Throughout The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, there is a whole multitude of characters that the audience sees interacting with the One Ring of Power. One of the most gripping and dramatic things to watch in the entire franchise is seeing how the Ring takes hold of people, and how it can twist and corrupt even the bravest, most noble, and kindest of heart.
There are of course many examples of characters who have either come into contact with the Ring even briefly, or bore it themselves. The most obvious of which are the first two, from The Hobbit, namely Gollum and Bilbo. Gollum was a truly remarkable creature, for he was able to endure the Ring, and its influence for over 500 years. Although it had almost completely consumed him by the time that Bilbo found it on his quest for Erebor, he managed to stave off its evil far longer than most.
Then, there is of course Bilbo, who also experienced some of the long life that the Ring gave, and was also able to hold off against its corruption for a long time, even in the presence of a deadly dragon. Although, it could be argued that both of these characters were more easily able to resist the Ring because they were hobbits, who are good-hearted and kind natured creatures, and seem amazingly resilient to its powers, as can also be seen in the case of Samwise Gamgee, one of the only characters able to relinquish the ring once he has worn it, and of course, Frodo himself, who manages to get it all the way to Mount Doom before he gives in to its temptation.
In moving away from hobbits then, there is then the likes of Men, including Isildur, Aragorn’s forefather, Aragorn himself, and of course Boromir and Faramir of Gondor. As everyone knows, Isildur was the first man to give in to the Ring’s power, and he paid dearly for it when the ring betrayed him and tried to return to its master Sauron, getting Isildur killed in the process. Boromir, in many ways, follows in this pattern of being a strong and noble man, a born leader, and a good person who has genuine intentions to help the people of Gondor and the White tree which is failing, but unfortunately the Ring is able to twist this desire and turn Boromir into an enemy. He also loses his life just after trying to take the ring to Frodo.
In the films, Aragorn finds Frodo very shaken shortly after, and has the chance also to take the Ring, but is able to resist it and tells Frodo to leave and remove it from people’s grasp, saying “I would have gone with you to the end”. Faramir too, shows absolutely no want for the evil object, because he has seen what it did to his brother, and he knows that he would end in the same cruel fate.
However, there are several members of the fellowship that the audience never actually see interact with the Ring. Merry and Pippin may presumably have also been very good at resisting the ring, as they are hobbits, and neither seem to have selfish ambitions nor lofty desires, so it’s safe to assume that they would have passed the test unscathed. Gandalf openly admits that he would want to use the ring to do good in the world, but “through me it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine” so he is able to avoid taking the ring even when it is freely offered.
Legolas is a little more difficult to predict, because he has very few interactions with Frodo whilst he has the Ring, and it is very rare that he would have a chance to take it. Therefore it is possible that he simply has no interest in it, but also possible that it would corrupt him and make him a dark being as it would have done to Galadriel, the elf of Lothlorien.
There is one final member of the fellowship though, and he too is a difficult character to predict. Fans have an interesting theory that Gimli, son of Gloin, may have been an alternative candidate to take the ring to Mount Doom. This at first seems improbable, especially considering that he is a dwarf, and that his race is known as being both greedy, and power hungry. But many fans have noticed how Gimli shows absolutely no hesitation in trying to destroy the One Ring with his axe at the council of Elrond. Many of the others in attendance are bickering and squabbling, and Boromir already looks at it as if it is a great gift rather than a deadly weapon, but Gimli charges forward without a single hesitation and tries to destroy it.
This suggests that there is a possibility that he would have been able to resist the ring, and that he had no signs of the greed and the dragon sickness that plagues his kin, especially the line of Durin, to whom he is distantly related. Whether or not he actually would have been capable of destroying it is unknown, but he is awarded a place of honor in the Undying Lands after his long reign in the Glittering Caves nonetheless.
