Gollum is the character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings who calls the Ring “my precious.”
Gollum was once a hobbit-like figure named Sméagol. He discovered the One Ring while fishing with his relative Déagol, then murdered Déagol to take it. The Ring’s influence and his long isolation transformed Sméagol into the creature known as Gollum.
He lived for centuries beneath the Misty Mountains, where Bilbo Baggins encountered him in The Hobbit. Bilbo won the Ring from Gollum during their riddle contest, although Gollum did not understand at first that the object had been taken. In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum becomes central to the journey because he knows the route toward Mordor and remains obsessed with reclaiming the Ring.
The phrase is strongly associated with Gollum, but the Ring also affects other characters. Bilbo, Frodo, and Boromir all experience its power in different ways.