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.

Career

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 furthered his career by playing 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

Actor

Film

Television

Stunts

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): Stunts
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Stunt Performer
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Stunts (uncredited)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): Stunts
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005): Stunts
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006): Stunt Native
• Epic Movie (2007): Stunts
• Deadliest Warrior (2009): Weapons Demonstration
• The A-Team (2010): Stunts

Miscellaneous crew

• The Last Samurai (2003): Location Manager: Split Unit
• The Long and Short of It (2003): Traffic Controller/Grip
• Deadliest Warrior: Shaolin Monk vs Māori Warrior (TV) (2009): Himself, demonstrating Māori weapons

Awards and nominations