“Tolkien Is For Everyone”: The Rings Of Power’s Southlands Cast On Pressure, Authenticity, And Accessibility

thegamer.com:

The Rings of Power is under a lot of pressure to deliver. Fans are starting to make their minds up about the first two episodes, and although the early stages of any series involve slowly building the world and setting up the storytelling to come, many will have already decided whether they’ll watch the remaining 48 episodes or not. As the most expensive television series ever made, the pressure is even higher.

These expectations inevitably extend to those working on and acting in the show too. While the likes of Morfydd Clark and Charles Edwards have the pressure of showing new sides of well-known characters in Galadriel and Celebrimbor respectively, other actors are embodying completely new characters, invented for The Rings of Power, and therefore have another level of pressure to deal with. They have to ensure their characters not only feel real and honest, but also they have to feel Tolkienian, despite having little of the author’s text to work with. Charlie Vickers, who plays Halbrand, told TheGamer that reading the breadth of Tolkien’s work helped him immerse his character in the spirit of Tolkien, but I also chatted to Ismael Cruz Córdova (who plays Arondir), Nazanin Boniadi (Bronwyn), and Tyroe Muhafidin (Theo) about the challenges of portraying three new characters in Middle-earth.

Related: The Rings of Power Review: Morfydd Clark Shines In A Spectacular Tolkien Adaptation

“As Ben Walker [who plays Gil-galad] says, diamonds are made under pressure,” says Boniadi. “We're not canon characters, but that gives us an ability to build something from the ground up, and it's exciting to enter something with fresh eyes and inject it with your own essence.”

“For me, it was just a matter of just focusing on doing the job