Samwise Gamgee is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. A hobbit, Samwise is the chief supporting character of The Lord of the Rings, serving as the loyal companion of the protagon
Frodo and Sam guided by Gollum through the Dead Marshes. Scraperboard illustration by Alexander Korotich, 1984
Frodo has been compared to Christ, and Sam, who carried Frodo on the way to Mount Doom, to Simon of Cyrene, who carried Christ's cross to Golgotha.
Tolkien stated that the relationship of Frodo and Sam reflected that of a British officer and his batman during the First World War.
Sam's surname is from Sampson Gamgee, a Birmingham doctor who invented a surgical dressing; as a child, Tolkien knew the word "gamgee" as a name for cotton wool.
Sean Patrick Astin is an American actor and trade union leader who serves as the 4th national president of SAG-AFTRA. He began his career as a child actor, making his film debut as Mikey Walsh in The
Samwise Gamgee
…Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Sam was played by Sean Astin. The batman relationship and class differences between Sam and Frodo are somewhat subdued, though Sam still refers to Frodo as "Mr." (but not "Master…
Astin at the 2025 Rose City Comic Con