Sarah McLeod

Last updated

Sarah McLeod
Born (1971-07-18) 18 July 1971 (age 52)
Putāruru, New Zealand
Years active1994–2012

Sarah McLeod (born 18 July 1971) is a New Zealand film and television actress. Her most notable role was in the Peter Jackson films The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as Rosie Cotton, a female hobbit who marries Samwise Gamgee. McLeod also co-starred in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street as Cindy Watson from 2008 to 2009.

Contents

Career

McLeod knew Liz Mulane, the casting director of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings from an earlier film of his that she had appeared in called Forgotten Silver . McLeod was six months pregnant when she auditioned for the role of Rosie Cotton, a female hobbit. Four months later, she was told that she had won the role. She explained, "This was after I had the baby, so my first day on the set, the baby was 12 weeks old. So from the first time I auditioned for the role, until the whole thing comes out, the third film, my baby will be four years old, it just goes to show you how big and long this production is." [1] Her daughter, Maisy, played the infant son of Rosie and Samwise Gamgee, seen in the final scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . The New Zealand Herald observed in 2004 that McLeod was "notable for having the most significant role of the few New Zealand actresses in the trilogy." [2] In 2007, McLeod and fourteen other Lord of the Rings actors from New Zealand sued New Line, as they felt they were legally entitled to five percent of the trilogy's net merchandising revenue. [3]

From 2008 to 2009, McLeod co-starred in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street as Cindy Watson. McLeod conducted legal and personal research on surrogacy for the role, as her character's storyline involved asking her friend to be a surrogate mother for Cindy and her husband. [4] In a 2010 episode of America's Next Top Model , McLeod appeared as herself on the set of Hobbiton, where the contestants participated in a Lord of the Rings-themed photo shoot. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

Samwise Gamgee is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. A hobbit, Samwise is the chief supporting character of The Lord of the Rings, serving as the loyal companion of the protagonist Frodo Baggins. Sam is a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, the group of nine charged with destroying the One Ring to prevent the Dark Lord Sauron from taking over the world.

Shelob is a fictional monster in the form of a giant spider from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Her lair lies in Cirith Ungol leading into Mordor. The creature Gollum deliberately leads the Hobbit protagonist Frodo there in hopes of recovering the One Ring by letting Shelob attack Frodo. The plan is foiled when Samwise Gamgee temporarily blinds Shelob with the Phial of Galadriel, and then severely wounds her with Frodo's Elvish sword, Sting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Astin</span> American actor (born 1971)

Sean Astin is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in The Goonies (1985), Billy Tepper in Toy Soldiers (1991), Daniel Ruettiger in Rudy (1993), Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003), Doug Whitmore in 50 First Dates (2004), Bill in Click (2006), Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24 (2006), Oso in Special Agent Oso (2009–2012), Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012–2017), Bob Newby in the second season of Netflix's Stranger Things (2017), and Ed in No Good Nick (2019).

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</i> 2001 epic fantasy adventure film by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson, based on 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The film is the first instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis.

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King</i> 2003 film by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. It is based on 1955's The Return of the King, the third volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the film is the final instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, and Sean Bean. Continuing the plot of the previous film, Frodo, Sam and Gollum make their final way toward Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, unaware of Gollum's true intentions, while Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and their allies join forces against Sauron and his legions from Mordor.

The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by British author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, the films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean.

<i>The Return of the King</i> (1980 film) 1980 animated musical television film by Jules Bass

The Return of the King is a 1980 American-Japanese animated musical fantasy television film created by Rankin/Bass and Topcraft. It is an adaptation of part of J. R. R. Tolkien 1955 high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It takes its name from The Return of the King, the third and final volume of the novel, and is a sequel to the 1977 film The Hobbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marton Csokas</span> New Zealand actor (born 1966)

Marton Paul Csokas is a New Zealand actor of film, stage, and television. A graduate of the Toi Whakaari drama school, he has worked extensively in Australia and Hollywood, along with his native country, and often portrays villainous roles.

