The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival #MCTVF
This year The Monte-Carlo Television Festival once again featured a plethora of talent from hit US series, including part of the cast of Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry and Lloyd Owen. The cast of the fantasy series met with fans of TV's most-expensive production ever and also had a press conference with journalists.
Most of the cast shared that they delved into J. R. R. Tolkien's world through the Peter Jackson's movies, while Lloyd Owen noted that he was a fan of the British author and read the books as a teenager; Arthur joked that it took him 16 times to finish The Silmarillion; Baldry revealed that he was also introduced to the LOTR universe through computer games.
The cast talked about shooting in the UK and New Zealand for season 1 and that viewers can expect much more action in season 2, following the "darkness has fallen" theme and that everybody will be affected by Sauron. Arthur commented: “Darkness has fallen. Let’s say that. We’re all going through a big journey in Season 2. We know that Sauron is here.” Baldry added: “I’d say it’s a little more action packed. There’s a lot more action.”
“We all know that Sauron has been revealed at the end (of Season 1), and therefore what happens when that amount of evil is finally realized? Each person throughout the universe, throughout Tolkien’s world, is going to be affected by that,” Owen commented. “There’s always going to be a human choice as to what happens when you’re introduced to evil, and is there an inherent badness or darkness in you that will be revealed? Or will you move to the good side? So, everyone is going to be faced with a dilemma, a moral dilemma, and there are going to be some really difficult choices for each human to take.” He also shared that “every personal relationship is affected by obviously the political and the evil and how it changes and warps the mind.”
“To play the role was very exciting because some of the characters are familiar but to get the opportunity to play a character that's never been on screen before was very exciting. Season 1 is really about an introduction,” Addai-Robinson stated. “You’re setting the stage for aspects of the story that are maybe a little bit more familiar to audiences, because we do know a little bit more of these next few things that happen, that will be part of Season 2… But there are a lot of people who have never read the books. They’ve never seen the movies. So that Season 1 setup really is, in my mind, it’s really for those people who are very new to Tolkien… So, Season 2, you’re going to see a lot of storyline start to come through.”
Owain Arthur commented: “Evil has now descended on this land. Durin will be somewhat different in season 2, after what happened to him at the end of season 1, because he lost everything. So we’re going to find him at a completely different time in his life. It’s hard for him and he’s going to be forced to ask questions about himself, to question his choices. Durin made a lot of sacrifices for Elrond in season 1. They are best friends and Durin would do anything for him (…) Durin and Elrond will always have this connection but they will no longer be together, necessarily, at the beginning of the new episodes, since he was banished from the Kingdom of the Dwarves“.
The cast of the Amazon series noted that the elaborate sets and costumes helped them get in character and that they were very much looking forward to the new movies planned for LOTR. The cast also answered a question about racism that the topic has already been discussed and that conversation should be in the past.
Most of the cast shared that they delved into J. R. R. Tolkien's world through the Peter Jackson's movies, while Lloyd Owen noted that he was a fan of the British author and read the books as a teenager; Arthur joked that it took him 16 times to finish The Silmarillion; Baldry revealed that he was also introduced to the LOTR universe through computer games.
The cast talked about shooting in the UK and New Zealand for season 1 and that viewers can expect much more action in season 2, following the "darkness has fallen" theme and that everybody will be affected by Sauron. Arthur commented: “Darkness has fallen. Let’s say that. We’re all going through a big journey in Season 2. We know that Sauron is here.” Baldry added: “I’d say it’s a little more action packed. There’s a lot more action.”
“We all know that Sauron has been revealed at the end (of Season 1), and therefore what happens when that amount of evil is finally realized? Each person throughout the universe, throughout Tolkien’s world, is going to be affected by that,” Owen commented. “There’s always going to be a human choice as to what happens when you’re introduced to evil, and is there an inherent badness or darkness in you that will be revealed? Or will you move to the good side? So, everyone is going to be faced with a dilemma, a moral dilemma, and there are going to be some really difficult choices for each human to take.” He also shared that “every personal relationship is affected by obviously the political and the evil and how it changes and warps the mind.”
“To play the role was very exciting because some of the characters are familiar but to get the opportunity to play a character that's never been on screen before was very exciting. Season 1 is really about an introduction,” Addai-Robinson stated. “You’re setting the stage for aspects of the story that are maybe a little bit more familiar to audiences, because we do know a little bit more of these next few things that happen, that will be part of Season 2… But there are a lot of people who have never read the books. They’ve never seen the movies. So that Season 1 setup really is, in my mind, it’s really for those people who are very new to Tolkien… So, Season 2, you’re going to see a lot of storyline start to come through.”
Owain Arthur commented: “Evil has now descended on this land. Durin will be somewhat different in season 2, after what happened to him at the end of season 1, because he lost everything. So we’re going to find him at a completely different time in his life. It’s hard for him and he’s going to be forced to ask questions about himself, to question his choices. Durin made a lot of sacrifices for Elrond in season 1. They are best friends and Durin would do anything for him (…) Durin and Elrond will always have this connection but they will no longer be together, necessarily, at the beginning of the new episodes, since he was banished from the Kingdom of the Dwarves“.
The cast of the Amazon series noted that the elaborate sets and costumes helped them get in character and that they were very much looking forward to the new movies planned for LOTR. The cast also answered a question about racism that the topic has already been discussed and that conversation should be in the past.
