Gollum
There have been some wonderful characters that have hit the big screen in the last twenty years; but some will really go down in movie history.
In part one we ear-marked Captain Jack Sparrow, Tyler Durden and The Joker as some of the most iconic creations of the last two decades.
In the second and final part we look at five more characters that really have set the big screen alight.
- Gollum - The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the biggest and most successful film series of all time.
Not only was it a multi-billion dollar success at the box office, but it also won over the critics and the Academy.
'My Precious' will go down as one of the most famous lines in movie history... uttered, of course, by the fantastic Gollum.
It would have been so easy to have Gollum as an entirely CGI character, but director Peter Jackson wanted to bring an actor's performance to the role.
Andy Serkis really delivered a wonderful vocal and physical performance over three roles as he showed off two very different sides of this character.
The Lord of the Ring showed that you could bring a heart-breaking and human performance to a CGI created character; even if the actor is never seen on screen.
- Jason Bourne - Bourne Trilogy
It's hard to belive but it was back in 2002 when The Bourne Identity hit the big screen.
When Matt Damon took on the role of Jason Bourne for the time he was not the box office star that he is now - the part turned him into a bona-fide Hollywood leading man and action star.
The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum made up the trilogy; how often can you say that a series of films gets better as they go along?
Bourne is a man who is driven by the secrets of his past; who is he? Who did he end up working as an assassin?
While this franchise is action packed from start to finish, the Bourne series is a very human story of redemption; played perfectly by Damon.
- Lisbeth Salander - Millennium Series
There have been few iconic female characters over the last twenty years, but one that has really stood out is that of Lisbeth Salander.
Lisbeth is the creation of author Stieg Larsson, and we saw her hit the big screen for the first time back in 2010 as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was adapted for the big screen.
Noomi Rapace took on the role; and it was to be a role that made Hollywood sit up and take notice of her.
While Salander may be a world class computer hacker, she had a traumatic childhood and is a highly introverted character.
Rapace really got under the skin of this character; she was a woman who is in a lot of pain and yet a woman who is strong and ready to fight for herself.
The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's nest sees Salander's past come back to haunt her as she finds herself in her biggest fight; a fight to live and a fight to be free.
- Forrest Gump - Forrest Gump
"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get", is set to go down in history as one of the greatest quotes of all time.
It was back in 1994 when Tom Hanks uttered these immortal words as he took on the title role in the big screen adaptation of the Winston Groom novel.
Gump remains one of Hanks' most famous roles, and it was a part that saw him pick up a second Best Actor Oscar.
Forrest Gump is one of those characters that you just cannot help but love; the everyman who a big heart. No matter what he is facing he marches straight into it and gets on with up.
When he is knocked down he gets back up, and he believes in the people in his life; even if they do not believe in themselves.
Forrest Gump is one of those rare roles - they really don't come around all that often - and Hanks delivered a career defining performance.
- Keyser Soze - The Usual Suspects
Keyser Soze is widely regarded as one of the best villains of all time; ironic as he is a character that doesn't' even exist.
The Usual Suspects was released back in 1995 and the film follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kin - played fantastically by Kevin Spacey.
Kint tells police that Soze, who is a bit of a mythical being amongst the police, is a crime lord whose ruthlessness knows no bounds.
And he may not be a villain that exists and yet he is a character that totally dominates the movie.
But the end of the film is one of the greatest endings of all time as Roger Kint turns out to be someone entirely different.
Check out The Greatest Movie Characters Of The Last 20 Years Part 1.
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