10 Most Paused Lord Of The Rings Moments
4. Smeagol Becomes Gollum
In the opening scene of Return of the King, we see a hobbit called Deagol discover the One Ring in a lake. Overcome by its corrupt power, Deagol is killed by his friend, Smeagol, who then claims the ring for himself. Terrified someone else might steal his Precious, Smeagol secludes himself in an abandoned cave. Over the years, the Ring of Power's properties distort Smeagol's body, transmogrifying him into an emaciated, gaunt creature.
Not only is this the one scene we see Gollum before he was... well... Gollum, it's also the only time he is portrayed physically by Andy Serkis rather than through motion-capture. However, there is a seamless shot that only lasts a second where Smeagol becomes Gollum. In the final shot of this intro, we see Andy Serkis, covered in prosthetics gaze at the Master Ring and close his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, his eyes are now CGI, emphasising that he has now become utterly corrupted by the ring. The moment is very quick but its an extraordinary attention to detail that Tolkien fans truly appreciated.