100 Greatest Movie Characters: 11

"They cursed us. Murderer they called us. They cursed us, and drove us away. And we wept precious, we wept to be so alone. And we forgots the taste of bread, the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. My precious."

11. Gollum
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

A raspy deformed halfling with a short stature and loose grip on sanity, we discover that within the frail former Stoorish Hobbit live two separate entities: Sméagol, an innocent who still remember things like love and friendship and trust, and Gollum, a monster dominated by his obsession with the Ring and who only knew violence and treachery.

Gollum, being vicious and manipulative, is commonly the dominant personality, bullying the poor Sméagol close to oblivion. Frodo's natural kindness however awakens something in the creature and Sméagol is able to thrive again (with constant opposition from Gollum, of course).

The first really great motion-captured characters in film, Gollum show what Computer Generated Imagery can accomplish. Gollum's performance, completely taken from Andy Serkis's movements and voice, is better than most real actors out there today. Animators even worked on separating the two characters through everything from body posture to pupils (small and beady for Gollum, big and round for Sméagol). A simultaneously heartbreaking and horrifying character, Gollum is absolutely precious. We lovessss hims.

Defining moment: His heartbreaking argument, as Gollum chews out Sméagol, insulting and emotionally abusing him (well, himself), the innocent side soon stands up to itself. Demanding the monster inside to "leave now and never come back," Sméagol is able to effectively banish Gollum from his person. If only for a little while.