From showrunner Rafe Judkins and based on one of the most popular fantasy series of all time, the Amazon Studios drama The Wheel of Time is set in a world where magic exists and it follows the story of Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai. After she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers with her loyal Warder, Lan (Daniel Henney), the two quickly find themselves on the run with Egwene (Madeleine Madden), Rand (Josha Stradowski), Perrin (Marcus Rutherford), Mat (Barney Harris) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), any of whom could potentially be the Dragon Reborn, who is prophesied to either save the world or destroy it.
During this interview with Collider, which you can both watch and read, co-stars Stradowski and Rutherford talked about what it’s like to finally have the show out in the world, as they’ve been shooting since 2019, how completely epic this production is, how they first met each other, the extent of the preparation they did for their roles, the mind blowing sets, and the big battle sequence in the first episode.
Collider: Congratulations to you guys on the series already getting a Season 2 pick up before the series even debuted. That’s just really cool. How does the level of excitement around the series feel? Has it sunk in? Does it feel like you’re in your own little bubble?
MARCUS RUTHERFORD: Honestly, just doing this today has ramped it up. We’ve been in our bubble in Prague for quite a long time. We started shooting in August 2019, and we’ve stopped and started. We’ve hidden away in this little bubble, not really knowing what to expect. We’ve had glimpses of the fan base, but just doing this today and talking to people, it’s like, “We made a TV show that’s actually coming out.” It’s lovely that people are finally getting a chance to see it.
JOSHA STRADOWSKI: Especially because of COVID, we were supposed to shoot for nine months and it took us two years. I guess we forgot a bit that there was an end product of an actual TV show. It still feels a little bit like a bubble because we’re doing this press, but it’s still on Zoom. We’re getting a lot of time to get used to this.
This whole thing is absolutely epic. When this project came your way, what most excited you about it? Was there an aspect of the genre? Was it something about the story? Was it your specific character that you were most interested in?
STRADOWSKI: What was unique about this project and how it came my way is that I did not know so much about it. When this came my way, I knew it was The Wheel of Time, but it was very secret, so I didn’t know what character I was auditioning for. So, I got the part, and then they took me who I was going to play, and it was Rand al’Thor, and of course, I immediately said, “Yes, I want to play this character.” I was realized what a character it was. I was aware of his arc and that he was one of the central figures in this story. From that day, I just started working, and am still working on trying to find the essence of Rand today.
RUTHERFORD: Everything that we’ve seen, the scale of it is what blew me away. Just the size of the production, the size of the fan base that already exists, the sets that get built, the magnitude of it is still, even now when we’re filming Season 2, it never ceases to amaze me, just how big they can take it with the stunts or the sets that they build. You feel very lucky to work on something where the size of it, the scale of it, and the level of production is so high.
When did you guys meet each other? You’re working with a smaller ensemble within the bigger ensemble of actors. Did you guys all meet each other at once, or did you meet each other, along the way?
RUTHERFORD: I auditioned a bit earlier in the UK. I found out that I got the part, and then I was called back to do chemistry tests in London and [Josha] was there. Maddie [Madden] was there as well. I’m not just saying this now, but I remember thinking, “That guy. There’s a guy in the corner who’s being quite quiet and he’s just got a particular energy.” It just clicked. And Perrin and Egwene have a few scenes together, so we had a few audition scenes and Maddie absolutely smashed it. That was the first time we met.
Especially because your characters all are supposed to have this history together, it seems like that can be challenging when you don’t necessarily get to know each other or have time to figure all that out right away.
STRADOWSKI: I feel really fortunate that the chemistry is that good. It had to do with the casting as well. It was organic. Although we had one month of prepping and I think they deliberately made us do all of the stunts together and the horse riding together, we spent a lot of time together that first month. It was like a big summer camp.
It’s easy to see, as a viewer watching the show, why you would want to play these characters because who wouldn’t want to play in a world like this, bu how deep did you dive into this world, prior to shooting? Did you read the books? Did you do some other type of research? Was there something that really helped you, in keying into your character and how they fit into the world?
RUTHERFORD: I started looking at like the whole world itself and Robert Jordan’s work. Knowing that the structure of Season 1 was going to take elements from not only The Eye of the World, but The Great Hunt as well, I read the first two books just to get an idea of everything. It was so helpful to have that source material. The scripts were incredible and I’d already seen that a few things had changed in a few little ways, so having the scripts and the books to bounce between, as an actor, is super helpful. Even though it was quite a daunting prospect, you have so much there to sink your teeth into, which is quite helpful.
STRADOWSKI: It was the same for me. When I got the part, I just went as deep as I possibly could. We only had one month and it felt quite a lot for such a huge amount of material. The only thing you can do is take it step by step. The script was definitely the main source, aside from all of the rational stuff and all of the research of the book. I tried to read all of them. I always felt at home with the scripts. That’s where I find my intuition. All of the research and the material, the books that were available and everything online, I just used it for my performance to try to understand the character better and to understand the world of The Wheel of Time.
How much were you told about ahead of time? Did you know what the full season arc was going to be for the first season, or did you get some of those details as the season went along?
