Boromir - Portrayal in Adaptations

Portrayal in Adaptations

In both Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film and in the subsequent BBC Radio serial, Boromir is played by Michael Graham Cox. In the former, he is dressed in barbarian garb, which is departing from Tolkien's text completely.

Boromir was played by Carl-Kristian Rundman in the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit.

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Boromir is played by Sean Bean. In a departure from the structure of Tolkien's book, Boromir's death is shown at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), instead of being related at the beginning of The Two Towers. In the film, Boromir is mortally wounded by the Uruk-hai leader Lurtz, a character created for the films, instead of by numerous, unnamed Uruk-hai led by Uglúk.

In The Two Towers (2002), Boromir appears in the theatrical version only briefly during the beginning flashback sequence of Gandalf's fight with the Balrog in Moria, and he appears twice in the Extended Edition, both times as flashbacks that were not shown previously in the films. The first is when Faramir remembers finding Boromir's body in the elven boat, washed up on shore, with his horn cloven in two. The second flashback is a considerably lengthier one, and is the only scene of the trilogy where Boromir and Faramir are seen speaking to each other. It takes place just after Boromir has just won a battle in Osgiliath and just before Boromir leaves for Rivendell at the urging of his father. The two brothers are seen celebrating and laughing before their father speaks to Boromir, and the scene ends with Boromir leaving and saying, "Remember today, little brother" to Faramir. Here Boromir apparently knows that "Isildur's Bane" is the One Ring and is chosen specifically by his father, despite his reluctance to go, in response to a summons from Elrond, as Rivendell is a known location. He is thus aware of the true meaning of the phrase "Isildur's Bane" when he arrives there on horseback.

In The Return of the King (2003), Boromir also appears in the theatrical version during a brief flashback as Pippin remembers his heroic self-sacrifice. Due to that scene alone, Sean Bean's name and portrait appears in the closing credits of the film. In the Extended Edition of the film, Boromir appears briefly when Denethor looks at Faramir and imagines for a moment that he sees Boromir walking towards him, smiling.