‘LOTR: The Rings Of Power’ Cast Tease What’s Ahead In Season 1 Of Amazon Series – Comic Con
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power made its big debut at Comic-Con this week, and Deadline spoke to the cast about what fans can expect when the Amazon Studios series premieres September 2 on Prime Video.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
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Maxim Baldry is excited to finally be able to discuss his role in bringing to life, Isildur, a pivotal character within the franchise based on the work of J.R. R. Tolkien.
“Well, we know where he ends up and where he goes but Season 1 sets up his story so you understand who he is,” Baldry shared on the red carpet. “What makes him tick? What kind of family is he from? That’s been a privilege and an honor to explore. In Season 1, he’s at a bit of a crossroad: he wants to fulfill his father’s dream of becoming a sea captain like him but inside of him there’s this deep yearning for something he doesn’t quite know. But he works on this ship and there are moments he’s looking out into the open and you can see this unsettled restlessness, which was amazing to play. All of these things make him human and relatable. I relate to him and what he’s going through. He will go through trials and tribulations and he will make mistakes that lead him to where he eventually ends up.”
The series will also be centered on at least one forbidden love affair. Ismael Cruz Córdova and Nazanin Boniadi opened up about the challenges their characters Arondir, a Silvan Elf, and Bronwyn, a human healer will face in Season 1.
Courtesy of Prime Video
“They’re both outcasts and they don’t quite fit in,” Cruz Córdova said. “They lead with love and with authenticity. They’re not supposed to be together because their people discriminate against each other. There are a lot of parallels there with real life, it’s art imitating life. Tolkien was aware of these realities in the world. There were real-life circumstances that were happening around him that led him to tell these stories. So when you see his characters who are migrants, those who are othered, forbidden love, the power structure, and the political structure, none of that is coming from an agenda. He really lived and experienced these things which are human experiences. They’re all beautifully represented in his work.”
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Added Boniadi, “Every relationship has challenges and this is definitely a forbidden love between a human and an elf. There is a real-life resonance to that with people not understanding when people from different races fall in love and frowning upon that. I think there’s a commonality in what we portray and real life.”
Courtesy of Amazon Studio
“Ismael and I talk about what our union means even among diversifying and building bridges within our own communities,” Boniadi, who is Iranian, continued. “Opening the eyes of Middle Easterners and Afro Latinos to what our communities coming together, our ethnicities coming together, and our races coming together means for building bridges, understanding, and tolerance—and it’s about time.”
Bronwyn is also a mom to Theo, a teenager who is against her union with Arondir, played by
Tyroe Muhafidin.
“Theo is an angsty teen who is a bit angry at the world and has a lot of hormones rushing through his body. He is not the most pleasurable person to talk to but he has a lot of feelings and emotions,” said Muhafidin.
He adds regarding Bronwyn’s relationship with Arondir, “The relationship between humans and elves is not viewed positively, so Theo doesn’t like them very much. When he finds out about them, he’s not happy about it.”
Speaking of pairs, there’s a connection between Morfydd Clark’s character Galadriel and Charlie Vickers’ Halbrand that may or may not turn romantic. She’s an Elven warrior and he’s a human.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
“Galadriel is one of the oldest elves and she’s going through a lot,” Clark said. “She’s hunting for something but she doesn’t know what it is. Anything that happens on Middle Earth is not by chance. She finds herself a lone elf which is a frightening thing to be. She stumbles across an unlikely companion and they need each other to survive.”
Vickers added, “Halbrand is human and we meet him in the Sundering Seas which is the first time we’re seeing the seas in the universe depicted on screen. He’s floating on a raft and we don’t know much about him which I think is good. As the show unfolds, we will learn more about his backstory. He’s at a point where he’s starting a new life and becoming a new man. Inadvertently, he meets other characters that draw things out of him and there’s an interesting push and pull dynamic throughout the season.”
“I think Halbrand and Galadriel have an understanding; a cosmic connection is a good way of describing it. Ultimately, where they meet and what they mean to each other is survival. In order to live, they need to use each other. That’s what happens when they first meet but then things unfold from there,” he teases with a smile. “That’s when the exciting stuff begins to unfold.”
Courtesy of Amazon Prime
The series boasts a diverse cast bringing to life equally unique characters like Sophia Nomvete who plays the first female dwarf Disa, princess of the Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm.
“Disa is the first female dwarf that we’ve ever seen, it’s a revolutionary moment for the franchise and the film industry. I’m so excited and honored to be the host of that movement,” Nomvete shared proudly. “What I’m able to share is that she’s a force of nature and you will feel relatability with Disa. She’s the wife of Prince Dwarven (Owain Arthur) but equally, she holds her own magical powers, has her own ambitions, her own struggles, and a strong passion for her people. She’s also holding up her household for her husband and her children like so many women out there doing the same thing. So I salute you.”
For longtime Lord of the Rings fan Cruz Córdova, the Puerto Rican native never dreamed he could be part of the fantastical created by Tolkien.
“It’s beyond words that I’m part of this series. I grew up watching the movies which are so special to me,” he said. “They were pivotal to me. I remember wanting to be an elf. I’m from the mountains of Puerto Rico and I revere nature—so elves felt very close to my heart. I remember watching the movies and feeling some discomfort that nobody looked like me. I would tell people that I wanted to be an elf and it was something that would make people laugh. They would tell me elves don’t look like me and those words really hurt. It’s one of the many things we experience as people of color that keeps us shut out of places, not only in media but in real life. For me, traversing this whole thing has been about visibility, representing my people, and showing people what we can do through space, time, and realms.”
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