Stuart Townsend was originally cast as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but after several days of shooting director Peter Jackson realized that an older actor was needed for the part. Citing "creative differences," Townsend was released from the project and replaced by Viggo Mortensen who had never even auditioned for the role.

Eowyn, the niece of King Theoden, desperately longs to fight with her kinsmen, but being a woman she is told to stay behind and look after the kingdom. She disobeys, however, and rides into battle disguised as a man. As the battle rages, King Theoden is struck down by the Witch King, the most powerful of the nine Ring Wraiths and the most dreadful of Sauron's servants. When Eowyn rushes to her uncle's defense, the Witch King arrogantly orders her out of the way and warns that she is helpless against him for it has been foretold that he will not fall by the hand of man. Eowyn reveals that she is not a man and bravely slays the Witch King.

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam has a crush on Rosie Cotton, a barmaid at the Green Dragon pub, but he is too shy to talk to her. In The Return of the King, after he returns to the Shire, Sam, emboldened by his adventures, approaches Rosie and soon they are happily married.

Boromir dislikes the idea of destroying the One Ring, as he believes it could be used to defeat Sauron once and for all, to save Gondor, and return it to its former glory. He tries to convince Frodo to give him the Ring, and when this fails, tries to take it by force, but he redeems himself shortly thereafter when he gives his life to protect Marry and Pippin.

The trilogy won a total of seventeen Academy Awards: four for The Fellowship of the Ring, two for The Two Towers, and eleven for The Return of the King. The Return of the King won every Oscar for which it was nominated, including Best Picture, and tied Titanic (1997) and Ben-Hur (1959) for the most Oscars awarded to one film.