STRADOWSKI: As we went along, we got more bits and pieces. They were also still writing and rewriting the scripts that were ahead of us. At some points, it was exciting for us to see what scripts were coming in and where it was going. We obviously had conversations about it with Rafe.
RUTHERFORD: We knew that it wasn’t gonna just follow a one season, one book structure. The characters might come in at different points, but it has to [change]. When you’re moving from books to TV, it’s quite hard to throw in everything at once. You have to establish a lot of characters and they’re so beautifully written in the books. Allowing them to develop at slightly different stages gives the audience a chance to really get to know them, as fast as possible.
This is a massive world building series. There’s the locations, the sets, the costumes, the language, the mythology, and all of these things that the viewer has to take in. Is there anything that most helped you get into the world and the character when you got on set? Was there something about the world or the environment, or a prop that you always had, that helped you?
RUTHERFORD: For me, personally, it’s the sets themselves. They’re a bit mind blowing. The Two Rivers set at the start, one of my first scenes, I go sit on a bench before Rand and Mat come, and I just did a 360 and I saw this village, with children playing, and chickens and sheep, and smoke coming out of the chimneys and people doing their washing. You’re like, “This is a bit ridiculous, that they just built a village to facilitate you doing this scene.” It’s quite hard not to feel like you’re there, when all of that’s been created around you. The costumes are really helpful as well, but the sets have been mind blowing.
STRADOWSKI: It definitely encourages you. Especially when we first started, when you’d arrive in Two Rivers for the first time, you’d realize what kind of production you’re on and what the scale of it is. It was not only the sets, but also all of the extras, all of the costumes, all of the people that work on set, the cranes and the drones. Then, you just go back to the essence. It doesn’t matter if there are five or six cameras, or maybe one because, in the end, it’s about what you do with the performance. You just respond in a way that you think is the essence of the character. That’s where I, as an actor, feel at home, when I hear, “Action,” and when I hear, “Cut.”
Josha, what do you most enjoy about exploring the dynamic between Rand and Egwene? There’s such an interesting dynamic to them. How important is that relationship? What can you say about what we’ll see from them this season?
STRADOWSKI: I think it’s a really important relationship because for me it symbolizes the culture of the Two Rivers so lovingly and it’s so mature. They figure out, from a very young age, that love is not dependency, it’s not jealousy, it’s not insecurity. That’s really special. It’s not only the relationship between Rand and Egwene, but also between Perrin and all of the other characters in the Two Rivers. It’s something they’ll have to use on their dangerous journey.
Pretty early on, we see some horrific creatures show up and slaughter a whole bunch of people. It’s such an interesting sequence to watch because it starts from a point of celebration and dance, and then all of a sudden, there’s all of this horrific stuff going on. It feels like that really sets a mood and tone for what the series will be. What was all of that like to shoot? How long did all of that take to shoot and what was the most challenging part of that whole sequence?
RUTHERFORD: It was big. Uta [Briesewitz], the director, was so well-equipped for something as demanding as that. She knew that she had to establish all of these characters, but at the same time, had this huge epic battle sequence at the start as well. We all had our separate sequences. Rosamund [Pike] and Daniel [Henney] did a lot of night shoots to get their bit. When it’s all pieced together, it really feels quite relentless when you watch it because everything is happening at the same time. It was good. It was quite good to have a first episode like that, that sets the tone for the audience. It’s quite idyllic at the start, with this beautiful village that’s quite innocent and naive. And then, all of a sudden, this darkness comes in. You get a real sense of what The Wheel of Time is, from those two aspects.
Marcus, something happens with Perrin during that sequence that he clearly feels guilt for. How much will that weigh on him, during his journey? Is that something that he’s going to continue to think about? Will that shape who he is?
RUTHERFORD: For those who do know the books, Perrin has a particular relationship with violence. He’s a gentle giant, but violence is something that he struggles with. That experience, quite early on, shapes his behavior, going through Season 1. As he enters the world outside of Two Rivers, he realizes that there are a lot of dangerous people and wars and battles, and violence is something that he keeps coming across. He has to decide whether he gives in to that innate animal side that we all have, or whether there’s a way to be civilized and navigate through this world without being violent. It’s quite refreshing to have someone constantly think, “Should we be violent? Should we be doing this?” In fantasy, someone picks up a weapon quite quickly and it’s always quite cool, but there’s something quite modern about someone who thinks, “Should we be embracing warfare? Is there a point to this? Is that the only resolution?” That’s definitely something that Perrin will be embracing, as the seasons go on.
Josha, what do you think would most surprise viewers about what it takes to make this show? What can’t we see just from watching it?
STRADOWSKI: There’s so much you can’t see. We’ve been doing this for two years. We’ve been through a pandemic. We’ve been shut down twice. It was a great experience and it brought us closer together, as a group, and it made the urgency to tell this story even bigger, but that’s the kind of stuff you don’t see. On my first day of Season 2, I got food poisoning, but people would probably never would figure that out. There’s a lot of stuff going on, on set, that as an audience, you would never find out, and that’s good. You have to see the story and not the person behind that character.
The Wheel of Time is available to stream at Prime Video.