| “ | Bolg! I have a task for you. Do you still thirst for Dwarf blood? | „ |
| ~ Azog to Bolg. |
Bolg is an Orc warrior and the son of Azog the Defiler. He is the secondary antagonist of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. He is a major antagonist in The Desolation of Smaug and the secondary antagonist of The Battle of the Five Armies.
In An Unexpected Journey, he was portrayed by Conan Stevens, who also played Gregor Clegane as a non-speaking cameo. In The Desolation of Smaug, he was portrayed by Lawrence Makoare, who also played other Middle-earth villains, such as the Witch-King of Angmar, Lurtz and Gothmog. In The Battle of the Five Armies, he was portrayed by John Tui.
In J.R.R. Tolkien's books
The Hobbit
In the original book of The Hobbit, Bolg was the son of Azog the Defiler, succeeding him after his death in the Battle of Azanulbizar in TA 2799 by Dain who became Dain Ironfoot. He has resettled in the old refuge in Mount Gundabad after the kingdom of Angmar was abandoned, and apparently ruled goblins of the Misty Mountains from their capital at Mount Gundabad during the Battle of the Five Armies.
Bolg ruled the northern Goblins for about 150 years, and led the army of Goblins, Wargs, and Bats in the Battle of the Five Armies, in which he took his two bodyguards with him. In the battle, he fatally wounded Thorin Oakenshield, as Fili and Kili died defending him. Then, Thorin died, and as a result, he was later crushed and killed by Beorn, a skin-changer who could turn into a mighty black bear, avenging Thorin's death.
In Sir Peter Jackson's films
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Bolg fighting Dwalin during the Battle of Azanulbizar.
Bolg appears briefly in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey during the Battle of Azanulbizar, fighting Dwalin and being wounded by him.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
He appears when Azog is summoned to Dol Guldur in service of their master, Bolg is sent by his father to take it from here and lead the orc pack to find and kill Thorin, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarven company. They track the Dwarves to the Elven Kingdom of Mirkwood ruled by Thranduil, where the Dwarves where escaping captive thanks to Bilbo, by riding in floating barrels in the river, using the current to bring them further downriver, unaware of the orc's arrival.
Bolg was leading the orcs to an unguarded gate where the Dwarves were headed, but the Elves interfered again trying to stop the Dwarves. Bolg and the orcs then saw no other choice but to reveal themselves to the elves and fight them and the Dwarves. When Bolg noticed dwarf Kili trying to open the gate to help the others escape, Bolg shot him with a poisonous Morgul arrow. When they were about to finish him off, the elf warrior, Tauriel saved Kili's life a second time and Bolg ordered they kill her, giving Kili enough time to struggle his way to lifting himself up, pull the lever and open the gate and escaped with his fellow comrades.
Bolg orders the orcs downriver to pursue them, but the dwarves easily fight them off and escape, and are later smuggled into Lake-town, Esgaroth by a bargeman named Bard and make their way to the Lonely Mountain, but they left behind Filli, Bofur, Oin and a wounded Kili where tend to him in Bard's house. Later, Bolg and orcs sneaked into Lake-town, hot on the dwarves' trail, they break into Bard's house and attempt to kill everyone, but Tauriel and Legolas arrived just in time to save them and fought off the orcs. The orcs retreated and Bolg told them to send word to Dol Guldur that the company had reached Erebor.
Legolas pursued Bolg while Tauriel healed Kili with elven magic using the weed that Bofur retrieved from the pigs that were about to be eaten by them at the time. Bolg and two orcs fought Legolas while the rest of the orc pack left for Dol Guldur. Legolas cut down the two orcs and after a brawl with Bolg, Bolg fled to Dol Guldur with Legolas in pursuit.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
After fleeing from Lake-Town, Bolg is seen meeting Azog and the orc army as they march on the lonely mountain. Azog orders him to travel to Mount Gundabad in the north after he hears that Bolg fought, but did not kill Legolas in Lake-Town. Legolas and Tauriel later witness Bolg leading the orc forces from the fortress at Gundabad towards Erebor.
Bolg kills Kili.
Bolg arrives at the Battle of the Five Armies during Thorin's final fight with Azog at Raven Hill. He comes across Tauriel, who is looking for Kili, and nearly kills her, were it not for the latter's timely intervention. After a struggle Bolg fatally stabs Kili, prompting Tauriel to take him with her over the edge of a cliff. Bolg is about to attack Tauriel as she lies wounded from the fall, but Legolas topples a stone tower across a frozen waterfall and comes forth to face Bolg, saving Tauriel from death.
As Legolas battles Bolg with Orchrist, he sees Thorin about to be slain by an orc atop the waterfall and throws him the sword, killing the orc. He then uses his daggers to fight Bolg as the tower crumbles. After grappling with the orc, he wins the fight by swinging up into his shoulders and stabbing him through the skull with a dagger, killing him. In the extended version, Legolas twists the dagger, scrambling Bolg's brain. Legolas leaps free as the tower crumbles, and Bolg's lifeless body falls to the ground, his head being crushed by a falling stone from the tower.
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Trivia
- Bolg's death in the film trilogy is very different from the book. In the book, Bolg was crushed and killed by Beorn (in bear form), but in the film trilogy, he is stabbed and killed by Legolas.
- His role in the film trilogy is very different from the book. In the book, Bolg ruled the Goblins in Mount Gundabad for 150 years, but in the film trilogy, he is the second-in-command because Azog is still alive.
- Also, in the book, Azog dies hundreds of years before Bolg was killed, but in the film trilogy, Bolg is slain minutes before his father was.
