These are my top ten favorite Orcs from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Having collected an army of Eaglemoss figurines depicting The Lord of the Rings characters, I soon assembled an army of orcs which got me thinking about which were my favorites from the two trilogies put together. Personality-wise, it is hard to distinguish between any Orc and many of them get limited screen time. Therefore, I have picked some for their unique and striking physical appearance or accoutrements that made them memorable, but others actually have character traits, dialogue and a personality that stands out from the rest.
5) GORBAG – MORGUL ORC
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Gorbag is captain of the Morgul Orcs of Crith Ungol, an outpost of Minas Morgul, and locks horns with the Black Uruk chieftain Shagrat upon discovering the stunned Frodo in Shelob’s Lair. He tells us a little bit about Shelob in rather gloating fashion; “she jabs them with her stinger and they go as limp as a boned fish. Then she has her way with them. That’s how she likes to feed-fresh blood.” Shagrat wants to steal Frodo’s valuable mithril shirt for himself, whilst Gorbag insists on taking the shirt to Sauron. A fight erupts and a full scale battle ensues between the Morgul Orcs and the Black Uruk’s, Gorbag comes off worse against Shagrat, but proves himself a skilled combatant when he survives the skirmish against the elite Black Uruks and attempts to torture Frodo. As he snarls at the hapless hobbit brandishing his curved sword, Sam arrives in the nick of time and plunges a glowing Sting through his back and out of his chest. This serves as a memorable moment for Sam’s redemptive journey and illustrates his incomparable loyalty to his friends. The snarling Gorbag is played by prolific orc actor Stephen Ure, who also portrayed Grishnakh in the previous film and acted in the Hobbit film series as Grinnah the Goblin in An Unexpected Journey and Hunter Orc Fimbul in The Desolation of Smaug.
In the books – There is a complete role reversal for Shagrat and Gorbag in the films, Gorbag is the Black Uruk in the book who attempts to make off with Frodo’s mithril shirt, but is slain by Morgul Orc Shagrat in single combat.
4) GOTHMOG – MORANNON ORC
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
This very ugly specimen of an Orc is the Lieutenant of the Witch-King during the capture of Osgilliath and at the battle of the Pelennor Fields. He is a deformed Morannon Orc with a crippled left arm and a head that can only be likened to a cauliflower in appearance….Gothmog is thoroughly despicable even as orcs go; he executes the mortally wounded Madril (Faramir’s second-in-command) personally, takes relish in ordering the decimation of the doomed Gondorian attempt to re-take Osgilliath and orders the heads of the fallen dead soldiers of Osgilliath to be launched over the walls of Gondor. He also inspires his Orc horde by dodging a boulder launched from Minas Tirith at the last moment, before hawking some spit in open mockery of Minas Tirith’s defence.
He is clearly a capable military commander, orchestrating the successful night attack on Osgilliath and is almost victorious in directing operations against Minas Tirith with his two lieutenants Guritz and the Black Uruk Murgash. That is until the arrival of King Theodan and his Riders of Rohan. Therefore, he is probably the most intelligent orc character on this list and gets the most lines.In the extended edition we see his fate after the charge of the Rohirrim where he is initially bested and wounded by Eowyn in combat and then Aragorn (who had already killed Guritz and Murgash) and Gimli double team him as he attempts to crawl to the injured Merry.
In the books – this character is only mentioned once as the overall commander of the Orcs at the siege of Minas Tirith under the Witch-King.
3) GRISHNAKH – MORDOR ORC
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Orc captain who meets with Ugluk to escort his depleted Scout unit to Isengard. Grishnakh is soon vexed by Ugluk’s refusal to harm the Hobbits. His hunger and utter lack of discipline makes him incredibly determined to get to the Hobbits. He uses the chaos of battle, once the Rohirrim have attacked, to get to the two Hobbits, but he is wounded in the side by a Rohirrim spear. The obsessed Orc soon lurches up to them in Fangorn forest though, only to be memorably stomped on by Treebeard the Ent just as he is about to execute the Hobbits. His last line is, “I’m gonna put maggot holes in yer belly.” He is one of the most memorable orcs due to his hunched and ungainly appearance, freakishly long arms and droopy facial features; as well as the bizarre chomping action he does with his teeth. He also has some comical lines which makes him both funny and scary, he is acted brilliantly by the knowing Orc expert Stephen Ure.
The books – the book version of Grishnakh is shot in the hand by a Rohirrim by an arrow and this time fatally run through with a spear. Also, he is not actually after the Hobbits to eat them, but he is somehow aware of the One Ring and believes that the two hobbits are in possession of it. In fact, it is implied that he personally participated in the torture of Gollum.
