From showrunners JD Payne & Patrick McKay, the Amazon Studios multi-season drama series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth’s history, thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and at a time when a terrifying villain called Sauron is looking to conquer the kingdoms, defeat the heroes, and gain control over all life. Following an ensemble cast of characters that are both familiar and new, the eight-episode first season is setting up an epic adventure that’s expected to take five seasons of story to conclude.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Charles Edwards (who plays elven craftsman Celebrimbor) talked about his own obsession with this world from the time he was a kid, how he found out what role he’d be playing, what most surprised him about this production, the important details that stand out to him, how Celebrimbor is most ambitious and most vulnerable, what he’d like to dig deeper into with his character, and feeling at home in the role after finishing the season.
COLLIDER: This show seems absolutely like an actor’s dream. Who doesn’t want to be in these incredible costumes and on these sets, surrounded by actors, all looking the same way?
CHARLES EDWARDS: I know. And I was obsessed with it all when I was a kid. Everyone obviously talks about the Peter Jackson movies, but when I was little, I had the animated Ralph Bakshi version from 1978. That was my total obsession, at the time. So, to be returning to this world, you walk on set, and of course, the little nine-year-old in you starts jumping up and down and remembering the excitement when you first encountered Tolkien. To be involved in it now is really very special.
Is that something, as an actor, that you had ever even considered could happen? Did you ever think that you would find yourself in this specific world, at some point in your career?
EDWARDS: No, you can’t. Never. You can’t plan anything, as an actor. It came along, as things often do. It turned up, and I got very excited about it. I did my audition, and then I got the role. Of course, because they are very secretive about the audition process, they give you dummy character names, so you’re never quite sure what it is you’re auditioning for. There are lots of NDAs going around. With this, I did know it was The Lord of the Rings. I knew that, but I think some didn’t. But I had no idea of the character. You can imagine, when I finally got the role and was told what role it was, a couple of weeks later, and looked it up, I was very excited about that.
So, you found out it was The Lord of the Rings and you found out who you’d be playing, but how much did they actually tell you about the story arc? Do you have any idea where the character is going long-term?
EDWARDS: As I said, there’s a lot of secrecy. Once I found out who the character was, I knew he had a story arc within Tolkien, so that is him. But for those that don’t know what becomes of him, I don’t tell them. And for those that know him, they know what happens to him. I would hope and assume that’s the vague direction we’re going in.
You’ve been an actor for a long time, so you have a certain sense of awareness of what a set is like, when you walk onto it, for the first day. But what has most surprised you about this show and the experience of making this show, that has been different from anything else you’ve ever done?
EDWARDS: The sets and the scale of it. What I found most rewarding was my workshop, which is a big set. There’s space. You don’t have to constantly move the camera around because it has been built in its entirety. You don’t have to stop, move the camera, and then shoot that bit over there. You can play the scene, just as if you are in a scene in a play. You can play the scene from beginning to end without interruption because there is room for everyone to maneuver around you. That is very satisfying because you get to play the whole scene, and you feel like you’ve done it justice. There’s not a lot of chopping and restarting. I spend most, if not all of my time, in my workshop doing various things, and that has been very satisfying. Also, the collaborative element is very pleasing. Sometimes you suggest something, and it’s not a good suggestion. Other times, they go, “Yeah, okay, let’s try that.” There’s definitely a conversation to be had, which is always great.
It’s clear that there’s such attention to detail paid with this series that, as the audience, we’ll never even see it all or know about all of it.
EDWARDS: That’s true.
Is there a detail, with your costumes or with that set, that most stands out for you?
EDWARDS: There’s a scene where Elrond first comes to me and I’m handling a hammer, which is my grandfather Fëanor’s hammer. In the background of that scene, there is a display case, and in that case, there are many, many little artifacts, many of which have some Tolkien significance. The camera barely touches them, but they’re there. That’s indicative of what a passion project this has been for so many people working at the very top of their game. The research, the thought, and the care that has gone into it, from every department, is all from a passion for Tolkien and for getting it absolutely right and keeping everybody happy. That really has been the hallmark of this production.
It seems like a character like this guy, in this situation and in the station that he’s in, would have ambitions, but would also have vulnerabilities. In what way would you say he’s most ambitious? What would you say his biggest vulnerability is?
EDWARDS: I think those two are tied together. His ambition is to surpass everything that he’s ever done, creatively. It’s an unsatisfied, frenzied pursuit of something as yet seemingly unattainable, just to come up with something that is going to be the be-all-end-all to absolutely crown his career as he sees it. That is also his vulnerability, in that it makes him slightly pause at a crossroads. If he pauses too long, something’s going to come along and trip him up. That’s where he is. The two are inextricable.
One of the things that I love about a show like this is that there are so many cool and interesting characters. If we could get a spinoff of your character, focusing on any aspect of him at all, what would you want to see him doing? Is there anything about him you would want to learn about, that there wouldn’t necessarily be time for in the show?
EDWARDS: I would take him back in time and see the relationships with his father and his mother. I think those are key. The only thing Tolkien refers to about Celebrimbor’s similarity to his father is that he is of a wholly different temper. Those three words to me are quite exciting. They could mean anything. We hear that his father is violent. We don’t hear towards whom. All those things are intrinsic in forming a person. I would love to do a spinoff on Celebrimbor, the early years.
When you do a project like this, you might think you know what you’re getting yourself into, but sometimes you just have to jump into the deep end. How did the first day of filming compare to the last day, at the end of the season? Do you feel like you have more of a sense of ownership of the character by the end?
EDWARDS: Very much so. The first day of any job, I find nerve-wracking. I think most people do. For me, all my scenes were shot toward the end of the shoot. The scale of the set on which I found myself, it wasn’t actually my workshop, but it was a wonderful place called the Hall of Heroes, which is where all the Elven heroes are carved into the trees. It was with Rob Aramayo, who has been my touchstone, throughout this whole experience, and it was just talking quietly. Once you get into the scene itself, it’s just you talking to somebody else. You’re just doing your thing, and you’re acting. That’s what you’re there for. But to arrive on the set with God knows how many people, all looking at the monitor and crowding around, that’s nerve-wracking. But then, by the end, I very firmly have gone into my workshop, of which I am the master, so I felt very much at home, and will continue to toil there.
Morfydd Clark has talked about how it’s not really good versus evil when it comes to Tolkien, but it’s more hope over despair. Why do you think that’s a fitting description of this show and this story?
EDWARDS: I think it’s both, in broad terms. It’s hope over despair because what Tolkien does is take us into the condition of existence. Whatever race you are, whether you are human or whatever, he touches on that, which is why he survives like Shakespeare. They tune in, very acutely, to the human condition and the conditions of existence. Of course, there are huge, epic battles, but there are also very small, quiet moments, even domestic moments, that are very touching and are things that we relate to. Hope and despair are more personal terms, which I think is right because, with all our characters, you see the personal nature of the story.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Prime Video.