A serial killer, a vampire hunter, and a friend of Mr. Bean.
The cast of "The Rings of Power" have a fascinating history on TV and film.
One of the first characters cast for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" was
Tar-Míriel , with American actor Cynthia Addai-Robinson landing the role.
The rightful heir to the throne of Númenor in Tolkien's work, she is mentioned in both
"Unfinished Tales" and "The Silmarillion."
Following the death of her father, Tar-Míriel should have become the leader of the Númenóreans,
but she was usurped by Ar-Pharazôn when he forcefully married her and took the throne
for himself.
The character in the television show appears to be slightly different from Tolkien's version,
as she has been described as Queen-Regent of Númenor.
Addai-Robinson is a pretty well-known television star, having appeared in several high-profile
shows over the years.
She played Naevia in the historical drama series "Spartacus," and DC fans will no doubt
recognize her as Amanda Waller from The CW's "Arrow."
The actor had a recurring role in "Chicago Med," playing Dr. Vicki Glass, and she also
appeared as Nadine Memphis in "Shooter."
She's also been nominated for two Women's Image Network Awards for her performance in
the History Channel miniseries "Texas Rising."
Elrond is one of the characters in "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" who was
also present in Peter Jackson's film trilogy.
The character, portrayed by British actor Robert Aramayo, plays a central part in the
Second Age of Middle-earth, during which he helped lead the Last Alliance of Elves and
Men against Sauron in battle with Elendil and Gil-galad.
The Amazon show deals with Elrond's traumatic past during a time when he was much younger,
long before he founded Rivendell.
Aramayo studied at New York's Juilliard School before he was cast in "Harley and the Davidsons"
in 2016, playing the titular Bill Harley for three parts of the television miniseries.
That same year, Aramayo was cast as the young Eddard Stark in "Game of Thrones."
He was seen fighting the Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy to free his sister in a flashback
during Season 6.
He also played Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. in "Mindhunter" on Netflix.
Although he only appears very briefly in "The Lord of the Rings" films during flashbacks,
Isildur is arguably one of the most important characters in the history of Middle-earth.
During the final battle with Sauron at the end of the Second Age, Isildur defeated the
Dark Lord but decided against destroying the One Ring.
Maxim Baldry plays this vital character in the Amazon show.
The actor has revealed that Isildur will be a vulnerable character in the first season,
due to the loss of his mother and his fraught relationship with his father.
Baldry remains relatively unknown in the acting world, though he's been around for quite some
time.
His first onscreen roles were in 2007 when he landed parts in the epic TV series "Rome"
and the comedy film "Mr. Bean's Holiday."
In 2016, Baldry became a series regular on the soap opera "Hollyoaks," playing Liam Donovan.
He’s also had recent roles in the likes of "Years and Years," "Doctor Who," and "Last
Christmas."
Bronwyn is an entirely new creation for the show.
Played by Nazanin Boniadi, this human character seemingly hails from the Southern lands of
Middle-earth.
These areas are not well described in any of Tolkien's writing and so any action there
is likely to feature brand new individuals who are not part of the canon of the literary
works.
Boniadi has been a regular fixture on television screens for many years.
After making her debut in the film "Gameface" in 2007, she popped up as a reporter in "Iron
Man" and landed a regular role in "General Hospital" for over a hundred episodes.
By 2011, the actor had become a recurring character on "How I Met Your Mother," in which
she played Nora.
In Tolkien's fantasy world, Galadriel is possibly the most powerful of all Elves by the time
"The Lord of the Rings" takes place.
While the character is much younger in "The Rings of Power," she's still a formidable
force.
The younger Galadriel plays a more physical role in the fight against evil, wearing armor
as opposed to the flowing white robes she's known for.
"You have not seen what I’ve seen."
According to Clark herself, she fainted shortly after she found out she had been cast as the
famous character.
Clark has had a varied acting career, despite being a relative newcomer.
Her first credits came in 2014 when she had roles in the television miniseries "New Worlds"
and the movie "The Falling."
She appeared in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" in 2016, and later had a recurring role in
"His Dark Materials," playing Sister Clara in four episodes.
More recently, she plied her trade in the BBC's "Dracula," a miniseries from the minds
of "Sherlock" co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
Although he doesn't appear much in the novels, Celebrimbor is still an important figure in
"The Lord of the Rings."
Played by Charles Edwards in Amazon's adaptation, he is an Elf and descendent of Fëanor, a
master Elven craftsman who created the Silmarils.
He's known for forging the three Rings of Power and the second Elfstone.
Celebrimbor's close alliance with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and his relationship with Elrond
are likely to be vital to "The Rings of Power" going forward.
Edwards will be recognizable to anyone who has watched "Downton Abbey."
He played the editor of the London magazine "The Sketch" and had a romantic relationship
with Lady Edith Crawley throughout the fourth season of the show.
Before that he portrayed Michael Palin in the television movie "Holy Flying Circus"
and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in "Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes."
The husband of Tar-Míriel and the last King of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn is a legendary figure
in the mythology of "The Lord of the Rings."
Following advice from the Dark Lord, Ar-Pharazôn set sail to attack Valinor, resulting in Eru,
who is essentially God in Tolkien's world, sinking his massive fleet and plunging Númenor
into the sea.
Trystan Gravelle plays the character in the Amazon series.
Over the years, Gravelle has become a familiar face in the United Kingdom.
