At each stage in a production, your perception changes.
So, for example, the first stage is the casting.
It's only when you really start to cast that you start to get a feel
of the potential of the show.
To start with the young cast,
we looked at hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of people to try
to find an ensemble that would really work together.
It was a very exciting process,
actually putting those five leads from the Two Rivers together.
Kelly Valentine Hendry, who is our casting director
has done the most extraordinary job literally from all over the world.
We have Maddie, who is Australian of Aboriginal descent.
We have Zoë Robins from New Zealand,
and Daniel Henney has Korean ancestry.
We have sort of this
amazing sort of global footprint, I think, with our central cast.
When I was auditioning for this, they kept all the names secret.
It felt like it was a big character in the stories,
but when I looked for the name, I couldn't find it.
I didn't have any context, basically, only that it was the Wheel of Time.
And then I got the part and I said, “OK, so who am I playing?”
And they told me, “Well, you're playing Rand al’Thor.”
and I was like, “Holy [expletive].”
We had this one chemistry read that was magic.
Josha would come in and he would read with one actress
and then another actress in another, and Maddie came in
and they looked at each other and made eye contact.
I was like, “Oh my God, it's them!”
And they from the beginning just had a spark and a magic.
Rafe told me the character that I was auditioning for,
and I had to kind of double take who Egwene was because I was like,
Oh my Lord, that is like a, you know, one of the series leads.
So I was like, OK, this is a huge job.
I remember when I got cast a dude I was living with was a big fan.
At the time, I didn't know the character's name.
I think I was like reading like Peter or something.
He's like, “Oh, wait, you mean like Perrin, are you playing Perrin?”
And I was like, “Yeah, maybe he's like a blacksmith.” and he was just like “What!”
And just like, went crazy.
And he's obviously just been, he'd been following it online,
so I knew straight away that this was like something
that a lot of people have been anticipating.
We wanted a Lan who could stand up to Moiraine,
and who could have that very physical presence and could say a lot
without saying much because Lan is very much the strong, silent character.
And Daniel does all that, we were very, very lucky to get him.
I grew up as a typical American kid playing in the backyard of your house
with a stick for a sword, learning all the moves from King Arthur
and Sir Lancelot, and trying to save the princess from the castle.
But as a little, I got to be honest as a young Asian kid
transitioning into an actor, unfortunately, the dream
of playing that role, the hero that saves the princess
kind of went away. Because you become relegated
to roles like sidekicks, computer geeks, the martial arts guy.
And I was adamant in my career not to go that direction, to fight against it.
But it was it was tough, you know?
So I never really thought that I would have a chance.
It's very surreal to think that I'm sitting here,
you know, playing him, it's a dream come true, to be honest with you.
When you're casting Moiraine, that was everything for us was finding
someone who has that presence and that ability to change
any space that she walks into and has the acting chops
to pull off everything else Moiraine has to do on top of that.
I worked with Rosamund Pike on a movie we did together called Beirut,
and the character of Moiraine was a really perfect fit,
I think, for the body of work that she had had up until now.
And I think this is the kind of
culmination of a lot of those iconic roles that she's played in the past
and was able to talk to her about it and when she signed on
we were just thrilled.
I read the script and I was
captivated by this character who kind of seemed like the guide
figure that you might find like Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, somebody who arrives,
a stranger comes to town.
She's mysterious, which, I think, you know that I'm very drawn to.
And that was very intriguing to me to be that person who you don't know
whether to trust or to be wary of
Rosamond lights every scene she's in on fire.
Because you have this presence in the room
that everyone has to either orient themselves toward or around.
She brings that even to the cast
when she walks in the room, everyone lifts.
You know, you really feel her her presence both behind the camera
and in front of it.
I remember the first time we met her for rehearsals,
and we all kind of like, she entered the room
and we all kind of stood up like she was the queen or something,
and then we were just like, “What are we doing?”
Like, we awkwardly sit down.
And so that was definitely a funny moment, but
she's honestly just like a huge goofball and a lot of fun.
Rosamund and Daniel have been perfect for Moiraine and Lan.
We've been so lucky to have them be so invested in the show,
but also in our lives as young people, you know, working away from home
and in a different country away from our families.
They've really stepped up and showed us so much love and guidance.
They're light years ahead of where I was at their age.
They are so good at what they do.
I'm very thankful for that. They're so mature.
Moiraine's job as a guide really in this first season
is to take a group of doubting young men
and women and to take them on a journey that will change them forever.
Full of metaphors this world.