The stars of “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power,” including Rob Aramayo (Elrond), Trystan Gravelle (Pharazôn), Megan Richards (Poppy Proudfellow), Sara Zwangobani (Marigold Brandyfoot), and Owain Arthur (Prince Durin IV) discuss their new addition to the “LOTR” world in this interview with CinemaBlend. They discuss how the original films inspired their show, the epic set design, fandom, and more!
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00:00So every person in that in that wheel then is very important, they're a very
00:04important cog to it and it it just wouldn't revolve without any one of
00:08those characters. I just repeated myself.
00:14But what about the characters though?
00:30Rob, I'll start with you. I just want to know when you guys are approaching your own
00:33production whether you touch the Peter Jackson films at all just to set the
00:37tone or for preparation or do you really want to separate yourselves and do
00:41your own thing? Well you know the Peter Jackson films were like a big part of my
00:45life. I used to watch them as a kid and you know Lord of the Rings
00:49in general is a huge part of my life and so like when you go into it as an actor
00:53it's like a different sort of perspective really. And so I went to you
00:57know discovered all this material that I didn't even know existed about the
01:01first age and so I just really dug into that and like a historian. To that
01:07end you can get swallowed up you know researching the lore that comes with
01:12this and so how much of that did you rely on just just the script versus
01:17branching off of it and and sort of digging into further materials? I think
01:21everyone was different really. You know I mean I he is a law master you know so
01:27part of the you know part of the research for the character I felt like
01:31was was learning as much as I could. And I think that was more necessary for
01:36some people and less necessary for others. Yeah very true. Tristan when a series has this
01:40many characters and and potential subplots it can be tough for an audience
01:45to keep it all straight and I'm just curious how this series is tackling that.
01:49Are there different ways that the storylines are broken up whether it be
01:52visually or just the way the characters are grouped? Well I think every
01:57character is integral to the telling of the story so it wouldn't be the same
02:02without any one character. Right. So it needs all those characters you know
02:06there's it there's so many worlds in it and stuff and a fantasy world anyway is
02:11is a very heterogeneous place and this is just true to type so every person in
02:18that in that wheel then is very important they're a very important call
02:21to it and it it just wouldn't revolve without anyone one of those characters.
02:24I just repeated myself.
02:30But what about the characters though?
02:37Megan what was the moment on set when the enormity of what you guys were doing
02:41finally hit you when it finally felt real? I think one of the moments that was
02:47most poignant to me was seeing one of our sets for the first time we worked on
02:53location a lot and we were on this like farm that had like this huge forest and
02:58they'd built this incredible set designers were incredible they built all
03:01of the Halfords homes which are these carts and they're like decorated so
03:04beautifully and they are camouflaged to the environment but when I first walked
03:09in there's a scene that you'll see in the show which is really beautiful and
03:15it had all of our background artists who have been working very closely with
03:18Lara who was our movement director and they were creating the sequence they
03:22were rehearsing it for for JA who was also there so doing like a camera
03:27rehearsal to see how it fit in the space and that's when I first walked in and
03:30saw the set so I got to see the set as a live literally a live art form and that
03:37was when I really was like I'm I'm in Middle Earth here and it was just yeah
03:42it was just gorgeous and people talk about going to New Zealand you know to
03:45take tours of the sets that exist and how immersive it is I can't imagine what
03:49what is that what the experience is like when you're on those sets there is that
03:52then you just feel like you're part of another world absolutely it's really
03:55similar for me that one of the first times I was on the set and they were all
03:59the background people and there was but there was also just everyone around and
04:04and all working so hard to create this very real moving vibrant beast and I was
04:11standing there going this is incredible I've said before now that I felt like I
04:15was cosplaying I was just like entering the space and just being completely
04:19overtaken it was just extraordinary really extraordinary New Zealand is
04:23beautiful mmm I love the you mentioned cosplaying
04:25because we're here have you guys had a chance to see any rings cosplayers at all?