2) AZOG THE DEFILER – GUNDABAD ORC
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Azog is one of the primary antagonists to Thorin’s Dwarf company and is the one constant physical threat they face throughout all three films. He is portrayed by Manu Bennet in a typically enthusiastic physical performance, Bennet is best known for his role as Crixus the Undefeated Gaul in the popular Spartacus TV series. The Orc chieftain of Moria, Azog slew King Thrain II, but lost his arm to Thorin in the battle of Azanulbizar and is a powerfully built Herculean Orc and the most developed example of his kind in Middle-Earth. His skin is bone-white, he has piercing blue eyes, and sports deep tattoo like incisions covering his face and torso; like a collage of battle-scars and combat-tattoos designed to intimidate his enemies. Azog has a wicked looking metal claw replacing his severed forearm; the aft end of the prosphetic ends in a spike protruding near his elbow, heavily suggesting that the limb was crudely implanted by driving the spike through Azog’s arm stump. On the battlefield he replaces this with a double edged blade attached at the elbow.
Azog is driven by a bitter and hateful desire for vengeance against Thorin Oakenshield and pursues the dwarf relentlessly in the first film atop his loyal White Warg. But in the second film, he is commanded by Sauron to take command of a great Orc host and is fully committed to master minding the battle from the advantageous position of Ravenhill using some unusually complex signal flags. He demonstrates considerable military acumen for an Orc to direct operations on two fronts to almost defeat the armies of Men, Dwarves and Elves and if not for his obsession with revenge upon Thorin coupled with the ill-timed arrival of the Eagles, he could have completed a masterful victory. He has two showdowns with Thorin over the course of the trilogy; the second of which is an epic and lengthy duel at the climax of the Battle of the Five Armies atop the spiral stairs and on the treacherous ice of Ravenhill. As well as Azog’s notable physical appearance, Manu Bennet delivers a performance worthy of Andy Serkis in terms of enthusiasm and commitment.
The books – In the appendices Azog doesn’t survive the battle of Azanulbizar. Years before the battle, he had captured Thror, tortured him for two days, before beheading the dwarf and carving his name on his head. He proclaimed the Dwarf-king a “beggar” and himself the ruler of all Moria. This made him the common enemy of all dwarves and Thror’s son Thrain mustered a great army of dwarves and the war raged for nine years. In the final battle, Azog slew the great dwarf warrior Nain amidsts his own armies rout, but Dain Ironfoot soon avenged his father’s death and decapitated Azog with his red axe. Therefore, Azog does not feature in the book at all.
- LURTZ – URUK-HAI
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The undisputed greatest Orc in the series is the first Uruk-Hai; Lurtz. He has a memorably terrifying birthing scene where he emerges from the gloop to throttle an Orc to death. Other orcs attempt to stop this, but are halted by Saruman who is intrigued by the raw malice and violence already present in the Uruk’s blood. Being in the first batch, Lurtz is the most intelligent and physically developed of the newly created Uruk-Hai. On Saruman’s command Lurtz leads the Uruk scouting party and successfully tracks the fellowship to Amon Hen. In the ensuing skirmish he divides the Fellowship in a many pronged attack and cuts down Boromir with his arrows in what is possibly the most dramatic and emotional scene in the series.
But he is dispatched by Aragorn in a tough duel which is probably the best one on one showdown in the series; as visceral and brief as Azog vs. Thorin is epic and long. Lurtz’s incredible ferocity and brutality is matched by Aragorn’s skill and resourcefulness in a fascinating engagement. During this fight, Lurtz shows himself to be a formidable opponent as he holds his own against Aragorn for a relatively long period of time, overpowers the ranger at points and demonstrates an incredible tolerance for pain, allowing himself to be impaled to gain a proximity advantage. A genuinely terrifying Uruk-Hai, he is the most pure incarnation of the perfect orc in the series; violent, brutal, unable to feel pain, a military tactician in the making, utterly devoted to his master Saruman and without any remorse.
In the books – Ugluk was the leader of the Uruk party from the beginning and there is no mention of Lurtz. Boromir is simply killed by unnamed orc archers.
Honourable mentions go to….
SHAGRAT – BLACK URUK. Captain of the Black Uruks at Cirith Ungol. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
YAZNEG – GUNDABAD ORC/SNAGAE. Captain of the Hunter Orcs and second-in-command to Azog. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
MURGASH – BLACK URUK. Orc Lieutenant under Gothmog. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
cinegasmsandbroomsticks 