MovieZine meets the actors behind Galadriel and Halbrand | Movie Zen

And so in the opening of the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, surely no one missed that Morvid Clark (“Saint Maud”, “Dracula”) and her version of Galadriel, who appears to be the biggest and most important character in the cult TV series. In the second episode, we the viewer and Gladrill get acquainted with the mysterious human Halbrand, who performs it. Charlie VickersWhich we will get to know later in the third episode. And there’s no doubt that both will have a lot to do in the coming years and seasons of “Rings of Power”.

Before the premiere of the first episode, MovieZine had the opportunity to chat with the duo, who together share many scenes of the first season. During our conversation, the actors were able to tell us everything possible about how the first season was filmed, the expectations of fans, the relationship to the fantasy genre in general, and the fact that Swedish-born Morvid thinks that for some reason the obsession with fantasy is connected with the fact that she was born in Sweden.

But don’t expect a deeper explanation for this last idea, the actress left Sweden when she was just two years old and grew up in Wales – and doesn’t know Swedish. But at least she takes the opportunity to say hello to us Swedes in her old home anyway!

Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers as Galadriel and Halbrand in the second episode of “The Rings of Power.”

Cate Blanchett actually played Galadriel in the feature films we’ve seen. And you’re playing a smaller version of it now. What kind of reactions did you get after people saw your version of the character? What are your hopes for how viewers receive the series?

Morvid: I’ve only heard good things actually. I’m Lord of the Rings and a fan of fantasy in general. I am always hungry for more. Every time I finish watching a fantasy series, the question is immediately; “What is there to see”? And I almost feel that’s how my version of the character was received here now too – give us more!

– My hopes for our series in general are actually quite simple. I hope that the series will bring joy and pleasure to the viewers. Because I’ve had so much fun and great imagination that has come from Tolkien, through movies and audiobooks and all that has come before, I hope I can give some of that back to other people now. I really hope that people like what we did and that we are happy together.

“I never wanted to go back to the real world again”

Charlie Vickers as Halbrand in the third episode of “Rings of Power.”

You got into producing the world’s most generous fantasy ever, how did it really feel to leave this world and come back to “reality” again after that?

Morphed: I didn’t want to go back to the real world again, haha.

Charlie: Yeah, it’s a big, wonderful world. Especially when you’re a huge fan of yourself, so it was like stepping right into one of your dreams and making it come true.

Morphed: Very charming!

Charlie: Really, getting back into the real world again was…more like coming back to reality than this wonderful dream, where we all took part in this giant project together.

Morvid: The fact that we were in New Zealand really made it feel like a real fantasy world, at least to me.

Charlie: And that’s been a huge part of our lives, for a very long time. We were there through the pandemic, so it took us about two years to register. Now that the rest of the world has finally been able to see everything we’ve done, it’s almost a bewildering feeling, because we’ve been working on all of this behind closed doors for so long and so intensely. And now the secrets will begin to unfold in front of everyone who watches it.

We meet him at a time when he has made a decision to start over with his life.

Morvid Clark and Charlie Vickers during the filming of the second episode of “Rings of Power”.

Talk about secrets. What can you tell us about the relationship between your characters in the series next? We know that Galadriel and Halbrand meet on a boat at sea. But who are these characters to you?

Charlie: What I can say from Halebrand’s point of view is that we meet him at a time when he has made a decision to start over with his life. But then his path intersects with Gladrill, who may not realize it herself, but begins to push him into the life he thought he left behind. I don’t really know if they understand the effect they have on each other, but I hope as a viewer you can see that dynamic between our characters. They are a bit at odds with each other at first, but they also share opinions about other things.

Morphed: The thing I also love about building Tolkien’s world is that in different periods, dwarves, humans, elves, and artisans are either involved or completely out of different events. Sometimes you are friends and sometimes you are not. And I loved finding out where we stood in that special relationship between elves and humans in general, during this time, through how our characters interact with each other.

Charlie: I agree with you. When our characters first meet, we can see exactly how a human reacts to seeing an elf. Have you seen anyone before? Or maybe you’ve been to a part of Middle-earth where it’s not very common to see any elves at all.

“I feel so lucky to be scouting Galadriel here and now”

Morfydd Clark and Lloyd Owen as Galadriel and Elendil in the third episode of “The Rings of Power.”

More specifically about Galadriel, we’ve seen a version of her before…but who is she to you, Morphed?

