Who is Boromir of Gondor in the movie?
Boromir is the son of the steward of Gondor and captain of the guard. He travelled to Rivendell from Minas Tirith. At the council, he is confronted with Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor.

Who was Boromir of Gondor in the book?
Boromir is the son of Steward Denethor II, and captain of the White Tower of Ecthelion. He travelled from Minas Tirith to Rivendell to seek council from Elrond about a recurring dream he and his brother Faramir had. At the council he meets Aragorn, Chieftain of the Dúnedain.

Changes in Fellowship of the Ring

The Shards of Narsil
This part of added material in the movie has no correspondence with the book: Boromir arrives early on the morning of the council so there’s no time for such an encounter, and he only sees the Shards of Narsil at the council.
In the scene prior to this one we see Boromir enter Rivendell on horseback: in the book he did a large part of the journey on foot because he lost his horse at Tharbud.

The Council of Elrond
In the book Boromir has a specific question for Elrond: he seeks an explanation for the riddle he and his brother dreamt about. During the discussion he speaks of Gondor and suggests that they’d keep the Ring and use it.
When confronted with Aragorn’s claim, he reacts rather sceptically, but invites Aragorn to travel to Minas Tirith with him nonetheless. Aragorn accepts the invitation and decides to journey along with Frodo for a while.
When the Fellowship leaves Rivendell, Boromir refuses to sneak into the night and blows his horn.

In the movie, Boromir tries to pick up the Ring but triggers some weird cloud thing and has Gandalf citing the Ring-spell in Black Speech. He subsequently angers Legolas, insults Aragorn and suggests they’d keep the Ring. Finally, when he sees that the others join Frodo, he too pledges allegiance to Frodo.

The Journey South
Boromir’s mock-fight with the Hobbits during the rest at Hollin, and his picking up the Ring on the slopes of Caradhras are not in the books – though the lines he speaks about the Ring are taken directly from 2.X. The Breaking of the Fellowship. Boromir doesn’t get anywhere near the Ring, all throughout the journey.

In the book, Boromir suggests they’d carry some faggots with them when they start climbing Caradhras. He also helps create a path in the snow after the snowstorm, and together with Aragorn he carries the Hobbits back down the mountain.

Moria
In the books, Boromir is very reluctant to travelling through Moria. He’s the one who throws a pebble in the lake, thus probably further stirring the Watcher. There is no actual fight with this creature, though.
When the Balrog comes to the Bridge, he and Aragorn run back to fight alongside Gandalf and the wizard makes the bridge crumble to prevent them from returning.
The touching moment in the movie where Boromir asks for some rest, is very touching but not canon.

Lothlórien
And expect Boromir to also protest lively and loudly against entering Lothlórien. He complains about Galadriel asking him questions in his mind and tries to convince the others to travel to Minas Tirith; but there’s no private talk between Aragorn and Boromir, or between Boromir and Frodo.

Rest on the Anduin shore
As a matter of fact, there are three private talks between Aragorn and Boromir in the movie, but none of them was in the book: the scene in Rivendell with the Shards of Narsil, the evening in Caras Galadhon and this one.
It’s not Boromir who spots Gollum in the book, but Frodo (in Moria already) and Sam.
This scene too was completely made up.

Amon Hen
In the books Boromir follows Frodo, who goes for a walk in order to decide their future course, and tries to persuade him to come to Minas Tirith or lend him the Ring. After a while he gets weird and attacks Frodo.
He soon realises what he has done and returns to the camp. There Aragorn tells him to watch over Merry and Pippin, while everyone goes out to find Frodo. The fight is nowhere described, nor is the exact number of arrows, and when Boromir dies he only tells Aragorn how he failed them (and Aragorn replies by saying how few have gained such a victory) and that the Orcs took the Hobbits.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli place his body in one of the boats, with the weapons of his defeated enemies at his feet, and his broken sword and horn next to him. Then they sing a really nice lament.


Katherine Chmiel – Son of Gondor

Mistakes
– Boromir, ladies and gentleman, has black hair and grey eyes, much like Aragorn. Almost all the men in Tolkien’s books, who all come from the same forefathers, have dark hair. The only exception to this is the Rohirrim, who are almost all blondes.

– Boromir couldn’t have arrived in Rivendell on horseback, because he lost his horse at Tharbud and had to make the rest of the journey from Gondor to the north on foot.

Bookie Details
– ‘Boromir wore a long sword, in fashion like Andúril but of less lineage, and he bore also a shield and his war-horn.’ [2.III] I’m certain Sean Bean didn’t like the prop department sticking to the books this closely.

– On Caradhras, Boromir and Aragorn each carry two Hobbits up the mountain, whilst in the books they each carry two Hobbits down the hill after the snowstorm.

– During the journey on the Anduin, Boromir keeps glancing at Frodo as he does in the book.

– The scene of Boromir’s death resembles the book description very closely: Boromir’s horn is cloven by an Orc arrow, and he was ‘sitting upright as if resting’ with ‘many black arrows piercing his chest’ when Aragorn found him. Aragorn ‘knelt for a while, bent with weeping, still clasping Boromir’s hand. So it was that Legolas and Gimli found him.’

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Related Information
Interesting Links:
Our Gallery has a separate section devoted to Boromir. It also has the screencaps of both the theatrical and the extended version of Fellowship Of the Ring.

A transcript of Lord Of the Rings: Fellowship Of the Ring can be found in our Film Fun & Facts section.

A summary of Lord Of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring can be found in Elrond's Library.

You can also check out some pictures of Sean Bean in our Gallery, or read a short biography in our Film, Fun & Facts section.

Some articles that are related to this character:
- A Full Circle: Boromir of Gondor and the Meaning of Life gives the very personal view of Figwit on this book character.
- Denethor Son of Ecthelion is an article by Nienna-of-the-Valar about Boromir's father Denethor II, as depicted in the books. Warning: it contains spoilers for ROTK.
- The Stewards and the Royal Family of Gondor: Are They Related? by Cressida tries to answer this very question.
- The Middle Earth section has the full text of the lament for Boromir that Legolas and Aragorn sing after his death.

Forum threads related to this character / actor:
You can discuss Movie Boromir in the Poll-Boromir thread in the Movie Forum.
Boromir ~Love/Hate~; Why Did Boromir Want the Quest? and Tragic (character) flaws deal with the book character.
And for the Sean Bean fans, there's Favorite Characters/Actors - The Race of Men and What's With All the Boromir Bashing? in the Casting Forum.

Take a look at how some artists saw this character:
- Cartoon Boromir by Bakshi
- Boromir by Chmiel (most of this artist's works depict Boromir, you can find her gallery here.)
- Boromir by Michael Green
- Boromir by John Howe
- Boromir's Last Stand by Nasmith
- Boromir by oresama
- Boromir's Funeral Boat by Price

Not pleased with the book or the movie, take a look here:
For a more humorous take on Boromir, read Cassie Claire's The Very Secret Diary of Boromir of Gondor in the Humor Section.
The Humor Section also has a Boromir comic by Zoe.
- Take a look at the Boromir theme in our Themes Gallery.