50 reasons Star Wars is better than Lord of The Rings
By Ryan Wrenn
35. Mark Hamill vs. Elijah Wood
Who is Mark Hamill? Actor who played Luke Skywalker
Who is Elijah Wood? Actor who played Frodo Baggins
Verdict: It’s hard to debate bland versus bland. Both of these characters were designed specifically to be what are called audience surrogates – individuals who we relate to in such a way as to allow us to view the story as it unfolds through their eyes.
To appeal to as many people as possible, both Luke and Frodo had to be kind of boring, at least at first. Mark Hamill and Elijah Wood fit that role to a T. Two standard – if a bit smaller than average – white guys.
If there is some edge to be had here, it’s in what the actors had to do with the characters themselves.
Over three movies Frodo becomes more and more brave and more and more determined to dispose of the ring. Wood had to put on a steelier countenance throughout the movie and did so just fine.
Hamill, on the other hand, had a complete character to deal with. Luke began a young neophyte, realized his latent powers, grew into them, faced his fears, learned his origin and was immediately called upon to do some pretty sobering stuff – i.e. confront his evil real dad. Capturing the intensity of that transformation was never going to be easy, but Hamill did it exceedingly well.
Star Wars wins
Next: 34. Mark Hamill vs. Elijah Wood