The Poster Memorabilia blog

Meeting Up with the Hobbits Through the years

Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin — collected one convention at a time.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

When I first watched The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, I knew I was witnessing something special. I admittedly wasn't aware of the books when I saw it. I was just a kid who loved fantasy movies. And out of all the characters, I related to the four hobbits the most.

I truly think that Peter Jackson's iconic LOTR trilogy worked because they cast the hobbits perfectly. They couldn't have found better actors than Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd to portray Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. I still can't believe they never even got nominated for their performances.

The Academy may not have given them the recognition they deserve, but I do. Though I've met many cast members and gotten them to sign my movie poster over the years, my best encounters were with these four amazing actors. I even went to all sorts of conventions just to see them in person.

The first one I met was Elijah Wood, when he promoted The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. He was there with other original cast members like Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, and Orlando Bloom, all of whom signed my poster, too.

I kinda wish Sean Astin was also there, since he's my favorite of the four, but sadly, he wasn't part of the movie. It took five more years to finally meet him, this time at the Las Vegas Comic Con in June 2019. He was the guest headliner, and he talked about making the LOTR films, The Goonies, and voicing Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

I didn't realize he's had such a prolific career. I almost felt ashamed that I asked him to sign a poster that his other castmates already signed. Maybe it would've been better if I'd gotten something exclusively his instead. Luckily for me, he didn't mind at all. He was all too happy giving his autograph, no matter what he wrote on.

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I met him again, this time with Billy Boyd, at the New York Comic-Con later that year. It was the first time I'd ever caught the two of them together in person, so needless to say, it was awesome seeing them side by side.

When I asked Boyd for his autograph, Astin recognized both me and my poster. “Hey, it's you again!” he said as I shyly handed it to his fellow Hobbit. It was the funnest moment I ever had at a Comic-Con, and I've been to a lot of them. And getting both their autographs wasn't too bad, either.

“To me, they're the stars of the entire franchise, and yes, I'm including Merry and Pippin in that.”

Finally, I met Dominic Monaghan, Merry himself, at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. I possibly could've met him earlier if the COVID pandemic hadn't happened, but it is what it is. I was still happy to meet him, and he was nice enough to sign my movie poster despite how busy he was with fans and the press.

Though I also got the other cast members' autographs, many of whom are arguably more famous, I'm still proud of having met all four Hobbits the most. To me, they're the stars of the entire franchise, and yes, I'm including Merry and Pippin in that. They're also four of the nicest celebrities I've ever met.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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