Norm Felker
Some of the stars of Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showed up to New York Comic Con 2022 for a panel that kept the audience on the edge of their seats, as everyone wanted to know: who is Sauron? But before they did, cast members Benjamin Walker (Gil-galad), Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor), Cynthia Addai-Robinson( Miriel), Daniel Weyman (The Stranger), Leon Wadham (Kemen), Nazanin Boniadi (Bronwyn), and Sara Zwangobani (Marigold Brandyfoot) sat down with Awards Radar to talk about the hit show just days before the season finale. And don’t worry, Daniel Weyman didn’t tell us if he was Sauron or not, either.
Instead Weyman commented on how fun it was to play a character that is less dialogue driven and more physically expressive. “I haven’t been given that opportunity before,” said Daniel. “And actually it has probably opened up a whole side of how I act.” The actor plays off of the emotional connection his character has with Nori Brandyfoot played by Markella Kavenagh to make up for the lack of dialogue. “I felt from the very beginning there was a connection there where we could communicate without text.”
Weyman and Kavenagh have been a part of a storyline that everyone has focused on. Wondering if Weyman’s character is a force for good or for evil. With conspiracy theories abound, ranging from the possible to the improbable.
Another character at the center of possible conspiracy theories is Celebrimbor, played by Charles Edwards. “Currently he is planning what he set out to do at the start of the show. He’s planning his tower and his forge,” said Edwards. “And that is for the benefit of Eregion. However other things ring on his doorbell, but we are not there yet. But he will have the necessary equipment in place should that be required.”
This storyline will have to wait for another season as the teaser trailer (below) for the season finale seems to be leading to the identity of Sauron.
The penultimate episode of season one starts with the defeat of the Númenorian forces. And the desecration of the Southlands are now the more familiar version of Mordor. The defeat takes its toll on several characters including Addai-Robinson’s Miriel, the Queen-regent of Númenor. A forgone conclusion from Tolkien’s book is that Númenor will fall. Something that Miriel has seen when using the palantir (a crystal ball with magical properties).
“These visions that she’s seeing, is this inevitable or can she do something to alter the course of this moment? And I thought about how isolating it is for her as a queen. That there aren’t a lot of people that she can discuss this with. So it’s a very lonely proposition to be carrying this information around,” said Cynthia.
Now blinded by the creation of Mordor and the defeat of her armies, Miriel is heading back to Númenor to regroup and see if there is another way to change the fate of her people. But as Miriel leaves, it seems like a new leader is emerging for the refugees of the former Southlands in Bronwyn, played by Nazanin Boniadi.
“Even though the king of the Southlands, Halbrand, comes back,” said Nazanin. “I think people still look at her for leadership… so I do think she still has the default leadership for now.”
Outside of the action being filmed, the cast would find fun where they could. Leon Wadham would inform us that co-star Benjamin Walker “leads the charge here. (He) plays the most arguably serious character in the show, a humorless elf. But he’s a professional comedian. He definitely exercises those muscles whenever the camera is not rolling.” Sara Zwangobani, who would spend two and a half hours in makeup to turn into Marigold Brandyfoot, also wanted to sing the praises of the team of actors portraying the Orcs.
“Those guys, my god. The amount of time they had to spend in the chair to shoot five minutes of footage was insane. They are heroes to me,” said Sara.
The love this cast has for each other is apparent and shined through during the panel when each cast member would declare, “No. I am Sauron.” Paying homage to the classic movie Spartacus. The season finale for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will stream Friday, October 14th on Amazon Prime Video.
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