Director Peter Jackson has a long history of including himself in his films, and his adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are no exception. Each of his six movies set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth features one brief appearance from the fun-loving New Zealand director. Most of these cameos last for only a split-second, but a couple of his characters actually contribute to the plot, even if only in a small way.
Jackson didn't stop at including only himself in these movies. There are also a good number of appearances from the filmmaker's relatives, friends and crew members. Notably, his children, Katie and Billy, have had small roles in his films, both related to Middle-earth and otherwise. Celebrity Tolkien fans have been featured as well. For example, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug includes an appearance by well-known Tolkienite Stephen Colbert, who plays an eye patch-sporting spy for the Master in Lake-town. However, in this article, we're focusing only on Peter Jackson's cameos.
The Fellowship of the Ring: Albert Dreary, Drunken Man of Bree
In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson makes a fan-favorite cameo as a Man named Albert Dreary in Bree. He can be seen as the Hobbits enter the dark, rain-soaked town, chewing roughly on a carrot and letting out a loud belch. Albert was originally supposed to be smoking a pipe, but Jackson became sick after several takes, leading to the switch to the carrot. The cameo is so well-known that Jackson actually reprised the role in one of The Hobbit films as an Easter egg.
The Two Towers: Rohirrim Warrior
Near the end of The Lord of the Rings' second installment, The Two Towers, Jackson appears as one of the Rohirrim soldiers fighting at Helm's Deep. Clad in chain mail, he fiercely throws a spear at the attacking Uruk-hai from atop the Deeping Wall. He even successfully hits a target and brings him down.
The Return of the King: Corsair on the Black Ships
A little over halfway through The Lord of the Rings' finale, The Return of the King, the director has a fleeting role as one of the pirates aboard the Black Ships. He appears in a couple of shots, waving his weapon and standing directly behind his ship's bosun. Aragorn instructs Legolas to fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear -- but, unfortunately for Jackson's character, Gimli throws the shot off, sending the arrow flying straight into the corsair's chest.
An Unexpected Journey: Lonely Mountain Dwarf
The first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, opens with a prologue that depicts Smaug's attack on Erebor and Thranduil's refusal to help the fleeing victims. If viewers squint closely, they may notice that one of the Dwarves running away from the dragon is none other than Jackson. It's difficult to tell at first, as his nose has been augmented with a bulbous prosthetic, accompanied by the requisite bushy Dwarven beard and eyebrows.
The Desolation of Smaug: Albert Dreary, Again
As mentioned earlier, the carrot-munching Man of Bree returns in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and he's as waterlogged and grumpy-looking as ever. It's unclear how Albert Dreary could have shown up in both settings, given the time gap between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but perhaps he's an older brother or uncle of the original Albert Dreary. He appears in the film's prologue, a flashback that depicts a dejected Thorin's fateful meeting with Gandalf at the Prancing Pony Inn.
The Battle of the Five Armies: Bilbo's Father
Jackson rounds out his Middle-earth cameos with a small role at the very end of The Hobbit trilogy. However, he doesn't exactly appear in person. After Bilbo returns to the Shire in The Battle of the Five Armies, he comes home to a Bag End that has been looted and left in total disarray. As he starts to pick up the pieces, one of the first things he puts to right is a set of oval-shaped portraits of his parents. Jackson's likeness is used for the painting of Bungo Baggins, Bilbo's father.