60 Fun Facts About Return of the King

Who directed The Return of the King (2003)?

Peter Jackson directed all three films, shot back to back in his native New Zealand, and won the Academy Award for Best Director for this final instalment.

Which actor plays Frodo Baggins?

Elijah Wood plays Frodo Baggins; he won the part by sending in an audition tape of himself dressed as the hobbit and reading from the book, and was the first actor cast.

Which actor plays Aragorn, the ranger who must claim the throne of Gondor?

Viggo Mortensen was a last-minute replacement for Stuart Townsend and took the part partly because his son loved the books; at the coronation it is his own voice singing Tolkien's verse.

Who provides the performance for Sméagol and Gollum?

Andy Serkis provides the performance for Sméagol and Gollum; the film's prologue shows him on camera as Sméagol, strangling Déagol for the Ring before his decline into Gollum.

Which sequel won Best Picture before The Return of the King?

The Godfather Part II had been the only sequel to win; the first two Rings films were both nominated for Best Picture and lost, before the third took all 11 awards it was up for.

Which 1959 epic first set the record of 11 Oscars that The Return of the King matched?

Ben-Hur won 11 of the 12 awards it was up for, missing only for its screenplay; The Return of the King went one better, winning every one of its 11 nominations.

In which city did The Return of the King have its world premiere in December 2003?

Wellington, the production's home base, hosted the premiere, and more than 100,000 people lined the streets to cheer the director and stars on their way to the screening.

Which studio financed and distributed The Return of the King on its 2003 release?

New Line Cinema financed and distributed the trilogy after Miramax, which had developed it as two films, put the project into turnaround in 1998.

Who composed the score for The Return of the King?

Howard Shore composed the score, as for the whole trilogy; after his first closing song was set aside he co-wrote "Into the West", and score and song each won him an Oscar that night.

Which singer performed the end-title song "Into the West"?

Annie Lennox sang "Into the West" and shared its Academy Award for Best Original Song; the lyric was partly inspired by Cameron Duncan, a young New Zealand filmmaker who died of cancer in 2003.

Which actor plays Denethor, the Steward of Gondor?

John Noble plays Denethor; the Australian actor, later Walter Bishop in Fringe, was given a steward far greedier and more self-indulgent than the stern, capable ruler of Tolkien's book.

Which character slays the Witch-king of Angmar at the Pelennor Fields?

Merry helps by stabbing the Witch-king first; in the book readers do not know Éowyn is on the field until she removes her helmet.

Which hobbit secretly lights the beacons to call Rohan to Gondor's aid?

Pippin climbs up and lights the beacon at Gandalf's urging; the sequence was invented for the film, since in the book Denethor had already ordered the beacons lit before Gandalf arrived.

Which giant spider traps Frodo in her lair?

Shelob is the giant spider who stings Frodo in her lair; her attack closes Tolkien's Two Towers but was moved into the third film.

What is the name of Aragorn's sword, reforged from the shards of Narsil?

Andúril, the Flame of the West, is the sword Elrond brings to Aragorn at Dunharrow; the reforging of Narsil was originally planned for The Two Towers and moved into the third film.

Which actor was cut from the theatrical release of The Return of the King, prompting a fan petition?

Christopher Lee's only scene, Saruman's death at Orthanc, was dropped from the theatrical cut and restored in the Extended Edition; he told British television he was shocked.

In The Return of the King, which hobbit does Sam marry once the four friends are safely home?

Rosie Cotton is who Sam thinks of as the lava closes in on Mount Doom, telling Frodo she is the one he would have married; home again at the Green Dragon, he walks straight over to her.

In The Return of the King, who sails from the Grey Havens on the Elven ship alongside Frodo and Gandalf?

Bilbo, by now very frail, is the passenger the hobbits think they have come to see off; only on the quay do they learn that Frodo is sailing too.

Which real landmark is said to have inspired the tiered look of Gondor's capital in The Return of the King?

Mont Saint-Michel, the tidal island abbey in France, is said to have suggested the city's seven-tiered shape, whereas scholars link Tolkien's own city to Troy, Rome, Ravenna and Constantinople.

Which New Zealand location, used for military training, hosted the Battle of the Black Gate in The Return of the King?

The Rangipo Desert, a barren volcanic plateau in the central North Island, stood in for the plain before the Black Gate, where Aragorn's outnumbered force rides out as bait so that Frodo can cross Mordor unseen.

On which New Zealand mountain's slopes were the Mount Doom climbing scenes of The Return of the King filmed?

