Behind The Geeks | Our Interview with the Cast of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2

we are geekcentric and you can be [Music] too love [Music] you get home safe guys peace hey there Geeks my name is Nate and welcome to the geekcentric podcast and welcome to a very special behind the Geeks episode for Prime videos The Lord of the Rings the rings of power special thanks as always to our friends at Prime video Canada for these wonderful opportunities to get to talk to the people behind all the geeky things we love and we love the Lord of the Rings and we're really digging this new season we had the chance to chat with so many wonderful people from the cast of The Lord of the Rings the rings of power including Sophia namet Owine Arthur marela Kavanaugh Megan Richards Leon wadham Lloyd Owen Benjamin Walker and Robert arameo I'm stoked for you to get to hear our conversations uh we talked about everything from updates to their characters in season 2 uh the culture within Middle Earth uh and sort of how they went about exploring it uh as well as some of their external influences on their characters and how they made made them their own and we even get into a bit of harfoot Cuisine uh this is going to be a big behind the Geeks episode so I don't want to take too much time but just before we get to these interviews I'll quickly mention that our beloved hot geek summer has come to an end but with it were so many incredible opportunities and we have episodes available to listen to right now covering all of those opportunities whether it's our Toronto red carpet Premiere interviews with Ryan Reynolds Hugh Jackman and sha Levy for Deadpool and Wolverine our interview with Tamora Morrison D Jango Fett himself booba Fett himself uh our interviews with the cast and creator of Futurama or our three count them yes that's right three convention recap episodes covering Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con Hall h announcements uh Disney's d23 Expo or most recently Fan Expo Canada 2024 uh we've been some very busy and very sweaty Geeks but it's been such an incredible time and we're so thankful to everyone listening to everyone involved in helping us uh with those opportunities so thank you and uh make sure to subscribe if you haven't already because listen we're about to get into some spooky times okay we're going to have a spooky geek fall we've got some really great stuff on the way for the rest of the year so yeah uh check out those con Recaps and interviews either here on your podcast service of choice or over on YouTube at youtube.com/ geek but listen the rings of power aren't going to forge themselves so let's get to those interviews please enjoy our interviews with the cast of The Lord of the Rings the rings of power starting with Sophia namet and a Arthur hey o and Sophia my name is Nate and I'm Justin thank you so much for taking the time to join us on the geek Center podcast how you both doing very good guys how are you we're doing great we get to talk to you guys yeah dream I mean listen I will say don't tell the others um I think you're my favorite characters on the show yeah I bet you say you say that I see you I feel listen he's super tall I feel a certain kinship towards the dwarfs because I'm a little bit shorter and I'm always putting up with him so beard too the beard I got a beard you know um but listen both of you it was fantastic at getting to see your characters grow and develop over season one this time around in season two what's something that for both of you may be surprised you uh about where we found your characters in this part of their story uh and a wine we'll start with you um well there wasn't there was no surprise that I that we started where we start in season two because of what happened at the end of season one obviously um what did surprise me however as we went on to shoot in you know to go through the Journey of season 2 was how how human and intimate um the the story was for Duran and how much he the journey that he went on of self-discovery uh uh of of himself but also his relationship with his father and and watching his father deteriorate was um a was was a difficult one to to go on um but one I think a few people can relate to sadly you know um it's it's it's not a a pleasant journey to go on but there's love there and and um it's yeah it's it's it's hopefully quite moving hopefully relatable um I think for me you know she was the all knowing allseeing the wisest of the more you know the heartbeat The Good the Purity I think sorry sorry to blow my own Trump I was going to say if you may say so yourself I'm not talking about me I'm talking about the character funny I'm talking about the character of thought you are love so I think for me the challenge was um or or the the surp the surprise was that she gets it wrong she gets it so wrong and that fear and Devastation and Stakes being really high clouded her judgment and I just thought that she was way more I don't know I thought that there was something more powerful than that but I guess there is the power power in vulnerability and I think we see her that way and for the first time you know it's not just diesa kind of come on during come on during you know duan's like no my love I think this time you might be you might have got this wrong and she loses her spark you know she loses her voice and she loses her spark so I guess the surprise for me that against some of the darkest odds even the strongest of us are susceptible to vulnerability and and to get it wrong yeah I I think that there's there's a there's a heart there that we kind of get to explore with that character and with your relationship with one another and actually kind of going a little bit further Sophia you know it's been amazing to see uh you know the story of Dwarven women showcased so heavily in this in this series and the importance