The landscape of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” sprawls across Middle-earth and the surrounding seas in Prime Video’s new prequel series to the J.R.R. Tolkien universe.
We spoke with 16 actors from the series about their roles – the Zoom connection to Middle-earth was remarkably strong – and got the rundown on their characters, the backstory and their preparation for coming to Middle-earth, so before we get to the interview, buckle up for a brief overview of the personalities and places you’ll be seeing and hearing from.
A Hobbit-sized look at what’s to come
There’s the land of Lindon, the Elven realm ruled by Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), a place where Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) returns in the premiere. Not far away in Eregion, the Elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is planning to forge the Rings of Power.
But Celebrimbor needs help, so he sends an emissary to meet with the Dwarf Prince Dorin (Owain Arthur) in the neighboring subterranean world of Khazad-dum, deep beneath the Misty Mountains.
Scattered across Middle-earth are communities of Harfoots, migratory predecessors of the Hobbits more familiar to Tolkien fans, including the young best friends Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) who one night stumble onto a man initially known as the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) who crashes into a nearby field inside a meteor.
If Nori’s mother Marigold Brandyfoot (Sara Zwangobani) knew what her daughter was up to with this Meteor Man, she would definitely not approve.
Elsewhere in Middle-earth, there are humans, though technically Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is at sea, running away from his past when we meet him. In the Southlands, Elven warriors guard human villages, including the never-smiling Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), who’s in love with a human healer.
And finally, we reach Numenor, a fabled island kingdom akin to Atlantis. Their number includes Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), her adviser Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle), his son Kemen (Leon Wadham, Numenorean sailor Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and his children, son and a future king Isildur (Maxim Baldry), and daughter Earien (Ema Horvath).
We talked to all the aforementioned actors about everything from stunt training to costumes, the difference between canonical Tolkien characters such as Galadriel and entirely new ones such as Earien and more — such as the Dwarf Prince Dorin’s glorious red beard.
In a condensed version of those conversations — we’re not writing “The Silmarillion II” here after all — here are the highlights of what we learned.
On training
Clark: “A huge part of Galadriel’s character is that she’s physically powerful, and so a big part of getting ready for her was just to train, train, train. Lots of climbing, lots of swimming. I learned how to fight with two swords. I’m not very cool; I’m just not very coordinated. It is a testament to the stunties [stunt coordinators] what they got me to do.”
Vickers: “There’s a little shot of me in the trailer riding a horse and then learning off the horse and picking a spear off the ground and then spinning it around. I practiced that for months, years, in fact, to be able to do that. And then it was over in two takes.”
Baldry: “I think my only friend in the show is a horse, so I spent a lot of time on a horse, riding, and feeling at one with a horse. And now I wish I could just, instead of getting an Uber, I just wish I could jump on a horse, swing down to Target. Get a blender for you, maybe, for the protein shakes” — said to Vickers — “and then ride back, you know?”
Owen: “It’s a great satisfaction for me to canter my horse through the forest into a scene, jump off the saddle, and then deliver lines. It was really a magical moment.”
Edwards: “Had you done a lot of riding before?”
Owen: “I was about as good as any actor who’s given a horse on a film set. I overheard two stunt riders talking to each other on set. They said, ‘You know who the most dangerous person on a film set it?’ The other guy goes, ‘No, who?’ ‘An actor who thinks he can ride.’”
Edwards: “I was happy because I was required to master Elvish. You might not believe this: When I was a kid, I was so obsessed with ‘Lord of the Rings’ that I would practice Elvish. The little 9-year-old me was very happy to be sat at that table practicing.”
The new Numenoreans
The island kingdom of Numenor is referenced in Tolkien’s main works, though by the time of the Third Age in which his books were set, the Second Age kingdom had, like Atlantis, sunk into the sea. The actors who play Numenoreans shared some basic history.
Wadham: “It’s an island of kings. Basically, these are the humans who sided with the elves in the fight against Morgoth. To say thank you, they gifted them this incredible island nation and the gift of extended lifespans. They live for centuries. But the relationship with the elves has weakened. By the time our story begins, it’s been centuries since an elf set foot on Numenor.”
