The Rings of Power Star Cynthia Addai-Robinson on Episode 4 and What It’s Like to Be Queen
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The post The Rings of Power Star Cynthia Addai-Robinson on Episode 4 and What It’s Like to Be Queen appeared first on Consequence.
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 1 Episode 2, “The Great Wave.”]
Because of the huge amounts of secrecy surrounding The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power throughout its production, star Cynthia Addai-Robinson tells Consequence she didn’t know what role, specifically, she was auditioning for during a “very long and up-and-down process, to eventually get to be a part of this amazing series.”
But once she knew a little more about Queen Regent Míriel, and the character’s place in the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy universe, “I was very, very excited to get the opportunity to play a character that has a really interesting backstory,” she says. “It was also a chance to do something I felt like I never really done before in anything else that I’ve worked on, so that’s always great catnip for any actor.”
Addai-Robinson’s filmography is pretty stacked, with recurring roles on shows including Power, Chicago Med, Spartacus, and Arrow. But this is the first time she’s playing a Queen. Well, a Queen Regent, to be exact. In Episode 4 of The Rings of Power, “The Great Wave,” Míriel is the acting ruler of Númenor, and knows that the arrival of Galadriel the elf (Morfydd Clark) means a prophecy about the tragic fate of her kingdom is about to start coming true — something she has to rally her own people to accept, as the White Tree of Númenor’s petals begin to fall.
The Rings of Power isn’t the only project Addai-Robinson has worked on recently — coming out in November is The People We Hate at the Wedding, an Amazon Studios film also starring Kristen Bell and Allison Janney.
“It’s the kind of thing that I’ve been really hungry to be able to get to do, because I’ve, in recent years, played very serious characters and this was just something that felt different and new for me,” she says. “And, right now, I’m just excited to be part of putting out stories that just have a little bit of levity and lightness — these are still dark and heavy times, and as much as you want to be part of works that examine those dark and heavy times, it’s also equally important to just put out things that make people smile and laugh, and even cry in a happy way.”
But in the meantime, The Rings of Power still has its hold on her — which works out because, she says, “I definitely subscribe to the ‘variety is the spice of life’ philosophy.” In the interview below, transcribed and edited for clarity, Addai-Robinson goes into detail about some of the practical versus digital filmmaking on display, whether she sees any topical resonance in the show’s themes, and why she loves being a part of sci-fi and fantasy tales.
So I want to ask a couple of practical questions about Episode 4, mostly because I’m very intrigued by the production process on this — it feels like so much was really there with you on set, but on the day you shot the opening sequence, the dream sequence with the big flood, were there actual live babies you were holding on set?
I was holding a live baby. Very, very delicately. And, yeah, it’s interesting, because I do remember that day and obviously when you’re working on a big set, and you have all these elements around you, you want to use as much of the practical things that are actually there, the people who are there, the setting that’s there. And then you have what I like to consider movie magic, the elements that you can’t see on the day, that you just have to imagine in your mind’s eye.
But for the viewer, they get that perfect marriage of those two things. I think the most impressive CGI is the kind of CGI that when you see it in the practical setting, it really just feels seamless. But my memory of the filming of that sequence was just being blown by a giant fan and a combination of a real, beautiful baby and a few baby dolls for safety’s sake.
I’m trying to even remember how many babies were there, but you know, again, it is movie magic. So you maybe have two or three babies, and, again dolls or props, and you’re doing it in such a way that the intended effect is that it feels real and seamless, with the safety of the babies obviously the most important as well.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video)
I’m also curious about the sequences featuring the petals from the White Tree — that’s a really beautiful production element, and it feels like something that can be complicated to do practically, but also potentially valuable to do practically.
Yeah, I mean, again, I think it’s combining both things. As an actor, if you have as much of the real thing as possible in front of you, a lot of your work is already done you can have that genuine, immersive sense of being in awe while looking at the things that are really around you. But the enhancement of those things, for the benefit of the viewer, that’s where, to me again, that sense of magic comes in.
I remember when we did that moment — you have that combination of what you’re doing and thinking and feeling, — even just the movement of the camera, the swell of the music, you have all these elements enhancing one another. So what can kind of simply look like petals falling, once you have the beautiful core, and the way the camera turn, the overhead shot, that I think kind of all adds up, that language that then that gives you the intended feeling of that moment.
But that particular part of the set — that new Númenor set, really — was an incredible feat. And to be able to get to do scenes where the set is so built out that you actually have a functioning dock with a boat in it you can walk down a path in the city. All of that made it that much more real for me. I definitely had moments where I would be in the setting, in the moment, and just truly be transported and really feel like I’m in a real place.
You know sometimes when you are in the middle of a moment, that it has that sense of fantasy, really like fantasy, as a means to transport you. I just remembered that particular moment and shot, feeling that it was going to be something that really felt quite Tolkienian and beautiful.
Wonderful. I mean, it definitely plays that way. And were there real petals on set being blown at you?
From my memory of it, there were real petals, and there again, they might enhance and add to what was there, so you have a little bit of both. I do believe they did throw petals, and then obviously because you have to do it multiple times, they cleaned all the petals up and did it again.
So I believe Wayne Che Yip, who directed this episode, did a few passes with petals, without, and then there would have been that enhancement to really kind of bring that point home of what that moment is. Because again, the petals are representative of a sign, and that tree and those petals, for people who are familiar with the lore, hold a specific significance.
Something I’ve heard other actors talk about is that it can be really difficult to do scenes where a character is speaking in public, largely because when you’re actually shooting it on the day, you’re giving this speech to a bunch of extras who aren’t that engaged. How was that experience for you?