that plays in understanding the mountain what has it been like for you to kind of explore you know that part of dban culture what a beautiful question um thank you I think well it's meant everything because it really just as you said it almost felt like I was hosting this really revolutionary moment actually in in the world of Middle Earth um and so it almost feels like it would it almost feels like we've got to a point and I won't credit myself with this cuz I'm way more humble than that thank you but um you know the writers have have written her as as really it would feel so strange without her now and without that kind of female energy in there that we've not seen before it it it feels more fractured and and now it feels whole and I feel so so blessed and honored to be a part of that and I think you know the singing to the mountains I always think of it as a metaphor that you know if we scream loudly if we shout loudly enough if we advocate for ourselves and listen to that gutteral fire Instinct and and let it out that we can literally move mountains and how hard life is when we lose that spark how hard life is now these days when everything informs us from outside and and and we have long forgotten how to look to ourselves and to our own kind of razor sharp child you know quality in us to be able to to make our decisions because it really doesn't let you down wow that's that was a beautiful response thank you thank you we have other questions we're being asked to rap now but I'm like that's you know what I think we're good I think that yeah thank you so much uh both of you as I said I I promise you you are our favorite character show we get to you it's so wonderful um we can't wait to see where you know we've seen three episodes so far of season 2 cannot wait to see where it goes um so again thank you both so much and we look forward to chatting with you in the you so much thanks Nate thanks Justin and now please enjoy our interview with marel Kavanaugh and Megan Richards hey marel hey Megan my name is Justin and I'm Nate thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us you both doing today good good how are you we're doing good we're talking to you yeah glad it was fantastic getting to see your characters uh grow and develop over season one of this series um Marella this Time Around in season 2 what's something that maybe surprised you about where we find Nori in this part of their story I think something that surp I mean it's something that surprised Nori I think too is just how much she misses her family and um how much actually leaving home meant to her so I think what was surprising was just reading that that was going to be voiced and expressed in their way like you hear her voice that in the first episode so um it's really you see how important that is and I really like that because there is an inner conflict between her doing what she's always wanted to do and then also balancing the homesickness so it was um yeah it was really a nice surprise to see that the showrunners were going to acknowledge that yeah it's that duality of wanting more but having to let go of your your your family and to go do what you need to do I love that now Megan you know at times this show goes to some dark places but for us it's always a delight to see Poppy and Nori together together on their Adventure you know what's the secret to having such a genuine relationship with one another on screen yeah I think there something that makes it easier is having an actor who you're acting opposite be so wonderful and be so present um yeah but lovely oh keep going um but there's the what's lovely is that the poppy that I portray is not the same wouldn't be the same poppy without Mar as Nori um and I think also something that I always kind of tell myself is that Poppy and Nori are fine they're great and their relationship is stable and it's the same and um they have such a sort of like depth to their relationship that was already there before season 1 even happened um and so it's just our job to kind of Honor that and continue it and um Mar kind makes very easy I love that well you definitely you definitely see that and we feel it as we get to watch your characters um for for for both of you you know uh this season um there's a few bugs eaten at one point I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say um I wanted to kind of talk about you know season one and season two we get to see how har foots are foragers and they very much live off the land for their meals uh for each of you uh as marel and Megan uh what's your go-to harfoot meal half meal there's got to be a pie in there oh there's got to be a pie in there for sure they actually had these incredible pies on set of season 1 but they were like Cherry as part of the Harvest FES and they look really quite nice yeah I know I'm such a snacker it's like anything any no snails for you yeah bugs bugs sound delicious that as a snack food no yeah no cockroaches Fe no cockroach yeah maybe a that I mean I was going to say like I would love a good harfoot stew but I'd be worried that if he made it his his foot hair might get in there yeah a a little seasoning and get on his bad side gonna happen give it time okay after the after a long day you never know gets better with age yeah you know during production when you're on set you know there's so many elements in place to help bring Middle Earth to life you know from set design to makeup to cost cuming at at what point do you find yourselves fully embodying your characters marel let's start with you I mean it's it's exactly what you said it's it's as soon as I I'm inct I feel like I'm not actually in character but as in you you do feel like it's so much easier when you have the costume and the makeup and the Prosthetics and I feel like as soon as the feet are on you kind of can't deny how that you're half foot because they