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, he ended up landing the part of the Dark Lord Sauron. 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. He followed that with a role in David Fincher's action film The Killer.
Filmography
Actor
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 2001 || The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ||rowspan=2| Sauron and Lugdush || Voiced by Alan Howard as Sauron
|-
| 2002 || The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ||Haradrim warrior
|-
| rowspan="2" | 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
|rowspan=2| Stunts
|
|-
|2005
|The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2006 ||Potheads: The Movie|| Grim ||
|-
| F8 || Bouncer ||
|-
|Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
|rowspan=3| Stunts
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |2007
|Next
|
|-
|Epic Movie
|
|-
|The Kingdom|| Kidnapper ||Uncredited
|-
|Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
|Pirate
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2008 || Stiletto || Store Clerk ||
|-
| The Prince of Venice || Lani ||
|-
| rowspan="4" |2009
|Race to Witch Mountain
|Stunts
|
|-
|Gamer
|Mercenary
|rowspan=2|Uncredited
|-
|Star Trek|| Drill Tower Romulan
|-
|Blood and Bone
|Jesus
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2010
|The Expendables
|Mercenary
|Uncredited
|-
|The Book of Eli|| Construction Thug ||
|-
|The A-Team
|Man
|rowspan=2|Uncredited
|-
|2011
|Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
|rowspan=2|Stunts
|-
| rowspan="3" |2012
|Contraband
|
|-
|Savages|| Motorcycle Cop ||
|-
|Battleship
|Soldier
|rowspan=2|Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" |2013
|Parker
|Ernesto
|-
|Iron Man 3|| Extremis Soldier
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2014 ||Falcon Rising|| Gang Member 2
|Uncredited
|-
|The Equalizer
|Teddy's Guy
|
|-
|Transcendence
|rowspan=3| Stunts
|rowspan=4|Uncredited
|-
|2015
|Ant-Man
|-
| rowspan="5" |2016
|Captain America: Civil War
|-
|The Nice Guys
|Body Guard
|-
|79 Parts
|Gonzo
|
|-
|Deadpool
| Stunts
|rowspan=2|Uncredited
|-
|Central Intelligence
|Body Guard
|-
| rowspan="3" |2017
|Fist Fight
|Stunts
|
|-
|Bright
|Gang Banger
|rowspan=4|Uncredited
|-
|Sleepless
|Henchmen
|-
| rowspan="3" |2018 ||Braven|| Mercenary
|-
| Deadpool 2 || Older Firefist
|-
|Mile 22
|Assassin
|
|-
|2021
|Jungle Cruise
|Body Guard
|
|-
|2023
|The Last Deal
|The Boss
|
|-
|2023
|The Killer
|The Brute
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |2007
|24
|Stunts
|2 Episodes - Uncredited
|-
|Prison Break|| World || Uncredited
|-
| 2008 || The Unit || Luis || Uncredited
|-
| 2009 || Chuck || Terrorist Bodyguard || Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2013 ||NCIS: Los Angeles|| Henchman #1 || Uncredited
|-
|True Blood
|Vampire
|2 Episodes - Uncredited
|-
|The Mentalist
|Stunts
|4 Episodes - Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" |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
|-
| rowspan="2" |2018
|Mayans M.C.
|Stunts
|Uncredited
|-
|Westworld
|Arno
|Uncredited
|-
|2019
|The Mandalorian
|Klatooinian Raider Captain
|
|-
|-
|2020
|The Rookie
|Daxton Reid
|
|}
Stunts
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): Stunt Performers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Stunt Performers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Stunt Performers
- 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
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Award !! Category !! Film !! Result
|-
| 2001 || rowspan="3"|Phoenix Film Critics Society Award || Best Cast<br/><small>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</small> || The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ||
|-
| 2002 || Best Cast<br/><small>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</small> || The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ||
|-
| 2003 || Best Cast<br/><small>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</small> || The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|2008 || Taurus Award || Best Fight || rowspan="2"|The Kingdom ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Screen Actors Guild Award || rowspan="2"|Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture ||
|-
| 2010 || Star Trek ||
|}