Sala Baker (born 22 September 1976) is a New Zealand actor and stuntman. He is best known for portraying the villain Sauron in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson.

Sala Baker
Born (1976-09-22) 22 September 1976 (age 48)
Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation(s)Actor, stuntman
Years active2001–present

Career

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Originally hired as one of several stunt performers for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy,[citation needed] he ended up landing the part of the Dark Lord Sauron.[1] In addition, he also played several Orcs, a Gondorian, and one of the Rohirrim. Outside of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Baker has performed in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, two Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Deadpool 2, Braven, Sleepless, and Mile 22.

Baker was also a part of the miscellaneous crew in the making of The Last Samurai in 2003.

In 2023, Baker played one of the leads in the Starz feature crime thriller The Last Deal.[2] He followed that with a role in David Fincher's new action film The Killer.[3]

Filmography

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Actor

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Sauron and Lugdush Voiced by Alan Howard as Sauron
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Haradrim warrior
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Sauron and Murgash Voiced by Alan Howard as Sauron
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Stunts
2005 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2006 Potheads: The Movie Grim
F8 Bouncer
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Stunts
2007 Next
Epic Movie
The Kingdom Kidnapper Uncredited
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Pirate
2008 Stiletto Store Clerk
The Prince of Venice Lani
2009 Race to Witch Mountain Stunts
Gamer Mercenary Uncredited
Star Trek Drill Tower Romulan
Blood and Bone Jesus
2010 The Expendables Mercenary Uncredited
The Book of Eli Construction Thug
The A-Team Man Uncredited
2011 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Stunts
2012 Contraband
Savages Motorcycle Cop
Battleship Soldier Uncredited
2013 Parker Ernesto
Iron Man 3 Extremis Soldier
2014 Falcon Rising Gang Member 2
The Equalizer Teddy's Guy
Transcendence Stunts Uncredited
2015 Ant-Man
2016 Captain America: Civil War
The Nice Guys Body Guard
79 Parts Gonzo
Deadpool Stunts Uncredited
Central Intelligence Body Guard
2017 Fist Fight Stunts
Bright Gang Banger Uncredited
Sleepless Henchmen
2018 Braven Mercenary
Deadpool 2 Older Firefist[4]
Mile 22 Assassin
2021 Jungle Cruise Body Guard
2023 The Last Deal The Boss
2023 The Killer The Brute

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 24 Stunts 2 Episodes - Uncredited
Prison Break World Uncredited
2008 The Unit Luis Uncredited
2009 Chuck Terrorist Bodyguard Uncredited
2013 NCIS: Los Angeles Henchman #1 Uncredited
True Blood Vampire 2 Episodes - Uncredited
The Mentalist Stunts 4 Episodes - Uncredited
2014 The Last Ship Stunts Uncredited
The Mentalist Stunts 3 Episodes
2015 The Player Stunts Uncredited
2016 Power Rangers Dino Super Charge Lord Arcanon Uncredited
2017 Iron Fist Stunts Uncredited
2018 Mayans M.C. Stunts Uncredited
Westworld Arno Uncredited
2019 The Mandalorian Klatooinian Raider Captain

Stunts

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Miscellaneous crew

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Film Result
2001 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Best Cast
Shared with Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Marton Csokas, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Lawrence Makoare, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Martyn Sanderson, Liv Tyler, David Weatherley, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Won
2002 Best Cast
Shared with Sean Astin, John Bach, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Bruce Hopkins, Christopher Lee, John Leigh, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, Craig Parker, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Elijah Wood
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Won
2003 Best Cast
Shared with Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Noble, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Elijah Wood
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Nominated
2008 Taurus Award Best Fight The Kingdom Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture Nominated
2010 Star Trek Won

References

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  1. ^ "Sala Baker". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ Collinson, Gary (16 May 2023). "Crime thriller The Last Deal sets Starz release in June". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  3. ^ "The Killer: On Set Of David Fincher's Most Bruising Action Sequence – Exclusive". Empire. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. ^ Philip, Tom (22 May 2018). "Deadpool 2's Julian Dennison Isn't in a Hurry to Grow Up". GQ. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
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