really do alter the way you like stand like the The Stance and the way way she is so I feel like that really helps and then as soon as you're on set and you've got the dialect and you've got these incredible sets you it just all of it it really does take a village and it takes this big team um comprised of like incredible crew that really come together to make to make I mean you know an act this part would not be anything without the incredible costumes and the makeup and the the thought and care that's also put into her um by the crew and the yeah the directors and the shman so yeah that it all helps and so I love I love it I love the whole process I yeah I think I mean you said it so eloquently and also the feet definitely is a main thing what's also amazing is being able to work with people who are so like top of their game at their Craft um when they sort of when you are sort of their subject and they you know do that it allows me to not have to think about any of that and I'm able to actually just really play Poppy and play that moment and be in that moment I think also the sets really help for me the grandness and the intricacies of them are just so beautiful and they're sort of like evergo like Christian who's the setep designer is an absolute genius and you know his work deserves recognition for sure yeah well uh we are always blown away whenever we get to see like the visuals in the show and but of course um your Chemistry both of you it's just it's so so lovely and so wonderful um congratulations on the show thank you again so much for your time uh we've seen three episodes so far and of season two and we're really enjoying it um so what happens yeah yeah thank you so so much you guys next up we've got our interview with lean wadham and Lloyd Owen enjoy thank you for taking the time to chat with us on the geek Centric podcast how are you both doing today pretty good terrific yeah I haven't seen him for a long time so it's been good to have a bit of banter I'm a pleasure to be around pleasure to be stoked to be reunited with me feels good well uh it was fantastic getting to see both your characters grow and develop over season one we we both really enjoy the show um here in season two this time around uh Leon what is something that may be surprised about where we found your character in this part of their story um what you can say maybe I don't know if it was a surprise I think it was um maybe inevitable but I mean listen he made some big swings in season one and there were no consequences and so what he's learned from that is he can really take big Swings with very um limited repercussions so I think what we've seen between seasons is his dad has been running the shop while these guys have been off fighting a war that didn't go great and now he has a sense that rather than having to protect this thing he could lose there's all this power that is available that he hadn't even considered so this new Kem is hungry he wants more he wants more respect he wants more responsibility he wants more for himself and he's trying to get it as quickly as he can so I guess I should have seen that coming they always knew it was in there I mean toen was fascinated in the fall of men m by you know that kind of greed and what it does to people but getting to play it this season was a real pleasure yeah you can see that there's a sense of wanting to prove something from K's yeah desperately and wanting to do it maybe before he's earned it to seeing if he can force it right now Lloyd knowing the future of your character and where he ends up does that influence your performance of allenol it's a good question uh and I think inevit ly well there's two there's two things at play here one is there's you know I was 11 years old when I read The Hobbit right so I read that book so there's going to be an 11-year-old that's coming to watch rings of power so I have to remember that 11year old doesn't know anything about this story at all as well as as as those of us that do know this future and I think yeah look if you do if you do a uh you know my trainings in the theater if you do a play you get the whole script you you know what the beginning is and you know what the end is that's that's the tradition of the of the theater and of the actor is you know the whole story which means you can chart something out so I I like the fact that I do know that he has to become the leader of the last Alliance of elves and men and what's fascinating about that is is so so for those of us that know there's not going to be a surprise that that happens but for those of that don't know of course that will be brand new information but within that both both both those sort of polar views can can both both be served by this story because for those us that know it's like fascinating to watch like how is this leader made what are the circumstances what are the the challenges the moral challenges that the the the difficult choices he has to make that shape this man and I'm you know in discussions with JD and Patrick We're trying to you know how do you how do you how do you shape a fallible human being that's going to make errors he if if it's if it's toian like we were discussing and if it's about the fall of Man he's going to make the wrong choices his Pride's going to get in the way his ego is going to get in the way the sense of responsibility and what you see in season two is so much of that playing out there's there's love of family love of his daughter there's love of nation you know and then in between the middle of that there's his faith and all three can't all coexist together in this in this current story there has to be some Choice made and then perhaps it's the wrong choice perhaps you know for those of us that love elendil and have this hero archetyp in our mind but maybe maybe his attitude to his daughter is unloving maybe maybe the choice of