Lisa Irene Chappell is a New Zealand actress and musician. She is known for her roles as Chelsea Redfern in Gloss (1987–90), her acting debut, and as Claire McLeod in McLeod's Daughters (2001–03), a performance which earned her two Logie Awards, for Most Popular New Female Talent and Most Popular Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toni Warner</span> Soap opera character

Antoinette "Toni" Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Laura Hill from 2001 until 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robyn Malcolm</span> New Zealand actress

Robyn Jane Malcolm is a New Zealand actress, who first gained recognition for her role as nurse Ellen Crozier on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TK Samuels</span> Soap opera character

Te Koha "TK" Samuels is a fictional character in New Zealand's longest running soap opera Shortland Street, played by actor Benjamin Mitchell from early 2006

<i>The Hobbit</i> (film series) 2012–2014 fantasy film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson

The Hobbit is a series of three epic high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). The films are based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit, as well as new material and characters written especially for the films. Together they act as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean O'Gorman</span> New Zealand actor

Dean Lance O'Gorman is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the Hobbit trilogy and the Norse God Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series The Almighty Johnsons. He also portrayed Kirk Douglas in Trumbo (2015).

Harry Warner (<i>Shortland Street</i>) Soap opera character

Harry Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who first appeared onscreen in May 2002. Being born on screen during the show's 10th anniversary, Harry has been portrayed by several child actors and by Xander Manktelow from 2023.

<i>Hobitit</i> Finnish live action fantasy television miniseries

Hobitit is a nine-part Finnish live action fantasy television miniseries directed by Timo Torikka, originally broadcast in 1993 on Yle TV1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Harrison (Shortland Street)</span> Fictional character on Shortland Street

Nicholas John Harrison is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Karl Burnett from the show's second episode in 1992 to 2005, making him the original character to stay with the show the longest in one stint. The character, along with wife Waverley, returned for the show's 25th anniversary that aired on 25 May 2017.

Women in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> Role of women in Tolkiens fantasy

The roles of women in The Lord of the Rings have often been assessed as insignificant, or important only in relation to male characters in a story about men for boys. Meanwhile, other commentators have noted the empowerment of the three major women characters, Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen, and provided in-depth analysis of their roles within the narrative of The Lord of the Rings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lego The Lord of the Rings</span> Lego theme

Lego The Lord of the Rings is a Lego theme based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and the novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. It is licensed from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The theme was first introduced in 2012. The first sets appeared in 2012, to coincide with a release of the video game Lego The Lord of the Rings. Subsequent sets based on The Hobbit film trilogy would also be released and the video game Lego The Hobbit was released in 2014. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2015. Later, the theme was relaunched in January 2023 with three new sets released as the part of the Lego BrickHeadz theme. In February 2023, The Lego Group unveiled a new Rivendell set that released on 8 March 2023 as the part of the Lego Icons theme.

The presence of sexuality in The Lord of the Rings, a bestselling fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, has been debated, as it is somewhat unobtrusive. However, love and marriage appear in the form of the warm relationship between the hobbits Sam Gamgee and Rosie Cotton; the unreturned feelings of Éowyn for Aragorn, followed by her falling in love with Faramir, and marrying him; and Aragorn's love for Arwen, described in an appendix rather than in the main text, as "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". Multiple scholars have noted the symbolism of the monstrous female spider Shelob. Interest has been concentrated, too, on the officer-batman-inspired same-sex relationship of Frodo and his gardener Sam as they travel together on the dangerous quest to destroy the Ring. Scholars and commentators have interpreted the relationship in different ways, from close but not necessarily homosexual to plainly homoerotic, or as an idealised heroic friendship.

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with Sarah McLeod". TheOneRing.net . Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Catherall, Sarah (2 March 2004). "Oscars just another day for Mrs Gamgee". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "NZ actors set to sue over LOTR profits". The New Zealand Herald . 2 June 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Lang, Sarah (14 April 2009). "Delivering a triple dose of drama". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Martin, Lara (6 May 2010). "'America's Next Top Model': Episode 9 recap". Digital Spy . Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, May 5, 2010". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.(subscription required)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.