Character of the Moment

~~~Grima Wormtongue~~~

The Lord of the Rings

In Tolkien's world, evil and slime come in small packages. We have the Ring, a mere trinket and yet the most awesome force in Middle-earth. We have Ted Sandyman, a despicable and nasty Hobbit who is rather greedy. And then we have Grima Wormtongue, a diminuitive man of Rohan who stands around five feet tall, and yet controls the mind of the King and therefore the whole country.

And not only is Grima small, he's ugly. He doesn't even have eyebrows. Just a pale and brooding face and a set of mismatched, yet piercingly fierce eyes.

Turned traitor to his country and siding with the evil wizard Saruman, Grima seems to have lost every shred of dignity he ever once had. Oh, wait, he's also stalking the King's niece, Eowyn. Are these the qualities of a good guy? No.

And that's why we love him.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the heat is on and the craze is kicking into a higher gear. Grima Mania is sweeping the nation (well, at least this website), and it gains more followers every day.

We owe it all to the fantastic actor who portrays Grima in the LOTR movies:

Brad Dourif.

Can the guy act or what? Breathing life into Tolkien's slimiest creation, Brad not only pulls it off without making him a 2-D mess of a Snidley Whiplash wanna-be, he pulls it off beautifully. He goes above and beyond the performances of some of the other actors, giving Grima a sense of life and energy and CONFLICT that is sometimes lacking in others.

For unlike the other clear-cut good guys and bad guys, Grima treads on that thin wire between Evil and Misunderstood. In the books, he is absolutely evil and is shown no sign of redemption. But Brad Dourif has taken that scumbag and added the Sympathetic Element. Comeplete with a trembling lower lip and a single tear, this Grima actually makes you pity him! The agonized looks of desire he directs at Eowyn are heart-wrenching.

So by the the time the movie ends, a certain sniveling and crawling Worm has sniffled his way into your heart. What originally impressed you as sickly and nasty eyes are now soulful and full of emotion. That ugly face (with no eyebrows)? Suddenly it has become tragically adorable, and you just want to hug the little guy!

Such is the tale of all Grima Girls. Yes, we've even named ourselves. Who can resist that lilting and melodic voice? The pining eyes? Not me, that's for sure. Grima has ensnared me, and he'll get you too if you're not careful. My advice to you: Throw caution to the wind. Let the Wormtongue in. You won't regret it.

~ Phantom
Lover of Underdogs
The Villains' Cheering Section
Theater Geek
Admirer of All Things Tragic
Grima Girl
Gollum Geek

Do you hear the people sing? - Les Miserables