04:30I am desperate to I haven't yet, is anyone else?
04:32Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they're everywhere.
04:36We haven't got out, we've been there.
04:39He's making free.
04:41He's actually, he's dressed up.
04:43He's a dwarf.
04:45He's dressed up like someone and went out as a dwarf.
04:47Yeah, there's, there's, I've seen quite a lot of elves but I've not actually I've not seen a dwarf.
04:53Okay.
04:55You'll have to fix that by tomorrow.
04:57Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:59When Tolkien's works came out it had a lot of parallels to World War Two and so I'm curious how you think this show this series if it does at all
05:07reflects and comments on our modern culture?
05:11Um I think we can we can relate to our to the world that we live in now certainly with um with
05:18Middle Earth sure um being out in New Zealand felt like Middle Earth because it's an island in the
05:24middle of the ocean you know and certainly with Khazad-dûm um I related Khazad-dûm to to Wales
05:33to to where I'm from um I grew up on the side of the mountain and and slate quarries and and coal
05:43mines as well so it's a big part of here I'm looking at Tristan here because we're both from
05:49Wales and um so yeah so um I can relate to Khazad-dûm um uh quite fondly because of because of Wales
06:02and yeah gotcha no that makes sense uh this is for anyone uh the the show comes with so much
06:08anticipation uh that the internet is flooded with theories so um how much have you guys allowed
06:12yourself to maybe uh dip some toes into what people are speculating before the show even drops?
06:18Do you know what's wonderful about it is that no two imaginations are the same they're like
06:23fingerprints so you know you've got to allow people to have their you know their imaginations
06:29run wild of course stuff and then when they come and see the show it'll be similar in some respects
06:35and then different in others but then is consigned to memory so all they've got then is the unless
06:40they can watch it again of course and it'll be all in memory and there'll be like a sort of a
06:46mesh I guess like a marriage of these these two imaginings of this world and that's a lovely thing
06:52just to sit down and mull over yeah that'll be wonderful that's very true um I heard recently
06:58that you guys all got together as a cast and watched the first three episodes was that
07:02were you guys able to participate in that um what was it like what was it like seeing it come to life?
07:09There was a lot of shouting yeah cheering cheering because also we would see because uh we were
07:16obviously so immersed in our own worlds occasionally we would get to see other worlds but but
07:19not often because we were working very hard and so um and we spent so long together and know each
07:25other really really well and to then see all the hard work that we've been doing up on the
07:29screen right right was just I mean we would see people and we'd be like oh my god you know like
07:33all that stuff but then equally a minute later would be in absolute tears as a character something
07:37happened to a character so it it was an odd experience of being oh there's oh my god is that
07:46we were so excited yeah I'm very I'm very quick sorry I'm just gonna say it's a roller coaster
07:52yeah yeah I very quickly forgot that I was watching my friends though
07:56yes you know and which which I think was you know I'm obviously
08:02very very quickly I was just invested in in in the other world that I was watching yes best
08:08compliment yes yeah yes I'll get you out of here on this um how do you all feel about the uh the
08:14binge model uh versus you know being everybody on the same page with each episode dropping
08:20I personally prefer when everybody's in the same point in the conversation um because it's so hard
08:26when you get to a full season drops and the first question you have to ask is like where are you in
08:29the show what have you watched I agree you guys feel that way as well absolutely I think it's
08:34brilliant how they're doing it I think it needs a week you need to kind of absorb it yes I'm
08:39going to go back on it there's so much information within each episode that that yeah you do need
08:45so much richness and yeah and it offers people an opportunity to then you know half a year a
08:49week go I actually need to maybe re-watch that again and absorb it and then be ready for the
08:54next episode and also to sort of maintain that hopefully excitement and anticipation like how
08:59wonderful to see something you've got oh my gosh and have and theories with your friends and chatting
09:03and and all that and then you all get to sit down and watch it the next week and I think it's great
09:08yeah I'm so happy to have you guys come through thank you very much
09:12thank you so much
09:34you