Ruapehu, an active volcano, supplied the slopes the hobbits struggle up, while its cone-shaped neighbour Ngauruhoe also stood in for the mountain; both summits are sacred to Māori.

In The Return of the King, what is the Witch-king riding when he strikes down King Théoden?

A fell beast, the winged mount of the Nazgûl, brings down Théoden and his horse, a change from the book, where a black dart fells the horse; the creature is beheaded moments later.

Which film finished second to The Return of the King at the 2003 worldwide box office?

Finding Nemo took about $870 million worldwide, but The Return of the King, opening only on 17 December, outran it and crossed $1 billion two months later.

Which actress plays Éowyn?

Miranda Otto, an Australian actress, plays Éowyn, and unlike the book's Dernhelm disguise the film lets viewers see her ride openly into the battle with Merry beside her.

Which actor plays Faramir, head of the Rangers defending Osgiliath?

David Wenham plays Faramir; in the Extended Edition his character falls in love with Rohan's shieldmaiden in the Houses of Healing, a subplot largely cut from the theatrical release.

Sean Astin's real daughter appears in the final scene of The Return of the King as which character?

Elanor Gamgee, eldest child of the Gamgee household, is played by Alexandra Astin in the final scene; in Tolkien's appendices she grows up to serve Queen Arwen and to inherit the Red Book.

Which illustrator of Tolkien's books shared The Return of the King's Oscar for Art Direction?

Alan Lee had illustrated the novel's centenary edition; the director used those paintings as inspiration while planning the films, then recruited him as a lead concept artist.

The Return of the King swept its Oscar night without a single nomination in which area?

Acting: none of the cast was nominated, yet the film won every award it was up for, just after the Screen Actors Guild gave the same cast its ensemble prize.

What is the name of the wolf-headed battering ram that smashes the gate of Gondor's capital?

Grond, a huge ram with a head shaped like a ravening wolf, breaks the gate; in the film the Orc commander calls for "the Wolf's Head" when his troops report that the doors will not give.

Which actor plays the wizard Gandalf in The Return of the King?

Ian McKellen plays Gandalf; the film hands him the book's closing vision of white shores and a far green country, spoken to calm a frightened hobbit during the siege.

Who wrote the lyrics for "Into the West"?

Fran Walsh wrote the lyrics for "Into the West" and shared its Best Original Song Oscar; the screenwriter's own voice also went into the screech of the Nazgûl.

Which soprano sings as Arwen has a vision of her future son?

Renée Fleming, the American opera star, sings "Twilight and Shadow" over Arwen's vision; the composer, who wanted the trilogy's music to feel like opera, brings her voice back at the climax inside Mount Doom.

Which flautist plays as Frodo and Sam climb Mount Doom?

James Galway plays the flute and tin whistle solos; over the film the hobbits' homely whistle gives way to his classical flute, the score's way of showing how far the journey has changed them.

In the Extended Edition, who kills Saruman?

Gríma stabs Saruman in the back atop Orthanc and is felled by an arrow moments later; Saruman's body drops onto a spiked wheel below.

Which actor sings "The Edge of Night" on screen as Faramir's riders charge towards Osgiliath?

Billy Boyd wrote the melody himself, setting lines from a walking song in Tolkien's book; in the film it plays as the doomed charge rides out.

Lawrence Makoare, the trilogy's Lurtz, plays the Witch-king and which deformed Orc commander in The Return of the King?

Gothmog leads the assault on the city with a misshapen face and a crippled arm; Makoare wore the prosthetics while Craig Parker, the trilogy's Haldir, supplied the voice.

Which line, the last in Tolkien's novel, also ends the film of The Return of the King?

"Well, I'm back" is what Sam tells his family after seeing Frodo sail; the words close Tolkien's novel, and the film ends on them as he shuts his front door.

Which title did Tolkien prefer for the third volume, feeling the published one revealed too much?

Tolkien suggested The War of the Ring, feeling the published title gave away the ending; publisher Rayner Unwin, who had split the novel into three volumes, kept The Return of the King.

Which chapter of Tolkien's The Return of the King did the 2003 film adaptation leave out entirely?

The Scouring of the Shire, in which the returning hobbits free the Shire from Saruman's ruffians, was dropped because the screenwriters saw it as anticlimactic after the Ring's destruction.

In the appendices to Tolkien's The Return of the King, which office does Sam win seven times running?

Mayor of the Shire: Sam is elected seven times, each term lasting seven years, before he hands on the Red Book and, by family tradition, follows Frodo over the Sea.

In Tolkien's The Return of the King, who succeeds Théoden as King of Rohan?

