What Came Before 'Lord of the Rings'? Quiz

Answer: Christopher Lee

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, SStJ was born in 1922, and became well known for his portrayal of screen villains. As well as the films mentioned in the question, he portrayed Francisco Scaramanga in 'The Man With the Golden Gun', a 1974 'James Bond' film.

In 2012, he played Silas Clarney in the Tim Burton film 'Dark Shadows', based on the cult soap opera of that name which originally aired in the 1960s. Lee has been quoted as saying that his most significant role as an actor was portraying Muhammad Ali Jinnah, one of the moving forces in the establishment of Pakistan as a nation, in the 1998 film 'Jinnah'.

His performance as Saruman brought him attention from a new generation of film-goers.

Answer: Ian McKellen

Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE was born in 1939, and during the 20th century was best known as a British stage actor, along with a number of televised plays that brought him to popular attention. He has had a number of film roles, but only in the 1990s did he start to appear in Hollywood films.

In 1995 he appeared in the title role of the film 'Richard III', in which he adapted Shakespeare's play to set the action in a world in which 1930's England was controlled by Fascists. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for the screenplay as well as for his performance.

His portrayal of Gandalf in 'The Fellowship of the Ring' earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Answer: Ian Holm

Sir Ian Holm was born in Essex in 1931, and has had a distinguished career on stage, both in his native country and on Broadway, where he received a Tony Award in 1967 for his performance of the role of Lenny in Harold Pinter's 'The Homecoming', a part he reprised in the 1973 movie. He won several awards (BAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Cannes Film Festival Award Best Supporting Actor) for his portrayal of Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini, who trained Harold Abrams, one of the central figures in 'Chariots of Fire'. He has also appeared in a number of other British movies, working under the direction of Richard Lester a number of times.

American movie audiences may recall his performances in the 1997 movie 'The Fifth Element' (as Father Vito Cornelius) and in the 1998 film 'Alien' (as the android Ash). In 'The Lord of the Rings', he played the part of Bilbo Baggins, who had 'won' the One Ring from Gollum in 'The Hobbit', and passed it on to Frodo at the start of 'The Lord of the Rings'.

Answer: Hugo Weaving

Hugo Wallace Weaving, born in 1960, made his first film appearance in 1980 as Student 2 in '... Maybe This Time'. In 1989 he starred with Nicole Kidman in the television miniseries 'Bangkok Hilton', which brought him widespread notice. In 1991 he starred with Russell Crowe in 'Proof', playing the blind photographer Martin, a role whch earned him the Australian Film Institute's Best Actor award. (The film was named Best Film, and Crowe Best Supporting Actor.) In 1993 he played Sir John in the comedy 'Reckless Kelly', and in 1994 was part of the ensemble of leads in 'Priscilla', which got international release and led to Hollywood work, including the role of Elrond in 'The Lord of the Rings'.

Answer: Cate Blanchett

Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett was born in 1969 in Ivanhoe, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Her first screen appearance was as an extra in 'Kaboria' (1980), which was being filmed while she was on holiday in Cairo. After a number of stage and television roles, she moved on to the big screen in earnest.

Her first leading role was the part of Lucinda in 'Oscar and Lucinda' (1997). 'Elizabeth' was her first major internationally-released film, and she has continued to make award-winning performances which have earned her a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Answer: Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. was born in 1958, and started his acting career in the early 1980s. He had a small part in Woody Allen's 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' (1985), but it didn't make it to the final cut. 'Witness' was the first in a long line of films in which he appeared during the 1980s and 1990s before being cast as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings'. Apparently he only agreed to take on the role because of his son's love of Tolkien's books. Mortensen is not only an actor - he is a poet, photographer, painter and musician, who used some of the money he earned from 'LoTR' to set up a publishing house called Perceval Press, an alternative to mainstream publishers to encourage experimental work (including his own).

Answer: Sean Astin

Sean Astin was born in 1971, son of the actress Patty Duke, and adopted in 1972 by John Astin, shortly after their marriage. He appeared in a 1981 television movie called 'Please Don't Hit Me, Mom', in which Patty Duke played his abusive mother. The role of Mikey Walsh in 'The Goonies' marked his screen debut at the age of 13.

A number of other screen roles followed before he joined the cast of 'The Lord of the Rings' as Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's sometime gardener and close travelling companion. Sean Astin's daughter Alexandra played the part of Sam's daughter Elanor in the scene near the end of 'The Return of the King' when he came home after saying farewell to Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf at the Grey Havens.

Answer: Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood was born in 1981, and started acting in elementary school, where he appeared in 'The Sound of Music' and 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'. His first work as a professional actor was in a Paula Abdul video for 'Forever Your Girl' in 1988. This was followed by a number of increasingly-major roles, including the lead roles in 'North' (1994) and 'Flipper' (1996), both of which were commercial and critical flops.

However, his performance as Mikey Carver in Ang Lee's acclaimed 'The Ice Storm' (1997) set his career back on track, and his casting as Frodo Baggins in 'The Lord of the Rings' established him as a young adult actor to be reckoned with, not just a promising child actor.

Answer: David Wenham

David Wenham was born in 1965, and graduated from Theatre Nepean at the University of Western Sydney in 1987. In 1992 he had minor parts in the Australian films 'Greenkeeping' and 'Seeing Red', but he became best known in Australia through his work on television, including both Diver Dan and a part in the 1996 telemovie 'Simon de Beauvoir's Babies', for which he won an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Television Drama. Since his success as Faramir in the second and third parts of 'The Lord of the Rings', he has had an ongoing international film career.

Answer: Orlando Bloom

Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom was born in 1977, and was cast as Legolas (after auditioning for the part of Faramir) two days after he graduated in 1999. During the filming of 'The Lord of the Rings', he also appeared in 'Black Hawk Down' (2001); in 2003 he played Will Turner in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl', a character he played again in the sequels 'POTC: Dead Man's Chest' (2006) and 'POTC: At World's End' (2007).