“Rings of Power: Morfydd Clark Defends Galadriel As Action Hero

“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”This TV series is the biggest ever, and a record-setting amount of money was spent to recreate J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth during the Second Age, and a cast of nearly two dozen series regulars and dozens more featured players deployed to enact its sprawling tale of the rise of Sauron.

And yet one character sits undeniably at the show’s center: Galadriel. The ancient elf, so old she was born before the moon and the sun first graced Middle-earth, was a crucial character in Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” novels and Peter Jackson’s “Rings”Trilogy as played by Cate blanchett.

In “The Rings of Power,”Set thousands of years ago before the events of “The Lord of the Rings,” a younger Galadriel is not yet the serene and wise co-ruler of the Elven kingdom of Lothlórien. Instead, she’s consumed by her hunt for the Dark Lord Sauron, the mysteriously absent master of evil responsible for the death of Galadriel’s brother. In “Rings of Power,” Galadriel is at once hardened by the millennia she’s already been alive, but not yet the stately (and formidable) woman of stature she becomes in the Third Age.

Morfydd Clark (?)“Saint Maud”) manages to capture all of those dimensions of the character. Her review is here Variety critic Caroline Framke praises Clark’s “arresting gravitas,”It is important to note that “tasked with making Galadriel equal parts voice of reason and battling hero, Clark proves the series’ most reliable constant.”

Clark is a lifelong Tolkien enthusiast thanks to her parents. She understands instinctively how important Galadriel really is. “My friends are all massive ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans, and I have to tell you, they describe her to me a lot,”She tells Variety. “She’s a living myth; a living legend.”

And yet, Clark explains that it wasn’t until she’d agreed to join “The Rings of Power” — and arrived in New Zealand in the fall of 2019 to shoot the first season — that she learned from showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay confirmed that she was actually cast as Galadriel. Because of the pandemic, it became almost a two-year adventure for the now-33-year-old, pushing her past what she believed to be her limitations. She spoke with Variety about training to perform Galadriel’s many stunts, how her Welsh heritage helped her with Tolkien’s Elvish language, what it was like to spend so much unexpected time in New Zealand, and what she would say to Tolkien fans surprised to see Galadriel as a badass warrior.

What was the first time you realized that you were in contention to play Galadriel in the audition process?

I didn’t know that I was playing Galadriel when I arrived in New Zealand, even. I knew I was playing an elf. I knew it was in Second Age. Me and my sister were reading through it all, and I was thinking I was Celebrían, her daughter, because I don’t think I could fathom that it would be Galadriel. So I went to New Zealand not knowing who I was playing, which now looking back, it’s quite, quite mad. The cast did the same. All of us just kind of jumped in to the madness together and found ourselves all down there. It wasn’t until I arrived that I found out who I was playing, and I obviously had to recalibrate. I still can’t quite believe who I’m playing.

How much did you know about Galadriel’s full history before you learned that you were playing her?

I knew. “The Hobbit”And “The Lord of the Rings.” I hadn’t delved into “The Silmarillion”I don’t think so. I had no idea what she’d done. There’s a bit where Tolkien describes Galadriel as tying her hair up into a crown with a plait as she goes into battle. It was a moment when I thought, “Wow, this opens up so much”, that this happened. Also, Tolkien altered his views about Galadriel which makes her even more fascinating. I became obsessed with Galadriel. He kind of like fell more in love with her, I think, as he got older, and so there’s a fluidity to her character.

In the first two episodes alone, you’re climbing, you’re fighting, you’re swimming, you’re diving deep into the water. Do you think you had a clue about what your role would look like?

No. This was a huge surprise. I’ve never seen myself as a natural with that stuff. I’m dyslexic. I was very poor at writing so I was able to get extra time during exams. So I really thought that I couldn’t do all that stuff. My team was amazing in helping me do this. It’s a testament to them that I was doing all these things. They were amazing in teaching us stunts, but also how to block your mind. [that you can do it]. It would be a great experience for everyone to learn from the New Zealand stunt team. If school was like stunt school for us on this job, we’d all be much happier.

What preparation did you make? What was the process?

We’d start every morning with three hours of stunts, that would involve kind of general strength, flexibility, and then obviously, the swords would come in. And there were times at the beginning where, they’d be about 20 of us there, and we’d learn a sword fight all the same, and then perform it like a group of elves, which was really fun. Matt was an incredible personal trainer who I often resent. But I think that’s part of being a good personal trainer. I did a lot of climbing, which I loved. It’s nice to have one thing that you’re learning that you’re already kind of good at. If you don’t, you might despair. Then, swimming. I thought I could swim. But after my first lesson I realized that I was wrong and should not have been swimming in the ocean. Trent Bray taught me how to swim.

How did it feel to include the Elvish language in your performance?

It was a Welsh Language School that I attended, and everything there is in Welsh. Welsh is phonetic, so it’s much better for a dyslexic. Three years ago, I learned English. It was exactly like. “What is this?”My Tolkien-obsessed mother was proud of one thing and passed it down to us: Tolkien was inspired from Welsh. Strangely, my works are a badge for honor because the Welsh are obsessed about the Welsh and everything Welsh. It was great to play a bilingual role. It was a great experience.

Galadriel has a certain image in some fans’ heads. They see her as the regal woman in the woods, but she isn’t physically like you see on the show. What would you tell fans who are skeptical or surprised at Galadriel’s interpretation? “The Rings of Power”?

Her serenity was hard earned, I think. I don’t think you get to that level of wisdom without going through things. She actually talks about [how]Wisdom is the loss of innocence. This was something I found in the lore. Because, like, how young are you when you’re still thousands of years old? It was hard to believe how much innocence she had lost in this period. The Third Age has seen a lot of evolution in the elves. The First Age elves are messy, fight and make fun of each other. They are the history of Middle Earth and are constantly changing. It was fascinating for everyone to see how these characters became what they are.

The show is such a massive commitment — the showrunners have said that they’re planning a 50-episode series. My questions were prepared with the assumption that you knew more before you went into the show. So, how important was that commitment for you when signing up to the show? “The Rings of Power”?

Yeah, I didn’t know. When you’re auditioning for something like this, you never fathom that you’re going to get it, and so you don’t really think about those things. Because you become so attached to the auditions, it is hard for me to dream or daydream. I think I’m still acclimatizing to what this means. These next few weeks will be very challenging, but also quite a relief. Make things visible and enjoyable. It’s about time that that happens with this. But I think I’m gonna go through another acclimatizing period.

What was your time in New Zealand?

It was supposed to take nine months. Then it ended up being in New Zealand, from October 2019 to Aug 2021. Fast two years.

What did you do to pass your time?

We were very busy so there wasn’t much time left. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to tour South Island. It was amazing. I mean, in New Zealand, you’re just in a constant state of the sublime, you really are. This was important because the Elves are so obsessed with nature. They see beauty as an essential part of their being and a reason to live. That was truly inspiring. I was a prolific crafter. I was also very fortunate to make good friends with my neighbors who took me under their wing. You know, I didn’t expect when I went to New Zealand that I’d feel like I was moving away from home again when I came back. And that was — yeah. [Long pause.]I am so grateful to have been welcomed into New Zealand as I was.

Finally, you mentioned earlier that you thought you’d been cast as Galadriel’s daughter. She does meet her husband and have a daughter in the Second Age — is that something that we might get hints of this season?

Galadriel’s family is a big part of who she is. There’s five seasons, and lots will be explored.

This interview was edited and condensed.