Éomer, Théoden's sister-son, is hailed as King of the Mark by the dying Théoden on the Pelennor Fields and succeeds him; in the film the king's last words go to his niece instead.

In Tolkien's The Return of the King, which herb does Aragorn use to revive the wounded in the Houses of Healing?

Athelas, also called kingsfoil, was a plant whose healing power Gondor had largely forgotten; an old saying held that the hands of the king are the hands of a healer, so the cure helps reveal who Aragorn is.

Which poet's New York Times review called The Lord of the Rings "a masterpiece of its genre"?

W. H. Auden, who as an Oxford undergraduate discovered Old English poetry through Tolkien's lectures, reviewed the volumes warmly in The New York Times and kept defending the book.

In Tolkien's appendices, which surname do Sam's eldest son Frodo and his heirs take?

Gardner is the name the family tree gives Sam's heir, Frodo Gardner, and his line; it honours the gardener who replanted the Shire's trees after the war.

Which people ride the giant mûmakil into battle against Rohan's cavalry on the Pelennor Fields?

The Haradrim, men of the far south, ride the mûmakil; their arrival breaks the Riders' first success and turns the battle against Rohan.

The Return of the King's record five-day Wednesday opening was beaten the following May by which film?

Shrek 2 took the record after DreamWorks pulled its opening forward two days, from a Friday to a Wednesday, citing demand from fans.

Near the end of The Return of the King, Frodo marks four years to the day since he was wounded where?

Weathertop: writing in the Red Book, Frodo says the Witch-king's blade wound has never really healed, the lingering hurt that sends him over the Sea soon after.

Which actor plays the Fellowship's Dwarf in The Return of the King and also voices the Ent Treebeard?

John Rhys-Davies reacted so badly to the Dwarf's prosthetic makeup that his eyes sometimes swelled shut, and he later ruled out returning for The Hobbit films because of it.

In the Extended Edition of The Return of the King, who passes out in a drinking game at Edoras?

Gimli, certain he will win, matches his Elf rival pint for pint until he keels over, while the Elf is still on his feet.

Which Weta Workshop co-founder ran the armour, creature and prosthetics work on The Return of the King?

Richard Taylor co-founded Weta Workshop with Tania Rodger and shared the film's Oscars for Makeup and Costume Design; in the Extended Edition he turns up on screen as a Corsair pirate.

Which creatures carry Frodo and Sam from the slopes of the erupting Mount Doom?

Eagles, led by Gwaihir, who had once plucked Gandalf from Saruman's tower, carry the wizard in to lift the two hobbits off the mountain as it erupts.

In which city is Aragorn crowned at the end of The Return of the King?

Minas Tirith hosts the coronation; the film stages it in the Citadel at the city's summit, whereas in the book Aragorn is crowned on the field outside and only then enters as king.

What object does Gandalf retrieve from Saruman at Isengard, which a hobbit later dares to look into?

A palantír, one of the seeing-stones, is fished from the water at Orthanc's foot; the hobbit's later look into it shows a burning white tree, warning that Gondor is Sauron's next target.

In the Extended Edition of The Return of the King, which character kills the director's Corsair cameo?

Legolas is told to fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear, but Gimli shoves his bow and the arrow kills the pirate, who is played by the director himself.

In The Return of the King, whom does the despairing Denethor try to burn alive on a funeral pyre?

Faramir, wounded but still alive, is pulled clear in time; Denethor, wrongly sure his son is past saving, is set ablaze and leaps to his death.

Which horse carries Gandalf from Rohan to Gondor's capital in The Return of the King?

Shadowfax became Gandalf's when a hostile King Théoden told him to take any horse and be gone; the wizard chose the finest in Rohan.

In The Return of the King, from which stronghold does the Witch-king lead his forces out as Frodo and Sam watch?

Minas Morgul was once a fortress of Gondor, the Tower of the Moon, until the Nazgûl captured it; in the film a beam of green light shoots from the city as the march begins.

The Witch-king was redesigned for The Return of the King for fear viewers would confuse him with which villain?

Sauron's own helm looked so like the Witch-king's first design that scenes already filmed in it were shot again with a new mask, in case viewers thought the Dark Lord had taken the field.

In The Return of the King, which food does Gollum frame Sam for eating on the stairs of Cirith Ungol?

Lembas bread: Gollum plants crumbs of the Elvish waybread on Sam's cloak and accuses him of stuffing his face, and a deceived Frodo orders his friend to go home.

Which host does Aragorn hold to an oath once sworn to Isildur?

The Army of the Dead broke their oath to fight for Isildur and were cursed never to rest; Aragorn, his heir, releases them once they have fought for Gondor.