They used to be elves

1

They bring this up in the films, but surprisingly enough, a lot of people still manage to be unaware of this tidbit. Apparently the original Orcs were born as elves but were taken by Melkor/Morgoth and tortured in a terrible fashion until they were turned into Orcs.

They’re pure evil

2

It isn’t uncommon for the bad guys in movies and novels to have SOME form of redeeming quality sprinkled in (often to make them seem eerily relatable/human), but not orcs. Tolkien created orcs to be absolutely evil with no remorse for anything. Their only goals are to serve their masters and destroy anything related to the realm of men.

They were ‘created’ by Morgoth

3

Morgoth is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned BRIEFLY in The Lord of the Rings. He also is the thing to have bred thousands of the first orcs in a battle against the elves over a millennia ago.

Andy Serkis

4

Y’all know Andy as the dude who plays Gollum, but did you know that he also voiced three different Orcs who are having a chat with one another as they chase after Merry and Pippin in the second film? Welp, now you do.

The noises they make

5

When creating the noises for Orcs, the produces really wanted to make sure that they captured/created a sound that fit the terrifying image of an Orc. To achieve their patented sounds, sea creatures like otters and seals were recorded and mixed in studio.

They weren’t always a huge problem

6

Within the Tolkien universe, most of us know Orcs to be a huge problem. They come in massive hoards and cause a shit ton of trouble for the good guys, and they do it often. However, for the first thousand years of their existence, they were relatively harmless and did nothing more than piss off some dwarves. (This is according to the old books)

They’re not all alike

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…At least in how they look. Peter Jackson and Co worked hard on ensuring that not every orc looked exactly the same. Some have dark skin, some light, some resemble humans more accurately than others, some are taller, some are shorter, but they’re all scary.

Battle Cries

8

In order to get a truly terrifying roar for massive battles with orcs, Peter Jackson filled a stadium with 25,000 cricket fans and had them yell and scream very specific chants and noises.

Orcs can mine just as well as Dwarves

9

According to some of JRR Tolkien’s writings, orcs, who spent a lot of their existence underground, are incredible miners and forgers.

Black Mouth

10

In order to make themselves look extra fuckin’ scary, orc actors would rinse their mouths with black licorice and water. JRR Tolkien did write that they had black blood, so it worked perfectly for the movies.