Lurtz

Lurtz was the first leader of the Uruk-hai Scouts created specifically for Peter Jackson's movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He was portrayed by New Zealand actor Lawrence Makoare in the first film, Fellowship of the Ring, in which he kills Boromir later slain by Aragorn as revenge.

He is non-canonical as he was created for the sole purpose of The Fellowship of The Ring movie and doesn't appear in the books.

## Portrayal in adaptations

### Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In the service of Saruma, Lurtz was the first of Saruman's Uruk-hai to be bred, choking the first Orc he sees to death within seconds of his birth. Attempting to intervene, other Orcs (Snaga) move towards the newly born Uruk-hai warrior, but Saruman halts their advance, intrigued by the malice and violence present in the Uruk's blood, leaving the unfortunate Orc to its fate. He became Saruman's second-in-command, and led the first battalion of Uruk-hai into battle against the Fellowship of the Ring at Amon Hen. Lurtz was born from the first batch of Uruk-hai in Isengard's pits (possibly even the first ever as an experiment), and so was far more developed, smarter, and stronger than the later troops which were bred more quickly, presumably so Saruman could amass an army as fast as possible. Given that he gave orders to the other Uruk-Hai Scouts at the Amon Hen and that he was given private audience with Saruman, he could presumably be called the strongest, smartest and most loyal of all of Saruman's Uruk-hai warriors.

## Hunt for the Ring-Bearer

In the book-series, Boromir was slain by Orc archers, described as having been "pierced by many arrows". In the movie, he was killed by Lurtz, who shoots him three times in the chest after chasing the Fellowship of the Ring to Argonath.

As his soldiers grab Merry and Pippin, Lurtz slowly approaches Boromir to finish him off. Before Lurtz can send the final arrow to Boromir's heart, Aragorn intervenes, tackling Lurtz to the ground and both engage in a brutal fight.

During the struggle, Lurtz's incredible ferocity and brutality appear to rival Aragorn's skill and resourcefulness. Lurtz throws his shield at Aragorn, pinning him to a tree, but Aragorn escapes and physically brawls with him. Lurtz outmatches him, so Aragorn stabs him through the leg with a knife, only for Lurtz to pull it out, lick the blood off it and throw it at him. Aragorn deflects the knife with his sword and charges. The two warriors clash in an intense sword-fight, before Aragorn severs Lurtz's right arm and stabs him in the stomach. While pierced by Aragorn's weapon, Lurtz grabs hold of Aragorn's blade and pulls the sword deeper into his stomach, (feeling no pain, for in the movie Saruman says that Uruk-Hai "do not know pain") while dragging Aragorn closer in a final attempt to kill him. Before Lurtz can attempt to kill the Ranger with his teeth, Aragorn pulls his sword out of the Uruk leader's chest and decapitates him, finally killing Lurtz.

Boromir dies minutes later. In the book, Uglúk was the leader of the Orc-band from the beginning, with no mention of Lurtz at all. (*The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (2001)) and (*The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (2001, Extended Edition))

## Personality

Out of all Uruk-Hai bred in Isengard, Lurtz is possibly the smartest, bravest and most capable leader. He is highly intelligent, extremely violent and blindly loyal to Saruman. He has an incredibly high tolerance for pain, as shown during his fight with Aragorn. He appears utterly ignorant to the loss of a limb, a stab wound, and several other wounds. He also goes so far as to violently headbutt his opponent. He will do absolutely anything to outfight his adversaries, including allowing himself to be impaled just to gain a proximity advantage. In the BFME games, he is depicted smashing his head on an enemy or structure as an attack, further proving his resilience to pain. He is also very sadistic, laughing whilst pinning down Boromir.

He was a highly skilled swordsman, given he was the leader of the Uruk-hai pack. He had an unorthodox and brutal fighting style that emphasises swordsmanship with long-range attacks and brawling moves. A prime example of his duelling skills is that he was able to hold his own against Aragorn, managing to keep up with him for a relatively short period of time, landing several blows upon the Ranger and even making him bleed. However, he was eventually overpowered and slain by Aragorn due to the latter's superior skill and technique. Lurtz was also a skilled archer, as shown when he mortally wounded Boromir with three arrows to the chest while the latter was engaged in combat with other Uruks.