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Thanks to how interestingly tragic the character is and also in large part thanks to Andy Serkis’ stellar performance as him throughout the films, Gollum is loved by fans ofThe Lord Of The Rings. Acting as a villainous presence throughout the entire trilogy, Gollum seems to want nothing more than to have the One Ring for himself once again.Traveling alongside Sam and Frodo, he waits for the perfect opportunity to seize the ring once again, though when he finally does get it back, it’s not a long reunion.
From time to time throughoutThe Lord Of The Rings, Gollum finds himself conflicted with his other half, Smeagol, resulting in some of the most interesting conversations in the series. Acting as a kind of verbal duel between good and evil at times, Gollum and Smeagol can seem like completely different beings trapped in the same mind. With that said, there are still some interesting aspects that differentiate the two sides of Gollum.
The Lord of the Ringsby J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring:
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Sean Bean
2001–2003
558 minutes (theatrical), 683 minutes (extended)
$281 million
Trilogy Box Office:
$3.004 billion
Gollum and Smeagol are the two existing personalities constantly competing for what space exists in the damaged mind of Gollum. The creature could be referred to by either of the names, but it is more appropriate to refer to him as Gollum during the main story ofThe Lord Of The Rings. The reason for this is that,instead of becoming all-powerful, Gollum is what Smeagol would become after being corrupted by the One Ring for far too long. When it comes time for some kind of conflict in Gollum’s mind, the personality of Smeagol tends to shine through, at least for a little while.
It is generally safe to say that any positivity and sense of good comes from the Smeagol personality. This personality, the simple Hobbit part of the creature, tried to see the good in the world and was often forced to contend with the greedy nature of Gollum. It wasn’t often that Smeagol was able to win out over Gollum to dictate the creature’s actions, but when Frodo would show any kind of kindness to Gollum, Smeagol would tend to have some control.
Gollum was the complete opposite of Smeagol in nearly every respect. He is conniving, vile, and willing to commit unspeakable acts to be reunited with the One Ring. Thanks to how disconnected Gollum had become from his Hobbit past, the creature was practically unrecognizable when compared to his people. He had morphed into a horrific creature that had a singular desire, and with that singular desire came nothing but evil, interestingly,this very fate may have befallen Boromirafter the ring tempted him had he managed to take it. The pull of the ring is what caused Gollum to become so twisted and broken, but the darkness that existed in Smeagol’s heart in the first place is what allowed the ring to take hold of him as strongly as it did.
Birth And Death:
TA 2430 - March 25, TA 3019
Portrayed By:
Andy Serkis
Originally, Smeagol was a simple Hobbit (seemingly a Stoor, one of the three different types of Hobbits), seemingly destined to live the same quiet life as the rest of his people. He was always a bit of a troublemaker in his youth, something that isn’t uncommon for young Hobbits, but it could be said that he could take things a bit farther than many others, especially after he gothis hands on the One Ring. Enjoying the simpler things in life, Smeagol went out fishing with his cousin Deagol for his birthday one year.
Unfortunately, the two Hobbits would happen upon the One Ring,resulting in Smeagol killing his cousinin order to claim it. As far as ring bearers go, Smeagol was arguably the quickest to be corrupted in a horrific way, turning him to killing immediately. It was Smeagol’s new darker nature thanks to the corruption of the ring that would result in his eventual banishment from his people. Now on his own with the one possession he cared for, Smeagol would find his new home in the heart of the Misty Mountains and would spend hundreds of years alone.Living so long would not normally be possible for the average Hobbit, but the One Ring was able to magically increase the lifespan of Smeagol as it slowly morphed him into an entirely new creature, a creature that would become known as Gollum.
Why Does Gollum Talk To Himself?
The answer to why Gollum speaks to himself is incredibly sad. Essentially, Gollum speaks to himself purely because he had no one else to speak toacross his multi-hundred-year life. Coming from the social people that are Hobbits, what little pieces of Smeagol that existed within Gollum’s mind practically begged for companionship, but he only got it from the ring. Stuck on his own for hundreds of years as he twisted into Gollum, Smeagol was left with no company but himself and his precious ring. The more broken his mind became, the more the newly dubbed Gollum would speak to his kinder self.
Gollum demonstrates just how fractured his psyche had become during a line inThe Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King:
“They cursed us. Murderer they called us. They cursed us, and drove us away. And we wept, Precious, we wept to be so alone. And we only wish to catch fish so juicy sweet. And we forgot the taste of bread… the sound of trees… the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. My Precious.”
Gollum had become so corrupted by the ring that his only desire was to be with it. He saw no value in any other possessions from clothes to food. He’d only eat as little as was necessary to spend more time with his precious, even if it was capable ofacting on its own power to eventually escape. While it does still count as speaking to himself, he was never afraid to speak directly to the ring, further reinforcing just how important it was to Gollum. Whenever Gollum was conflicted about actions that involved the ring, Smeagol would begin a dialogue with his darker self in order to try to make sense of his options. Sadly, things wouldn’t ever go all that well for poor Gollum.
The Lord Of The Ringscan be streamed now on MAX.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
