At San Diego Comic-Con, the actor behind The Stranger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explained why it's not important to reveal his character's true identity.
The biggest theory from the start has been that the mysterious man who fell from the sky is the same being who ends up being Gandalf. At the very least, audiences know The Stranger is a wizard.
Now Season 2 is on the way, with the latest teaser promising plenty of fantastic Middle Earth action: trolls, but battles, a scheming Sauron, Tom Bombadil, and so much more.
[ The Rings of Power Season 2 Gets Historic Rating ]
Rings of Power Cast Talk The Stranger, Galadriel, Sauron, and More
While at San Diego Comic-Con, The Direct's Russ Milheim talked to a handful of talented cast members from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, where they teased what's to come in the show's sophomore run.
First up was Daniel Weyman, who plays The Stranger—aka, the wizard everyone thinks is Gandolf.
However, the show has avoided answering that particular question.
When asked why revealing that twist at just the right time is important, Weyman had a different thought process: there is no secret.
First, the actor dove into how audiences "saw this character land," someone who "had no history:"
"I mean, you've hit on a really important question. And I think the question is framed a little bit roundabout because I'd say, why is it important to give this character this a label? We saw this character land. Everybody saw this character land at the same time. We all witnessed it. This comet was flying. We didn't know what it was. It crashed down, and in this hole was a man, or it looked like an older man, this old wizard creature, right? That creature had no history."
"There isn't a character in Middle Earth" that fans have followed in the show "from the origin" other than The Stranger himself. Weyman makes the strong case that viewers "know exactly who The Stranger is:"
"[He] didn't know anything about eternity, wizards, or Istar as a whole. But they started to interact with some other beings, some other community, and we saw it all. We saw every interaction. And through that season, we saw everything The Stranger went through. So there isn't a character in Middle Earth that we've seen in our show that we have been with from the origin other than The Stranger, and I think that means we know exactly who The Stranger is."
"There was never a secret," Weyland reaffirmed, while also adding that The Stranger could still eventually grow into somebody recognizable:
"We know who they are; whether we call them this name or that name, we know. So it's not about waiting for a reveal. It's about watching. There's no secret. There was never a secret. What we're watching is we're watching a being grow and learn and understand, and at some point, that might be recognizable as somebody, and at some point, it might not. And that's the journey, isn't it?"
The Stranger also gets to spend some time with Tom Bombadil, a well-known character from the original Lord of the Rings books with an incredibly long history on Middle Earth.
Daniel Weyland described Tom as "enigmatic, whimsy, singing," and "powerful."
The actor then teased how The Stranger's journey in Season 1 will differ from Season 2, with his Tom Bombadil being right at the center of it all:
"For Season 1, we saw The Stranger trying to understand his own power and not really do a good job of it, and the people around him, the community around him, having to respond to the way in which he manifested. In Season 2, The Stranger is put in that position because this other being creates maelstrom, creates madness, creates mayhem, creates whimsy, creates mischief, and The Stranger has to respond. That switch is going to be really interesting in how The Stranger moves forward as a being, what he learns about himself, and how he wants to progress down any particular path."
Morfyyd Clark, the woman behind Galadriel, talked about how she handles the noisy feedback from certain fans and whether or not it ever gets to her.
"I just think sometimes it does [get to me]," she admitted, while adding how you have to take the "good with the bad:"
"I mean, I just think sometimes it does, but also kind of so do the lovely things. And I think [you have to take the] good with the bad. Ultimately, the greatest pleasure is meeting people who have enjoyed the show and it's kind of given them something, and that's something I still can't believe I'm a part of."
When Season 1 left off, Galadriel had just been severely betrayed by Halbrand, who finally revealed how he's been Sauron in disguise.
"It's very embarrassing for her," Clark explained, elaborating how Season 2 will include lots of internal reflection:
"I mean, it's very embarrassing for her. I feel really bad for her, and she's just got to decide who she is because he's told her that there's this possibility that she could be bad. And so it's kind of like this season is her being. Who am I going to be in this new world? And there's no going back from that."
Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, is now in a whole new playground for Season 2. While he was originally hiding his true identity, the secret is now out, and audiences know exactly who he is.
Despite that, Vickers confirmed that his overall performance isn't going to be changing much. Instead, "it's the perspective of the audience that changes:"
"Apart from the simple things like walking and talking differently, the performance doesn't shift too much because it's more of a matter of perspective from the audience. In season one, when Halrand was having his Sauron moments, I was having them; it's just that the camera is not there, right? If it's filming, if we're doing a scene, it's on you when I'm doing my Sauron. [For] Season 2, the camera stays with me when I have those moments. And we're, as the audience, we're let in on it. So yeah, it's mainly that. It's not so much my performance, but it's the perspective of the audience that changes."
The moment anyone thinks of Sauron, the classic armor from Lord of the Rings almost certainly comes to mind fairly quickly.
But will Vickers one day put the evil attire on?
"We know we've for to get there," the actor confirmed, adding how he hopes we "get to see a bit of action" with it whenever the moment finally happens:
"I wish I knew the answer to that question… I definitely think about it. I mean, there'll come a time when that decision needs to be made, right? Because we know we've got to get there. We know the show is going there eventually… Hopefully, we get to see a bit of action of me in that armor, or whoever's in that armor. Yeah, that would be really, really cool, really special."
Charles Edward teased that Season 2 is really just the start for his character, Celebrimbor. The actor noted that he has "considerably more" to do this time around, and audiences will now "see him at his most raw:"
"Considerably more. And I always knew that was going to be the case. When I got the job, they said, because they give you the job, and then they tell you the part later. So they said, Okay, you kind of dip your toe in Season 1. Season 2, you're kind of all--It kicks off. And that has proved to be the case… We've met him, introduced him, got an essence of him, but now we see him at his most raw, I would say."
Finally, Lloyd Owen talked about how Captain Elendil will be managing after still not knowing the fate of his son Isildur (who fans know is still alive out there somewhere):
"It's a good question, and it comes early, and the crux of it is that he can't mourn his son. And Earien, Isildur's sister, my daughter, is angry at the fact that he seemingly can mourn the death of the king, but he can't mourn his son. So the split between them starts to happen, which is also represented in the political split of Numenor and Earien's jealousy against the Queen for what she feels is her father's attention being pushed and the decision the Queen has made to go to war, which has affected everything, and she's lost her brother. So, there's quite a lot at stake."
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 hit Amazon Studios' Prime Video on August 29.
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