream success for his portrayal of Richard Sharpe in the ITV series Sharpe, which originally ran from 1993 to 1997.
Bean's film roles include Patriot Games (1992), GoldenEye (1995), Ronin (1998), Don't Say a Word (2001), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003), Equilibrium (2002), National Treasure (2004), Troy (2004), Flightplan (2005), North Country (2005), The Island (2005), Silent Hill (2006), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Black Death (2010), Jupiter Ascending (2015), and The Martian (2015).
His television roles include the BBC anthology series Accused, Broken, Game of Thrones, and the ITV historical drama series Henry VIII and Legends. As a voice actor, Bean has been featured in the video games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Sid Meier's Civilization VI, and the feature films Wolfwalkers and Mummies among others. Bean has also been the main voice over for O2 and their adverts for over 20 years having originally taken the job in 2002.
In 2022, Bean won the British Academy Television Award as Leading Actor in Time, a BBC One drama.
John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor and vocal artist. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which he also voiced the ent, Treebeard. He also played Agent Michael Malone in the 1993 remake of the 1950s television series The Untouchables, Professor Maximillian Arturo in Sliders, King Richard I in Robin of Sherwood, General Leonid Pushkin in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, and Macro in I, Claudius. Additionally, he provided the voices of Cassim in Disney's Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Man Ray in SpongeBob SquarePants, and Tobias in the computer game Freelancer. He is also the narrator for the TV show Wildboyz.
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Liv Rundgren Tyler (born Liv Rundgren; July 1, 1977) is an American actress. She began a modelling career at age 14 before making her film debut in Silent Fall (1994); she went on to achieve critical recognition with starring roles in Heavy and Empire Records (both 1995), as well as That Thing You Do! and Stealing Beauty (both 1996). She then appeared in films such as Inventing the Abbotts (1997), Armageddon (1998), Cookie's Fortune and Onegin (both 1999), Dr. T & the Women (2000), and One Night at McCool's (2001). She then played the elf Arwen Undómiel in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), which became one of the highest-grossing film series in history.
Following the success of Lord of the Rings, Tyler has appeared in a variety of roles, including the films Jersey Girl (2004), Lonesome Jim (2005), Reign Over Me (2007), The Strangers, The Incredible Hulk (both 2008), Robot & Frank (2012), Space Station 76 (2014), Wildling (2018), and Ad Astra (2019). Outside of film, she starred in the HBO supernatural drama series The Leftovers (2014–2017), the BBC period drama series Gunpowder (2017), the ITV/Hulu period drama series Harlots (2018–2019), and the Foxprocedural drama series 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020).
Tyler is also a singer. Having sung with composer Howard Shore, she appeared as a guest vocalist on The Lemonheads' album Varshons (2009), singing a cover of the Leonard Cohen song "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye." She appeared on the 2017 bonus disc of Evan Dando's album Baby I'm Bored (2003), providing featured vocals for the song "Shots Is Fired." In 2011, she released her debut single, "Need You Tonight.".
Tyler has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States since 2003 and as a spokesperson for Givenchy's line of perfume and cosmetics. She is the daughter of Steven Tyler and Bebe Buell, although she has a very close relationship with her adoptive father, Todd Rundgren.
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Hugo Wallace Weaving AO (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has also been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia.
Weaving landed his first major role as English cricket captain Douglas Jardine on the Australian television series Bodyline (1984). Continuing to act in Australia, he rose to prominence with his appearances in the films Proof (1991) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), winning his first AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role with the former. By the turn of the millennium, Weaving achieved international recognition through appearances in mainstream American productions. His most notable film roles include Agent Smith in the first three The Matrix films (1999–2003), Elrond in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies, the title character in V for Vendetta (2005), and Johann Schmidt / Red Skull in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
In addition to his live action appearances, Weaving has had several voice over roles, including in the films Babe (1995), Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet Two (2011), and the Transformers series as Megatron (2007–2011). He also reprised his roles of Agent Smith and Elrond in Matrix and Lord of the Rings video game adaptations.
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Catherine Elise Blanchett (born May 14, 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. Blanchett is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.
After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Blanchett began her acting career on the Australian stage, taking on roles in Electra in 1992 and Hamlet in 1994. She came to international attention as Elizabeth I in the drama film Elizabeth (1998), for which she won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and received her first of seven Academy Award nominations. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a neurotic former socialite in Woody Allen's comedy-drama Blue Jasmine (2013). Blanchett's other Oscar-nominated roles include Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and Carol (2015). Her highest-grossing films include The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Cinderella (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018).
Blanchett has performed in over 20 theatre productions. From 2008 to 2013, she and her husband, Andrew Upton, were the artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company. Some of her stage roles during that period were in revivals of A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya and The Maids, garnering several theatre awards and nominations. She made her Broadway debut in 2017 in The Present, for which she received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play nomination. Blanchett has also received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Limited Series as producer for the FX/Hulu historical drama miniseries Mrs. America (2020).
Christopher Lee (May 5, 1922 – June 7, 2015) was an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973), Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in Star Wars episodes II and III (2002, 2005) and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003). Lee considers his most important role to have been his portrayal of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). He is well known for his deep, commanding voice. Lee has performed roles in 266 films since 1948 making him the Guinness book world record holder for most film acting roles ever. He was knighted in 2009 and received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011.
Dominic Monaghan (born December 8, 1976) is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost.
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Billy Boyd (born 28 August 1968) is a Scottish actor and musician most widely known for playing the character Peregrin "Pippin" Took in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and Barret Bonden in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
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Richard Taylor is a New Zealand filmmaker born on February 8, 1965 in England. He is the founder, creative director and head of New Zealand film prop and special effects company Wētā Workshop.