I don’t know that I’ve ever had to give a speech like that in anything else I’ve worked on. And what’s really great is if you think about people who really do have to give speeches in real life, part of what you need to do is you have to awaken and inspire an audience that may or may not want to hear what you have to say. So I thought, as a challenge, that I wanted to see if I could actually try and reach those people.
To be honest, I don’t know that they knew what I was going to say. So the first few passes, it leaves us fresh, because they’ve never heard it before. As you know, we had a lot of secrecy on our set, so oftentimes, the background extras didn’t necessarily know what the specifics of the story were at that point. So the first time they heard the speech is the first time that they’re hearing it and trying to maybe even piece together what’s happening in the story at that point.
But I thought of my task being to try and engage not just the background extras but the crew, and to try to just create a mood in that space. And I remember when we were working with Wayne on that, there were many different ways to give that speech. So I had variations that were more forceful, that were louder, that were softer. There are all these different ways in which to hold somebody’s attention. You can yell and scream at them, or you can whisper at them — it’s an interesting exercise. How do you try to grab a hold of someone’s attention if they’re not necessarily open to what you have to say? In some ways, it’s a nice overlap for what that moment is, for Míriel.
In prepping for those scenes, were you looking at people who give speeches like that on a regular basis for inspiration?
Yeah, I mean, I was definitely intrigued at the idea of throughout history, people who use both words and language to try to create a mood, or to inspire a group. Obviously, there are very famous orators and people throughout history, whether they’re presidents or prime ministers, kings, queens, who are just thought leaders.
It wasn’t necessarily about doing it like any one person in real life, but I just did find it interesting that you’re trying to convince people of something, and you need to figure out what the tactic is to get people on your side and to inspire people, especially if they are already slightly wary of what you are saying, what you’re proposing. So, I viewed it as a challenge, but you also have the added benefit of score, lighting, editing — there are a lot of things that help your speech along. So at least in the TV series world, you have, yeah, just the benefit of all those other things that add some gravitas to your speech.
I’m impressed by people that do it and I think when you get to inhabit a role and a character and feel like you’re doing something that you yourself don’t necessarily do in life… I mean, I don’t know that I would feel that comfortable giving a rousing speech. I have the benefit of having the words being written on my behalf by JD and Patrick and our writers, so when you have beautiful words to say, suddenly, you have the power of that. But me as Cynthia, I don’t necessarily love giving speeches even when it’s low stakes. Like at a wedding, I get nervous. But I appreciate what an amazing speech can do for people.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video)
So along those lines, there’s this really interesting element of the show, where it’s a big fantasy tale being told in a land far, far away from here. But naturally, I think, just as a function of pattern recognition, it’s not hard to find moments of relevance to our current era. For you, maybe on set or maybe even watching after the fact, are you making those connections in your own mind? Were those things that were being talked about while you were actually on set?
I don’t know that they weren’t necessarily being talked about on set, because everybody is really coming from a different experience, and bringing their own experiences and views to the situation, but I know for me I was one of the few people that arrived in New Zealand from the US after having been in lockdown for many months, and obviously, while I was in lockdown, there was quite a bit going on in the world.
So for me, there was a lot that I had already been processing for myself, in my mind, in my heart, and the beautiful timing of getting to play a character and almost having a place to put all of those thoughts and feelings, that was what the gift of playing Míriel was and is for me.
It isn’t necessarily about taking a particular view — Tolkien went out of his way to say that his work is not allegorical, and really, these stories are timeless and relate to many different periods of history, different countries, different cultures, so that it doesn’t have that limitation of being specific to any one thing that’s going on. Having said that, when you’re a viewer, you’re going to take away things. So we’re not setting out to necessarily make a statement about any situation in the real world. But of course, as a viewer, you can’t help bring your perspective and your lens, which I think great work allows for that to happen.
For sure. I mean, the funny thing is that I could point to an example from the show and say, “Well, clearly, this is about climate change,” and somebody else can watch that same thing and be like, “No, this is about America’s response to the coronavirus,” or that sort of thing.
Yeah, I mean, I think that the best works create conversation — they can create healthy debate, intelligent debate. And, yeah, I like the idea that it can be many things to many different people. I know what it is for me and I think there’s a part of me that wants to keep that precious for myself because again, it feels very personal to me, this portrayal feels very personal to me. But I think that because I was feeling and going through very real things, that’s what I hope connects for the audience, that’s what I hope comes through and feels real and relatable to people who are watching.
To wrap things up, this is not the first genre project you’ve gotten to be a part of — what is it you like working in the sci-fi and fantasy realms?
It’s really interesting — I love genre just as a viewer, as an audience member, and I kind of feel like these projects have come to me. Like, I’d love to say that I got to be selective and choose to work in genre projects, but the reality is every opportunity I’ve had, whether it’s with Spartacus, or Arrow, or Rings of Power, these projects have just come to me in a really beautiful, timely way.
And I think when you have stories that are more heightened, you have an opportunity to explore the themes that everyone is navigating all the time in a very heightened way. And yeah, I love working in genre, I love the genre fanbase. I find when I meet people who are into the things that we’re making, they’re passionate, they’re intelligent, they really connect with these characters, even when they’re magical and imaginary and fantastical. So I just consider myself fortunate that this is where I’ve landed. I’m always happy to work in genre. I think it’s some of the most compelling material that’s out there right now.
New episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere Fridays on Prime Video.
The Rings of Power Star Cynthia Addai-Robinson on Episode 4 and What It’s Like to Be Queen
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