10 Lord Of The Rings Extras Who Got Themselves Noticed
5. Gil-galad
The character of Gil-galad was a central figure in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. He was High King of the elves, who together with Elendil formed the Last Alliance. In the books he led the forces of good against evil, and together with Elendil did battle with Sauron. He mortally wounded the Dark Lord, allowing Isildur to cut the Ring from his hand. Gil-galad was burned in the process and died, however.
He was intended to play much larger role in the films but upon recognising the need to focus on Elrond in the prologue, the decision was made to omit him. You can catch a glimpse of him wielding a spear as he batters down an orc during the battle sequence, however.
The actor who played Gil-galad, Mark Ferguson, was gracious enough to understand the reason for his diminished role; realising that Gil-galad's fate would be too gruesome to show on screen. But his character survived, both as an action figure and a miniature for the Warhammer version of Lord of the Rings.