faith is is seems a selfish choice because actually that's about the love of his daughter and so so we've got him in a very difficult position and it's an absolute joy to get the juice out of that as the actor and I and I just hope that you that you look at endo and you go there is a human being there is a man struggling that I recognize and that I I relat to that struggle of what it is to be human agree I totally agree with that yeah I mean both from him and his seal or uh especially with what we've seen this season getting a lot of uh Aragorn Vibes which you know makes sense uh so I I'm I'm loving it um Leon for yourself you know Kem is a brand new character to the Mythos of The Lord of the Rings and we get to explore the political side as you mentioned uh of this story through him and you yourself have mentioned in interviews how you went to University with a lot of people who were studying in politics have you connected with any of them uh since season one to make sure like get some feedback get some insight into the political side of Kem actually not since I hadn't thought about that I don't think anyone's I'm sure no one's mad at me I mean I just remember that ambition and that um proximity to power but not necessarily having it um and that was something I I yeah I definitely lent upon but I think um seeing what happens in season two I might get a few more calls no one said anything to me after season one awesome awesome well listen congrats on the series and thank you again for making the time to join us uh we've seen the first three episodes uh and we are very excited to see the rest of the season and and see what your characters get up to so thank you so much it's a fun ride enjoy it awesome have a good one guys and finally our interview with Benjamin Walker and Robert arameo hey Robert hey Ben my name's Justin and I'm Nate thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us on the geekcentric podcast how are you both doing today good doing great yeah it look like are you guys Toronto Toronto Toronto cool great town oh we dig it we dig it um we're also digging this season uh really enjoying it uh we've gotten to see three episodes so far and you know it was it was fantastic getting to see your characters grow and develop over season one uh Ben I I'd love to start with you this time around in season two is there anything that maybe surprised you uh about where we find your character in this part of the story um I love the idea that these semi omniscient beings are caught off guard that we have you know especially Gil gallad this this Myst almost mysterious gift of foresight and in spite of that uh evil has just sprouted right under their noses um uh I'm also excited Gil gallad you know he's he's he's he's two-sided you know this kind of peacetime conary um and but also we know from the books that he's he's um he's a warrior he has he has experienced the cyclical nature of the resurrection of evil right and um we get to start taking the first strides toward the wartime General uh as the season progresses which is exciting I like that I love that I love that now Robert we're we're loving what you're doing with Alon in this series and we also loved what Hugo weaving brought to the in the original films you know in this season getting to explore Elon even further uh was there any aspects of Hugo's portrayal that you kind of wanted to layer into your performance or with this series taking place so much earlier did you just feel a a sense of freedom to define the character at this specific point totally yeah yeah yeah I I I mean there there's um there a long way to go before the Council of el Rond and um and uh uh where he is in the third age um so I am really interested in in in a younger El rund someone who is not who doesn't have um the the wisdom or the skill yet um uh I you know I didn't want him to be an elf who could go and kick Gil gallad but you know um either I I wanted him to to you know to to not possess that level of skill yet um and his diplomacy is served him well but Sauron changes everything um because you now can't trust your own even your own Council and so it's sort of um it's a complicated time so I was I was really intrigued to explore what it is to be half Elven um and if season one is half human it's half Elven this would be Elin and half human in these circumstances um I think that's a that's that Duality is an interesting way to explore him yeah I love that that's and you can see that even in the first three episodes we we're seeing that kind of unfold and unraveled so that's great uh Ben you know we get to hear gilad uh singing in these first few episodes what's it like getting to explore the musical element of Elven Culture by the way you did a great job sounded amazing uh but uh but what's that like what's that like getting to sing in the show well it's quintessentially Tolan the the elves are bursting into song you know every other page and uh you know over the Reflection In The Water let's think about it so it was a matter of time uh before we got some uh music jammed in there and also it's an important storytelling moment for where the elves are we're abandoning Middle Earth to to burn as we sail off into the sunset like I uh it's a bear mccre has written this almost uh F ferial durge of mourning and loss and disappointment and failure um that in some ways it felt like an obvious and inevitable narrative moment progression of the narrative um but on the other hand uh it was certainly uh you have to pinch yourself I can't believe this is my job moment oh yeah awesome that's fantastic well congrats again on this series uh thank you for making the time like we said we've only seen three episodes but we're loving what we've what we've seen so far and we're definitely looking forward to seeing more and what your characters get up to so thank you thanks guys awesome have a good one