‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Owain Arthur and Charlie Vickers Interviews

The huge ensemble cast of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power took to the stage at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con – held in-person and under strict Covid-19 protocols – to promote the epic fantasy series. The cast also made their way down a lengthy red carpet for brief interviews about the much-anticipated series which premieres on September 2, 2022.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years prior to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Among the new characters set to be introduced in season one is Halbrand (played by Charlie Vickers, Medici), a human whose encounter with Galadriel changes the course of his life. Owain Arthur (A Confession) stars as Prince Durin IV, a character Tolkien fans will recognize as a king of the dwarves who bore one of the Rings of Power.

Vickers and Arthur were among the among the cast members who participated in interviews at Comic-Con, and Arthur even treated us to a duet with Trystan Gravelle who plays Pharazon.

Owain Arthur Interview – “Prince Durin IV”

So, you’re a dwarf in the show.

Owain Arthur: “I am a dwarf in the show. I am Prince Durin the IV in the show.”

How long did the makeup take?

Owain Arthur: “Three hours. It took three hours of sitting in a chair, getting to know people very intimately because we spend hours together. You know what I mean? By the time that I reached set, I felt like I’d already done a morning’s work…well, I did…but it was great.

It was one of those things that when I got cast as Durin and I got to play a dwarf, it was like, ‘Yes! I get to wear prosthetics. I get to wear a wig and carry a beard and put all these glorious costumes on.’ And the majority of the time I have to say I’ve been quite negative of it. I loved it, I’ve absolutely loved it, and it was an honor really to be able to put it on – as painful and tiring as it was.”

Did they give you a big book with your backstory or did you kind of suss it out as you’re going along?

Owain Arthur: “Do you know what? I’m trying to think now because we now know so much about Middle-earth and Khazad-dûm, I’m trying to think was it spoon-fed to me or if it happened through osmosis or was it… I don’t know.”

It’s hard to think back. It’s been a while.

Owain Arthur: “Yeah, I mean we did some digging. As a dwarf you kind of dig a lot, right? Stick with me. (Laughing) But yeah there was a lot, a lot of hard work, a lot of – as I said – digging into finding out who these people are.”

Are viewers going to love the dwarves?

Owain Arthur: “I mean, who doesn’t love a dwarf?”

That is a really good question.

Owain Arthur: “How can you not like a dwarf? They’re lovely, funny, heartfelt creatures.”

Were you a huge Lord of the Rings fan to begin with?

Owain Arthur: “Yes, the films. I was a huge fan of the films and then digging into Middle-earth you go, ‘Wow, this really is never ending what you can discover.’ I’m still learning about it and even watching the show for the fifth time you’re discovering more stuff about it. So I suppose that’s great for JD [Payne] and Patrick [McKay] who created the show because you discover more when you read Tolkien and you kind of see more when you watch the show as well. So, keep watching and watch it again and again and again.”

And knowledge of The Lord of the Rings isn’t necessary to understand and get into the series?

Owain Arthur: “Absolutely not. Absolutely not because like I said it’s a journey that you go on and you empathize, and you sympathize and love and root for people in the show. That’s perfect for a newbie to kind of… [Trystan Gravelle who plays Pharazon begins singing.] There’s some Welsh singing going on there. Sorry, I was just watching my fellow… It’s kind of like a call.”

(To Trystan) “You called, sorry. I just heard some Welsh music.”

Trystan Gravelle: “Are we going to belt one out?”

(Watch the video for the spontaneous duet.)

That was fantastic. Did singing break out on set all the time?

Owain Arthur: “You know what? I did sing a lot on set. There’s another song called ‘Yma o Hyd’ I would use to kind of activate Durin inside me, funnily enough.”

Because dwarves are singers?

Owain Arthur: “We do sing. We do, I believe. You always find workers who kind of go down in the mines and they often sing to kind of get them through the day. […] And when they drink as well. It’s a very drinking thing to do, right? To be singing. I haven’t been drinking, by the way.”

Are you sure?

Owain Arthur: (Laughing) “Uh no!”

Charlie Vickers Interview – “Halbrand”

Tell me about your character. Do we learn his backstory or do we jump right into it?

Charlie Vickers: “We sort of jump right in with Hal. His backstory sort of unfolds as the show unfolds, which is really nice. I think it’s a nice way to learn about a character where you sort of get little tidbits as it progresses.”

Did you get tidbits or a bible to read about him?

Charlie Vickers: “I got, yeah, not quite a bible but a lot of information. There was a lot to wade through, as with all of Tolkien’s works. I mean it’s so dense and so vast – the legendarium – so there was a lot of reading to be done.”

Was there one thing that you read where you were like, “Yeah, that’s him. That’s how I’ve got to capture him?”

Charlie Vickers: “I think there’s lots of specific things, but I think rather than a specificity it was more like the overall, the vastness of the world. I found some really useful things in Tolkien’s letters actually that really helped me with the character.”

Do you think viewers will need to read anything in particular to understand the stories?

Charlie Vickers: “I don’t think they need anything in particular. I think it’s more something that can stand alone by itself, the show. But, of course, if you have knowledge of the world and the legendarium, it will only help with understanding the story as a whole, and it will feed and inform what you’re watching. But I think the beauty of the show and the way that they developed it is that you can watch it as a standalone thing.”

If you were to describe the series in one word what would it be?

Charlie Vickers: “Magical is the first word that comes to mind, yeah. That is…I haven’t thought that through in a huge amount but that is the first word so there’s something there.”

• Benjamin Walker Interview on Playing High King Gil-galad
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Nazanin Boniadi and Markella Kavenagh Interviews
• Ema Horvath and Sara Zwangobani Interviews

Prime Video’s released the following description of season one:

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and one of the greatest villains that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.

Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.