The Lord of the Rings (film series) compiled by "Empire", with Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of Aragorn ranking No. 15, Ian McKellen's portrayal of Gandalf ranking No. 30, Ian Holm's portrayal of Bilbo Baggins (shared with Martin Freeman for his portrayal of the same character in "The Hobbit" films) ranking No. 61, Andy Serkis' portrayal of Gollum ranking No. 66, Sean Astin's portrayal of Samwise Gamgee ranking No. 77, and Orlando Bloom's portrayal of Legolas ranking No. 94. The three films together were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards, of which they won 17, a record for any movie trilogy (the three nominations for "" and
The Fellowship of the Ring edition". The title "The Fellowship of the Ring" refers to the group of chief protagonists. The Prologue is meant partly to help people who have not read "The Hobbit" to understand the events of that book. It also contains other background information to set the stage for the novel. The first chapter in the book begins in a light vein, following the tone of "The Hobbit". Bilbo Baggins celebrates his 111th (or eleventy-first, as it is called in Hobbiton) birthday on the same day, 22 September, that his younger cousin and adopted heir Frodo Baggins celebrates his coming of age