Lawrence Makoare, born on March 20, 1968, is a Maori actor of New Zealand origin. Among the roles for which he is best known worldwide are the characters Lurtz and the Witch King in the Lord of the Rings series. Thanks to these iconic performances, he has gained an important place in the hearts of both audiences and critics.
Before starting his acting career, he worked in road construction. This turning point in his life occurred the day he went to watch his friend attend a drama class. The teacher took him on stage because he was impressed by his impressive physique. In this way, he took his first step into acting and started doing stunts in a short time. His tall and strong build gave him the opportunity to portray huge and scary characters.
He appeared in Peter Jackson's famous fantasy series; He played the ruthless Uruk-hai leader Lurtz in The Fellowship of the Ring, and Gothmog, the Dark Sorcerer King of Angmar and the orc commander in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, in The Return of the King. He then appeared in the trilogy The Hobbit: He played the character of Azog's son Bolg in the movie The Desolation of Smaug.
However, due to his role in the TV series Marco Polo, he could not take part in the movie The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
Lawrence Makoare was born on 20 March 1968 in Baston Point, Auckland, New Zealand.
Productions in which he took part
He took part in 21 productions in total; 12 of the most well-known are listed.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) โ Witchking / Gothmog
- Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) โ Barbarian Leader
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) โ Lurtz
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) โ Bolg
- Die Another Day (2002) โ Mr. Clay
- Young Hercules (1998) โ Roadie
- Forgive Us All (2025) โ Brooks
- Transformation (2024) โ Akatarewa
- Occupation: Rainfall (2020) โ Garry the Alien
- The Warrior (2014) โ The Warrior
- Goodbye Heaven (1994) โ Atta
- The Making of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' (2006)
Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.