Morvid: I still can’t believe it’s true that I was given the opportunity to play someone like her. But I don’t feel like I’ll be the last to play a version of Galadriel. There is something that we all seem to want back to Tolkien, because he created something endlessly wonderful.

– I really like that there are so many different versions of Tolkien’s world. Because that meant there was no end to the research I could do. I really feel like everything that happened before has enriched what I can do now. I love adaptations like this.

– and I feel so lucky to be exploring Galadriel here and now. She is already very wise and knowledgeable … she is thousands of years old. But she’s still not close to her age in the books that most people are familiar with. It was very interesting to explore this side of her, what her immortality means to her at this particular point in her very long life. Long before she returned to the Eternal Lands.

“The boundaries of what I felt were possible were already blurred and moved on.”

Morvid Clark during the filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Now, I don’t know how much you can really do and what gets added next in any PC, but based on what we’ve already seen, your characters won’t be sitting still very often. How did you prepare for the most physically demanding parts of your roles?

Morphed: Fortunately for me, because I have a hard time imagining what I would work against if it wasn’t there, the vast majority of it was filmed entirely in action and done on location. Which was absolutely wonderful.

Charlie: Even things like the raft where our characters meet right from the start, we spent several weeks… it felt like years, on that raft in the water. And this whole part was actually recorded. We were in the middle of that storm, with high waves and wind pumping right through the machines. There was absolutely no need to imagine anything or be forced to use one’s imagination to fill in the gaps, we just needed to be there and act accordingly.

Morvid: One of the first things we did as a crew was to start doing our stunts. It didn’t matter how many stunts you had to do during the season, but just about everyone was there initially for a briefing, and we hooked up a lot as a group. So by the time we got to the sets, we had all already done physical things that we had never dreamed of doing before, while training together. The boundaries of what she actually felt was possible were blurred and she moved on, so to speak. But it was really a huge part of getting into and becoming a part of his personality.

Charlie: And the physically demanding bits never end. It’s everything from swimming, climbing, clear dull training and all that…and plenty of sleep in between sessions.

Morvid: I slept too long after the recordings ended…

“You can’t think too much about what other people think”

Robert Aramayo and Morvid Clarke as Elrond and Galadriel in the first episode of “The Rings of Power.”

The series is released simultaneously around the world, with a bunch of seasons planned and it’s pretty grandiose. Is it amazing to be part of a project as big as this actor?

Morphed and Charlie at the same time: This he is overwhelming!

Charlie: You’re thinking about people’s expectations of the series, because it’s based on a lovable world like that. But at the same time, you can not think too much about what other people will think either, because in the role of the actor you still can not control this outcome. Having been a part of creating the Rings of Strength, we know that everyone we worked with contributed so much love and hard work. Now we can only really hope that the end product will show that.

Do you almost need to put some kind of mental firewall in front of the reactions that will come?

Morvid: It’s hard not to. But at the same time, as an actor, you naturally want to do something that people appreciate and enjoy. Every time I’m filming something or in a theater production, there’s always a feeling that “it’s going to be fun for someone to come and watch” before the premiere. Because what I did doesn’t really come alive, but it only starts to exist on the ground when the audience is there, the viewers become, in a sense, a part of everything as we are on screen.

“I think my obsession with fantasy comes from the fact that I was born in Sweden.”

Morfydd Clark and Lloyd Owen as Galadriel and Elendil in the third episode of “The Rings of Power.”

Morvid, I know you were actually born in Sweden, where I’m sitting now as we speak, but you grew up in Wales. How do you feel that filming in Season 2 will move ‘home’ to the UK for you? Will you miss New Zealand?

Yes, it would be a big change and I am really grateful that we started this journey in New Zealand. Because it is an incredibly beautiful country, where I have always been amazed by its beauty. Surprisingly however, many people describe New Zealand as ‘Wales on steroids’, which I actually think is true. There is something very familiar but somehow “bigger”.

So I think moving production here to the UK will help us in some ways. Middle-earth undergoes a major change during our journey through the story as well. But I am still grateful for the time we had in New Zealand, it was such an amazing experience and experience with everyone involved in making the first season.

– and I think I can finish by taking the opportunity to say “Hello to Sweden” through you now too! I guess my obsession with fantasy comes from the fact that I was born in Sweden, haha.

The first three episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” are now available on Prime Video. The first season will consist of eight episodes, with a new episode released every Friday.

Read also: “Some think Tolkien is exactly what Peter Jackson did in his films”

What do you think of Morphed and Charlie’s performances as Gladrill and Halbrand so far in “Rings of Power”? Feel free to comment below!