As one of the most beloved franchises in history, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is filled with a rich history of characters. From the ancient elves before the time of Middle Earth to the heroes of the fellowship, there are many great and terrible figures that have populated the stories of J. R. R. Tolkien over the years.

However, while many of these characters have fought against the darkness for what is right, others have turned entirely from this path and have sought only their own gain in one way or another. These Lord of the Rings characters have never proven themselves as being completely unselfish, no matter what they have achieved for others along the way.

8Boromir

Only Redeemed At The Last

Played By Sean Bean
Selfishly Wanted All The Glory

Boromir was never someone who would work alongside Sauron for his own gain, making him much less selfish than some, who were completely willing to sell their soul and everyone around them for a piece of the Dark Lord’s power. However, Boromir was guilty of being the fellowship member most susceptible to the lust for power.

Boromir attempts to take the One Ring from Frodo, causing the breakup of the fellowship and showing that his real desire was to have the glory of defeating Sauron for himself. He wanted to use the ring from the Council of Elrond, and he was shown to be okay with taking the glory of each battle he fought for Gondor, and all the adoration of his father, who neglected his brother Faramir for years. Boromir selflessly sacrificed himself to protect Merry and Pippin in another moment of glory, but he was a flawed, selfish man.

7Lobelia Sackville-Baggins

The Ultimate Annoying Neighbor

Played By Elizabeth Moody
Selfishly Irritating For Decades

Though she only appeared in the extended edition of the Peter Jackson adaptions, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is a character who is selfish in a much more ordinary, run-of-the-mill fashion. Though Middle Earth’s characters are normally much grander in their heroic and evil ways, Lobelia was simply cruel, selfish, and mean-spirited for most of her life.

Lobelia was a malignant hobbit who attempted to gain control of Bag End for many years. However, in the books, she is also redeemed near the end of her life, giving Frodo back his property after railing against the rule of Saruman, who came and took over the Shire after the War of the Ring. Lobelia is a strange character and a great example that even unpleasant people can come around in the face of real evils.

6Denethor

Couldn’t Accept His Own Failings

Played By John Noble
Couldn’t Relinquish Power

There were several problematic characters even on the side of light throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, was just such a one. Having raised Boromir and favored him greatly over Faramir, his other son, Denethor attempted, in his selfishness, to stop the tide of Mordor’s forces as they invaded Gondor with horrible strategies, nearly leading to the death of his son.

Fans could see Denethor’s selfishness on full display with his greed and attempts to stay in power, rejecting the notion that an heir to the throne of Gondor could present themselves after all this time, desperately wanting his family to retain the power and stewardship of the kingdom.

5Grima Wormtongue

Sought Power At Any Cost

Played By Brad Dourif
Ruled By Lust And Hatred

One of the characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy who doesn’t seem to have a great deal of motive, besides a lust for power, is Grima Wormtongue. It takes a truly despicable sort of person to make fans hate him more than characters like Sauron, but Grima achieved this through his dark whispering to King Theoden, and grotesque promises to Eowyn to become her husband.

Grima seized power in Rohan for Saruman through dark magic, which was later dispelled by Gandalf. However, lasting damage was done, as Rohan was barely in time to join the fight, and Theoden’s son and heir Theodred was killed due to Grima’s machinations. His selfishness is only surpassed by a shred of dignity as he finally decides to overthrow Saruman at last.

4Gollum

Selfishness Enhanced By The Ring

Played By Andy Serkis
The Ring Enhanced His Greed & Selfishness

Although Smeagol is easily manipulated by the ring and turned quickly into a single-minded creature of greed and selfishness, he cannot be considered the most selfish creature in Lord of the Rings because he is simply too weak-willed to resist the lure of the ring, which even great characters like Aragorn and Gandalf have feared.

It only took moments of influence from the ring to push Smeagol’s greed and selfishness so far that he was capable of killing his friend, showing that this character was already deeply flawed. Gollum’s selfishness in hoarding the ring for centuries, no matter what it did to him and his mind, is truly devastating to think about, but this character does not perhaps deserve the sympathy attributed to him by some fans. His failings were not properly shown in his new game, but they are, unfortunately, many.

3Sauron

The Dark Lord Desired Dominion

Played By Sala Baker, Benedict Cumberbatch & Charlie Vickers
Was Ready To Destroy The World For Power

There are few things more selfish than an all-consuming lust for power. His lust for genocide takes truly psychopathic levels of selfishness and greed. Sauron may not have been the first major force of evil to trouble Middle Earth, but he was one of the most destructive, causing multiple wars in his name which claimed thousands of lives.

All this came down to his own selfishness and lust for power. The reasons for the struggles between light and dark go back into the deep lore of Middle Earth, but safe to say that Sauron was pure evil, his selfish nature demanded that he tear apart the entire world for his own means and gain.

2The Ring

An Entity Of Pure Evil

Played By N/A
Controlled Everyone Around It

One of the most self-centered, diabolical characters in Lord of the Rings is, without a doubt, the ring itself. The One Ring was made by Sauron (likely by the end of The Rings of Power series) and has exhibited its own personality and desires on many occasions throughout the franchise. Better than anyone, the ring is capable of twisting people to its will and corrupting them.

The Ring is a diabolical entity, which is more the main villain of The Lord of the Rings than Sauron himself, and it bends everyone and everything around it to its own wishes, not caring what destruction is wrought. From the torturous decades Gollum spent under its influence to the way it twisted Isildur and Frodo, the Ring is selfish beyond almost anyone or anything in The Lord of the Rings.

1Saruman

The Worst Betrayer

Played By Christopher Lee
A Paragon Of Good Destroyed

Although he was not the overarching villain of the entire trilogy, Saruman was a force of great evil, and he almost turned the tide in the war in favor of Sauron just by placing his and Isengard’s allegiance in his corner. Saruman was not only a wizard on the side of light, but the leader of the Istari. This group of wizards was sent by the Valar (the Gods) to Middle Earth in order to combat Sauron specifically.

The fact that Saruman turned from the path of good after literally being sent by the Gods to help lead the forces of good against the enemy, makes him the most depraved of all characters. His selfishness was so brutal that, already ruling Isengard and respected by all wasn’t enough for him and he turned into a monster attempting to take control for himself. Even when he was beaten, Saruman holed up in Isengard or ran to take over the Shire in the books, showing his monstrous nature to the last in both cases and proving his selfishness and lust for power went beyond that of anyone else in the series.