Some Numenoreans want the island to go its own human way, others want to stay aligned with the elves.
Gravelle: “Because this is peacetime at the moment in Middle-earth, and we don’t have anything knocking on our doorstep, being an island out in the sea, we have the luxury of now having more clarity with our identity, and where we’re going. And so Pharazon, he wants the Numenoreans to be more innovative and to celebrate their more human history. We’re not second-class citizens on this earth. We want our voices known.”
As an entirely new Numenorean, Horvath’s Earien is even newer than her island home.
Horvath: “It’s a double-edged sword. There is that freedom that comes with it, and then there’s also the sort of question in the back of your head — does it make sense? Based on what’s been presented (by Tolkien in the past), is this addition helpful? Luckily, I think it’s a really lovely addition, and helps fill out the lives of these two characters (father Elendil and brother Isildur) that are so pivotal.”
Americans in Middle-earth
The majority of the cast is from places such as England, Wales, New Zealand and Australia. Only a few actors are American, which means there’s an accent to be mastered. But the stories fit no matter where one comes from.
Cordova: “How do I compare with Arondir? He has a rich internal life. You feel what he’s seen behind his eyes, and he is ultimately a warrior led by love. And I truly identify with that. You know, the journey that I’ve had in my life, I grew up in the mountains of Puerto Rico, in a community that was highly illiterate, to a teenage home. Grew up in a house with dirt floors, did all my journey all the way to NYU.
“And now here we’re talking, and I’m an elf in ‘Lord of the Rings.’ So that warrior spirit I saw very much in this guy. Even if he’s fearful. I’ve had a lot of fear. You can stay or go with it. I’ve gone through with my fear, and it has led me to play this incredible sultry steely guy.”
Walker: “I definitely like to think I bring them a little bit of American swag. But that’s the job. And that’s also one of the joys of the job, that you get to experience something new.”
Gravelle: “I might add as well, their accents are flawless, incredible.”
Walker: “Oh thanks, man.”
Gravelle: “Yeah, you’d never tell that they were from across the pond.”
Harfoots in harmony
Kavenagh: “The showrunners did such a brilliant job of creating a solid foundation of character, and of heart and of longing. She is just so interested in the unknown and in other realms, and where and how they exist in the Middle-earth. She’s grounded in that, so it didn’t come across as something just purely naive, innocent, wide-eyed.
“She’s aware that her family and the community is struggling, and she’s had to grow up really fast. She just wants to uplift the Harfoots.”
Richards: “Poppy and Nori are best friends. They’re definitely the yang to each other’s yin. I think the way you described Poppy as being Nori’s conscience is actually a really good way of describing it. Poppy’s love for Nori runs so deep and so true, and it’s constant. And that is something that drives Poppy to go with Nori.”
One of the places Nori and Poppy go is to investigate the Stranger, who arrives in a flaming meteor.
Weyman: “There are characters who we already know something from later Tolkien. We’re able to come back here and look at an age that hasn’t had so much of a spotlight shone on it. There are holes where we can fit in characters that help enrich other skeletal stories that Tolkien has started. So hopefully the mysteries of the Stranger will be as enjoyable for the audience as they were for me to play.”
Costuming Middle-earth
Addai-Robinson: “I spent a lot of time with the wardrobe department because I have many, many amazing costumes. I had essentially couture pieces, everything was custom-made — the shoes, the jewelry, I have armor in the series. So it was quite a process, not just a one-and-done.
Zwangonbani: “Because I didn’t know much about my character at that point, I thought I was going to be wearing something like what Cynthia’s describing her character wearing. And then I go into the costume department and I’m like, ‘Huh? This woven skirt and this loose top.’ But I loved my costume by the end.”
Arthur: “It’s a heavy beard and a very itchy beard and it hid my face as well. So I was excited, but also a slight dread of how am I going to survive shooting an entire series having to wear this, and possibly more to come.”
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