Sauron is obviously such an iconic figure in Tolkien lore. This season, we’re gonna get to see Sauron
out in the open, making everything happen. Who is this man? He is no man. He is Sauron. Hello everybody, and welcome to the show. I am joined by two actors whose characters couldn’t be more opposite, welcome Benjamin Walker, who play High
King Gil-Galad and Charlie Vickers, aka Sauron. This is nice. Thank you. Benjamin, how did it feel to put these elf ears back on? It feels like comin’ home. I know that sounds goony. But we are such a nice group of people, we’ve known each other so long that bringing the band back together is a, a breath of fresh air. Here we are back in Lindon, and one
of the great things about a new season is having new characters, brilliant actors to portray them, like this one. Mr. Ben Daniels. Hello. A lot happens in the first season. But the second season, it really feels like the gloves come off. And, if you know the source material, you know we got a lot of ground to cover. Charlie, what was it like for you stepping back into Halbrand’s shoes now that your true identity is out there? It’s a pretty special feeling. I mean, for me, it’s quite different because I’m sort of
coming back as almost a different character. That sequence that spans many years
showing Sauron recovering from Adar’s betrayal, rebuilding his physical form, and finally, intersecting with Galadriel in the flashback to Season 1. What did you think about that being like the opening? When they first pitched me the idea, I think they called it a blob. - And it’s not, it’s not really...
- No, it’s so much... - It’s more like a collection of, of worms.
- more sinister. To have that whole prologue bit tell the backstory of Sauron was really special to see. But it’s also like the characteristics of it are
kind of beautiful, dark, sinister and vicious. Did you have a movement coach when you were the wormy blob? Oh, yeah, yeah. It took me many, you know,
many, many weeks training that. The thing that I always was trying to do was just to try to play every moment genuine with Halbrand. And everything else was kind of there in the writing. Because if you’re kind of winking at the
camera, or like twirling your moustache, you start to think, “Oh there’s something going on here.” But it’s, I like that, on second rewatch you can see that there’s layers to it. You pushed me to heights that no one else could have. I will never forget that. And I’ll see to it that no one else does either. Sauron left Galadriel behind. But she was really his partner in a lot of ways. I mean, even in my mind, I’m like, oh, there was a genuine connection between you and Galadriel. But, was there? - Yeah!
- It’s always mind games with you. I think any person that he works with is all for his own benefit. So he worked with Galadriel because, I think he
thought that she could give him something. She could provide him a lightness to his darkness. You know, we joke about his most basic form of the blobbiness. Yeah. But he’s parasitic in that like, anything that comes by, if he can use it, he’s gonna take it. Elrond just informed me your companion, this Halbrand, was not who he claimed, yet you chose to
withhold this from him and Celebrimbor. Who is this man? He is Sauron. - Grach...
- Gil-Galad handles Galadriel’s revelation that Halbrand is Sauron in a really awesome way. It’s kinda like this throat noise, like... - Oh yeah...
- I’ve been asked this before. It, it, I’m actually saying an Elvish word. I, I want people to start using it. - I use it, I use it at home, like,
- Grach! “Ah, grach!” Grach! How do you think that revelation changes
your character’s dynamic with Galadriel? I mean, they just keep messin’ up. You can only tell people what they should do so many times. Well, Elrond takes the ring - and then does that cliff, okay
- Oh, gosh! What a tantrum! No, grach! Grach! What’s great is that everyone has a point of view and it’s justified. There’s nobody who’s really in the wrong, it’s just a very complicated situation. When it’s first created, you don’t actually know what it is. It’s like Oppenheimer. You’ve created
something that you don’t fully understand. And so it is that complicated, and dangerous. And it’s why he’s so cranky all the time. - Cranky, brooding.
- Grach! - Brooding. Gil-Gadaddy.
- Brooding! Gil-Gadaddy! Oh, gosh! Did you look that up on the internet? - No! Um, but it was sent to me.
- What does it mean? We don’t have to talk about what it means. We–I’d rather not. Light of the Eldar has faded. Its coals too long removed from the hearth. You had a song in this episode. You were actually quite amazing. - Oh, thanks!
- Are you a trained singer? Yeah, I’m, I’m a song and dance man. When I saw that our High King was going to sing in Elvish to mark the moment where his people are leaving Middle-earth, I’m not sure if there was a more Tolkienian thing to do at that moment. [Singing Elvish] The song is a funeral dirge, and it’s that kind of
song about the passing of time and loss. At this point, we’re kind of accepting doom. We have to leave and return to Valinor and
abandon Middle-earth to its own devices. It’s unique because it’s in Elvish, that’s a first for me. But Bear wrote the music, and Leith
McPherson’s our voice and speech genius, so I mean, I felt really supported. When the set design is so vast, how
immersive does a scene like that feel for you? Is it easier, or harder to act? I, I think it’s easy. I think that’s the beauty of working on something like this because there’s so many hours of craftsmanship
and so much dedication put in from the crew. You get to walk onto these sets that just do half the job for you. This one turned itself in, Lord Father. Can you talk about some of those scenes at the camp? One of them comes to mind when Sauron has his face in the dirt. I remember it really well. We were in a tiny little set where where you could hardly stand up. And I had a, the chain around my neck was like a proper chain. That moment when I lie down, I remember we did a few variations of it with Charlotte, because I say... I vow to serve the Lord of Mordor. In that moment Adar thinks, “Oh, sweet.
Yeah, he’s swearing allegiance to me.” But I’m like, “No...” It’s actually a bit of an oversight from Adar, really. Yeah, he took his eye of the ball. - But there is something in that scene...
- He gets what’s coming to him. Yeah, where I think that, and Sam and I spent a long time talking about it, where there’s almost an acknowledgement
that Adar knows that Halbrand is Sauron. Because in the opening scene, you see their
relationship. And there’s, there’s almost this kind of supernatural connection between them
that they must understand each other on another level. You can’t kill me. In time, you will beg me to. Do you feel bad that you got everybody to crush on you as Halbrand, and now you’ve revealed yourself to be absolutely the worst. Do you feel guilty, at all? - Yeah, but there’s still something exciting...
- I think that’s a good lesson to learn. Be careful, don’t get sucked in by pretty faces. Well, thank you so much, both of you, - for joining us.
- Thank you.
-Thank you, Felicia. - Yeah, thank you so much.
- Thank you. Thanks, guys! Thanks, everyone! That’s it for this episode. Seven more epic
episodes of The Rings of Power to go. And here, on Inside the Rings of Power,
more inside information and special guests I can’t wait. Join us again, after you watch the next
episode of The Rings of Power on Prime Video. This is only the beginnin’!