The Lord Of The Rings: What The Witch-King Of Angmar Looks Like In Real Life

"The Lord of the Rings" has no shortage of fearsome antagonists, and few look as cool as the Witch-king of Angmar, with a thrilling backstory worthy of such an iconic design. Sauron (Sala Baker) must've made him one of his most powerful agents just for looking cool alone, and the Witch-king also holds the distinction of leading the Nazgûl in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." And while the helmet may be daunting, the Māori actor who portrays this figure seems much friendlier in real life.

Lawrence Makoare plays the Witch-king in the third film of the trilogy, and he's far more handsome than one would assume the villain looks like underneath that mask. The Witch-king is actually one of three different characters Makoare portrays in that trilogy, in addition to playing Lurtz, an Uruk-hai in "Fellowship of the Ring," and Gothmog, a different orc in "Return of the King." He returned to the franchise for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," with some of his other credits including "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Die Another Day."

While the War of Angmar is a "Lord of the Rings" storyline we'd love to see in an upcoming film, it's unlikely Makoare would reprise the character in any future adaptations. Still, Makoare made his mark on the franchise in more ways than one, with a character people will continue to cosplay at conventions for years to come. 

It's easy to see why Lawrence Makoare would be well-suited to action-oriented roles, like an array of characters in "The Lord of the Rings" franchise. He has a six-foot-three frame, which actually helped open the door for him in the film industry in the first place. During a chat with BBC, it was revealed how a girlfriend's drama teacher was impressed by his tall stature, and the rest is movie history. 

That same conversation revealed how daunting it was to play an Uruk-hai in "The Fellowship of the Ring" due to how lengthy the makeup process was and having to do scenes in the New Zealand heat. His contact lenses also caused problems, particularly during a fight with Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). "Originally the fight scene I was did with Viggo Mortensen took 20 minutes of rehearsals," Makoare stated. "We kept cutting it down because I couldn't see."

His character dies in that film, but he must've gotten an assist from Ilúvatar to get resurrected time and time again in the franchise, including as the Witch-king of Angmar. Makoare has gotten plenty of other acting gigs over the years, and hopefully, the Witch-king and the Nazgûl return in some form in a live-action "Lord of the Rings" project eventually. The Nazgûl are villains that could even appear in a future season of Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Such dreaded opponents are simply too good to sideline.