‘Rings of Power’ Star Morfydd Clarke Talks How Humility Will Play a ‘Big Role’ in Galadriel’s Evolution

Although Galadriel has become one of the most famous characters Lord of the Rings world, Thanks in part to her brilliant portrayal of Cate Blanchett, Morphy Clarke was drawn to the younger version of the character due to her still jagged edges.

in the amazon The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Clarke plays an elven warrior in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the Third Age and the events of Peter Jackson’s famous films. Galadriel herself has a century in the series and has already started to defeat Sauron, one of the great villains of the franchise, but she is still young in her evolution and still needs to find peace and learn to reign in her character.

In the third episode, released Thursday, Clarke, a Welsh actress best known for playing an obsessive nurse in the psychological thriller. Santa Maud He said he particularly enjoyed Galdriel’s surprising display of arrogance as he faced the royal family as the only Elf in Númenor, with the human realm against his face.

“I’m very concerned that people don’t get it right,” Clark said.

Clarke, a fan himself, who said he saw the original Lord of the Rings The Dozens and Dozens of Movies said they did not speak to Blanchett about the role because it would be “like meeting Galadriel herself”, but used her portrayal in the films to help shape the evolution of her character. A wise ruler who fought hard.

The actor, who spent nearly two years filming the first season in New Zealand with a large cast, said he still doesn’t know all the details of his character’s development (Amazon has promised him five seasons of the series), but he does know the big picture. . . bow.

“Humility will be in your bow, I would say learning the limits of yourself,” he said.

Clarke, who had parties with friends to watch the new episodes, spoke the hollywood reporter On what it took to become Galadriel, from swimming and fighting training to balancing the character’s naivety and immortality.

I heard you didn’t find out until very late that you had the role of Galadriel, right?

I didn’t know I was playing Galadriel until I got to New Zealand to film. So it was a recalibration. But part of me doesn’t know if I could control my nerves if I knew I was auditioning for Galadriel all along. They were all in the same boat. So it was really funny because you had this group of people who moved to New Zealand, not knowing what we were doing.

Did you know you were auditioning for one of the elves?

They didn’t openly say he was an elf, but he was quite possessed. Lord of the Rings, Somehow I found out what it was. But all they said was that they wanted someone who had experience with Shakespeare because they were reading Elves talking in an almost iambic pentameter-like rhythm.

Once you figured it out, how did you start approaching the role?

I’ve always been obsessed with the idea of ​​immortality. I think it started with Never, Neverland and then vampires and stuff. And then the idea came up, can there be some element of youth when you’re already thousands of years old? And then he watched how different people at different times in history could show their ingenuity.

Elves, there’s an arrogance about them because they’re a little superior, but eventually they need to gain some perspective. So it was seeing the mistakes that even the wisest people made that I focused.

you were once one Lord of the Rings Does the fan?

I had seen all the movies. my father read The Hobbit I had and then I had all the audiobooks Lord of the Rings books. I had four fantastic sequences that put me to sleep during school exams, which made me very stressed. So it’s always been an escape for me, most of my life: fantasy, but mostly The Lord of the Rings.

You’ve obviously seen Cate Blanchett play Galadriel in the movies. What did you learn about your character from seeing him incarnate and how did you rate him in your opinion?

I think it was the tranquility it has in the 3rd century. It was really interesting for me to imagine that my character isn’t completely wrapped up yet, because I also feel that when someone is going through a wave of emotions from all sides, you don’t feel that peace will be in your hands. . . So that calm would also be a surprise for the character.

In the second episode, we see your character stranded at sea after deciding not to join the other elves in the undead lands of Valinor. What was it like filming those scenes in the water?

It was very funny. First of all, I have to learn to swim right, because unfortunately, to play Galadriel, she has to be good at everything. So I had a former Olympic swimmer named Trent Bray who now teaches kids, and he couldn’t have been more perfect for me in that regard. me and charlie [Vickers] We actually did a lot of things, but we also did stunts and stunts. So it was a great team effort.

Did you do a lot of stunts in the rest of the episodes?

I was changing. There are scenes where Rosalie and I, who is my main stunt double, are in the scenes because she makes Galadriel look really fast. Then there’s a fight in episode five where I go all out. And I can’t believe I need to.

We had the biggest stunt team and they were the first people we met in New Zealand. They really created a little community for us. So there was a stunt room where people learned their private stunts, but anyone could come. So it became a real hub for actors to get to know each other.

The cast released a statement speaking out against racist comments about some of the show’s cast members. Is there anything else you want to say about this or can you talk about the decision to run this ad?

I believe that with this statement we make our position clear. And I’m so glad we finally made it as a full cast. We were all united and we knew we wanted to do something. I hope this has given people some comfort and some strength.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.