10 Most Evil Characters In The Lord Of The Rings

It's been over 20 years since Peter Jackson released his first instalment of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It became one of the biggest cinematic events in modern culture; captivating admirers of the original books, and converting a whole swathe of new, dedicated fans into lifelong nerds.

It spawned a whole series of video games and fan communities, paving the way for fantasy worlds as an accepted and viable setting for movies and TV series. If it hadn't been for the success and popularity of these movies, Game of Thrones would never have been adapted for the big screen and lovers of fantasy would still be resigned to dingy basements, playing Dungeons & Dragons in secret.

The story of Frodo's quest to destroy the One Ring was equal parts moving, exhilarating and terrifying, in no small part due to the evil menace of the story's main protagonists. We saw fire demons, orcs, evil spirits and fallen gods. With The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power due to hit streaming platforms this September, it's the right time to refresh our memories of just how evil the villains of Middle-earth can be.

The orcs of Isengard were some of the most menacing and formidable foes in all of Middle-earth. Saruman bred them in the deep pits of Orthanc. Jackson suggested it was through the means of dark magic that they were made, drawing from an early suggestion of Tolkien that orcs were "bred from the heats and slimes of the earth". Although, he later suggested they could be made through other means.

The Uruk-hai were far superior then the usual orc rabble, standing taller than men and equipped with far better weaponry. They were the most elite of all the orc breads in Middle-earth. Tolkien introduced the Uruk-hai in the Two Towers, but Jackson made the decision to feature them in his first movie.

He also invented a new character to serve as one of the primary antagonist in the film. Lurtz was the first of Saruman's new Uruk-hai to be birthed in the slimes of Isengard. He was one of the most formidable orcs in the entire trilogy; more often than not our heroes made mince meat of the snarling orc hordes, but even Aragorn had a tough time defeating this guy.