Before showing at the Collider The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power last week editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub spoke to the cast and crew of the most successful Prime Video series in history. During his interview with Morfydd Clarkto the prominent actress who played the role of Galadriel in the series, they discussed what an experience it was to play such an iconic role and star in the big revelation of the first season.
Rings of Power takes fans back a thousand years before the events Peter Jacksontrilogy of young Middle-earth. The action takes place during the Second Age. Galadriel, whom we meet in the form of Clark, is far from restrained composure Cate BlanchettWith. Instead, Galadriel is a warrior possessed by the Void, seeking to avenge the death of his brother Finrod (Will Fletcher), which forces her to fight the evil that she believes has returned to Middle-earth.
During their interview, Clarke talks about the skills she had to master to become Galadriel and what it cost her to take on such an important role. She also tells how she dives into J. R. R. Tolkienfilming the season’s big opening, and whether she believes Sauron influenced Galadriel at all. For all of this and her tease in Season 2, you can watch the video or read the full transcript below.
COLLIDER: I like the first season. I’m really happy to talk to you. I read that you are from Wales and I was just curious if that means you are an AFC Wrexham fan?
MORPHYDD CLARK: Oh, I’m so into this. It was so exciting for us. My mom actually grew up near Wrexham and I used to hang out at the Wrexham farmers’ market as a kid and I still can’t believe it happened. And yes, it also led to… I think the Ryan Reynolds movie was one of the first, the first movie on Netflix with Welsh subtitles. Just like an incredible thing happened in a rather small, slightly forgotten place. And the Wrexham fans are amazing.
He turned me into a fan and I think the second season is going to be amazing given what happens at the end.
CLARK: Yeah, and I know people because of where my mom is from, and it’s just amazing for the community. They have created jobs and they have also been very generous in the way they have educated people through this documentary so yes it is fantastic.
We are on the same page. So, when you were offered the role, I’m just curious if you had any debate about accepting it? Because it can be a job for 10 years.
CLARK: I’ve always wanted to do something where I could get back to the character because you feel grief when you say goodbye to him. And so I was very excited about the idea that I could be with this character for so many years and see her change and also be with the cast for such a long time. It’s something I haven’t done before, and being on stage, being in a movie, being kind of the only one on a show or being in it all season after season, it’s so radically different. And so really it was an itch that I really wanted to scratch. I can’t believe I’m supposed to be a recurring character and she’s Galadriel.
You’ve learned, I’m sure, a lot of new skills since you joined the series. What did you learn and master that surprised you the most?
CLARK: There are two; the first one was, I thought I could swim, and then, after my first swim lesson, he was like, “Okay, so we need to go back to basics,” and I’m like, “Oh, what? I thought I could do it.” So now I can swim normally, which was a skill I didn’t know I needed to learn. Now I can’t believe I’ve ever been at sea.
What I just never thought I’d be able to do was two handed sword fighting because I’m not very proficient with both hands and it was amazing. It was thanks to the support and incredible training of so many people in the stunt department and my amazing stunt double Rosalie Button really believed in me. I also had to watch her for five episodes doing a lot of her stunts, she’s a dancer and all, and I really enjoyed watching her as someone playing an elf. So yeah, I never imagined that I could pull off this two-handed sword fighting trick. And it’s as fun as if it’s as fun as you think it is. My inner child just went crazy.
While we can talk about season 1 spoilers, let’s talk a little about filming the big reveal at the end and how you and Charlie [Vickers] maybe talking before going on set to talk about the scene. Or was it one of those things where you didn’t talk about it but came to the set and that’s where the magic happened?
CLARK: No, we talked a lot about everything and we had a lot of time because of the strange circumstances in which we filmed it. So no, we talked about it a lot and were so excited that it finally happened. We sort of rehearsed, but Charlie was never the real Sauron until we were on set. So the first time he actually said, “I had a lot of names,” I was like:[Gasp] I’ve never seen Charlie like this. It’s a little scary!” I felt that we deserved this moment too. Charlie is a wonderful actor and also a wonderful person who made me feel very comfortable and I think that meant we could really push ourselves and create this chemistry between these characters. But then, ultimately, we were very pleased when we saw it crumble, so it was really fun.
How much time did you actually spend filming this scene? Was it all in one day?
CLARK: No, we had three weeks to film the first revelation and then the raft part. And the part on the raft was really fun because we explored a lot of different things and then ended up screaming like two forces against each other. What was really funny was that it was obviously very secret, but sometimes, as actors, you kind of forget your lines and Charlie forgot the line: “What will they say when they find out that Sauron lives thanks to you? » and the called line. Then Hamish [Gough]the first public address commercial said it was kind of buzzing all over the studio and outside, and it was very funny.
But it was also a lot of fun to be back on the raft, because in the beginning we shot a lot of things, and as actors it was good for us that we were returning to this familiar place. But it was so much fun. It was such a drama, it was like Shakespeare, which I loved.
Do you think there was any, even the slightest percentage of Galadriel pulled in by Sauron, or do you think it was completely 100% no chance?
CLARK: I don’t know. I also want it to be ambiguous, but I think Galadriel knows that if she goes to the dark side, everything will be disastrous. I thought a lot about how the gift of foresight would actually feel, and I thought, “Is this somehow like heightened anxiety?” Because you have all these ideas of what could be, what could be, what could be, and I think one of her big “what could be” is like “What if I’m bad? » But I do not know. I mean, they definitely vibrate because they are very powerful, but I’m not sure.
When you were filmed, or even now, how much did you feel that you wanted to read everything, learn everything about Lord of the Ringsbecause you know you’re going to run into fans who are going to ask you really deep questions, and how much like “I can only…” you know what I mean, where is the line?
CLARK: I really wanted to completely immerse myself in the feeling of Middle-earth, because I think a lot of his writing is not just about characters, but about the world itself and what it means to exist in that world. You know? Where there are Balrogs and things matter and that’s why I just bought Silmarillion audio book and Lord of the Rings And hobbit audio - I never read Silmarillion. And I had them all the time. If you saw any of our members walking around Auckland with headphones on, they were probably not listening to music, but Silmarillion. I just wanted to be more immersed in it.
Now I think I know quite a lot about it. But I think what’s very good about the Tolkien community - because his writings were so extensive - is that no one considers himself to be fully an expert on it. And it’s a pretty nice place where everyone is happy to learn from each other. You will be an expert on a certain part of it, let’s say you will meet different people who have very different views and philosophies. I mean, you could just talk about it and learn about it forever and I started this journey now and it’s really nice.
I know you’re filming a second season and I’m a big fan. What can you say about the second season and how is it going?
CLARK: What I can tease about season 2 is that some very interesting villains will appear.
All eight episodes The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 1 is available to stream on Prime Video.
Source: Collider
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