His earliest role was in the television series "Chosen," but his big breakthrough came in
2013 when he was cast as Victor Colleano in "Mr. Selfridge."
He played that role for some 34 episodes before taking a part in the E4 miniseries "The Aliens."
More recently, he has appeared in television shows such as "The Terror," "Baptiste," "Exile,"
and "A Discovery of Witches."
Arondir is a character from "The Rings of Power" that fans of the original books will
be unfamiliar with.
That's because he's a brand new creation for the show rather than someone who appears in
Tolkien's work.
A Silvan Elf, he travels to the Southern Lands and eventually comes to the village of Tirharad
where he meets and falls in love with Bronwyn.
It's a forbidden love, but one that both he and Bronwyn are willing to fight for.
A native of Puerto Rico, Ismael Cruz Córdova first came to the public's attention when
he portrayed Mando on "Sesame Street."
In 2016, he portrayed Hector Campos in the television series "Ray Donovan" and then had
a role in the 2017 show "The Catch" as The Hammer.
The following year he was cast as Rafael Torres in the drama series "Berlin Station."
Fans of the "Star Wars" franchise may recognize him from "The Mandalorian," in which he portrayed
the Twi'lek mercenary Qin.
Sadoc Burrows, played by Lenny Henry, is another new character introduced in the world of "The
Lord of the Rings" in the Amazon series.
A Harfoot, one of the three types of Hobbit in Middle-earth, Burrows is part of a nomadic
tribe that moves around avoiding contact with men to steer clear of any conflict.
"The skies are strange."
Starting his career as a stand-up comedian, Henry was one of the most influential Black
comics in Britain during the 1980s.
He was so successful that he was given his own series in the form of "The Lenny Henry
Show" in 1984.
Making his Shakespeare debut in 2009, he was praised by critics for his performance as
Othello.
Henry is also well known for being one of the co-founders of Comic Relief, a charity
that has raised millions for good causes.
Elendil is a pivotal figure in the history of Middle-earth as one of the few survivors
of the downfall of Númenor.
Leading the rest of the living Númenóreans to Middle-earth, he founded the kingdoms of
Arnor and Gondor and is the direct ancestor of Aragorn as High King of the Dúnedain.
Elendil was an enemy of Sauron and led the forces of men against him in the War of the
Last Alliance with Gil-galad and his Elves.
He's portrayed by Lloyd Owen in the Amazon show.
A veteran of television and film, Owen's first major role came in "The Young Indiana Jones
Chronicles," where he played a younger Professor Henry Jones Sr. Following this, he played
Adam in the comedy series "Get Real" throughout 1998 and had roles in several British shows,
such as "Casualty" and "Wire in the Blood."
He is probably best known for his part as Paul Bowman in "Monarch of the Glen."
Elanor Brandyfoot, better known by her nickname Nori, is a Harfoot played by Australian actor
Markella Kavenagh.
A new character who doesn't appear in the books, she is featured briefly in teaser trailers
for "The Rings of Power," inspecting a meteorite landing in an area inhabited by Harfoots.
One of the youngest members of the cast, Kavenagh had only a handful of credits to her name
when she joined the Amazon show.
She played Cindi in "Romper Stomper" in 2018, and she followed that up with recurring appearances
in "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and "The Cry."
She portrayed Daisy Hart in the Australian supernatural thriller "The Gloaming," and
she has had film roles in "True History of the Kelly Gang," "My First Summer," and "Furlough."
Eärien is another non-canonical character in terms of Tolkien's works.
Played by Ema Horvath, she's a Númenórean and will play a prominent role as the daughter
of Elendil.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Horvath described her as a determined woman
who is "still quite insecure and naïve about the way the world works."
Her name can be translated to Daughter of the Sea from the Elvish language Quenya.
Her first role came in "Like.Share.Follow." in 2017, followed by parts in "The Gallows
Act II" and "The Mortuary Collection."
She is perhaps best known for her role in the television series "Don't Look Deeper,"
where she portrayed Jenny for 11 episodes.
More recently, she starred in the 2020 horror film "What Lies Below."
Award-winning actor Peter Mullan plays Durin III in "The Rings of Power."
Although it's never established that he's the father of Durin IV in Tolkien's writings,
that is the case in the show, which caused some controversy among readers.
A King of Durin's Folk, he was given one of the seven Dwarf Rings and possessed the greatest
of them.
His ring was provided directly by Celebrimbor rather than Sauron and it would remain with
his family for thousands of years.
"Beyond the darkness.
Temping shadow.
To bury us all beneath the mountain."
As one of the oldest members of the cast, Mullan also has one of the longest careers
in acting.
Beginning in the late '80s, the Scottish actor appeared in films like "Riff-Raff" and "Shallow
Grave" before landing parts in "Trainspotting" and "Braveheart."
He's perhaps best known for his turn in 1998's "My Name Is Joe," winning the award for best
actor at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
Recently, he's appeared as James Delos in HBO's "Westworld."
As played by Benjamin Walker in "The Rings of Power," Gil-galad is an Elven king.
Known as the Lord of Eriador and the High King of the Elves of the West, he is a hugely
important figure and an influential character in the world of Middle-earth.
In Tolkien's works, he plays a significant part in defeating Sauron as one of the leaders
of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
His first role came in the Liam Neeson film "Kinsey," where he portrayed a teenage version
of the title character.
The actor then went on to have roles in movies such as "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"
and "In the Heart of the Sea."
However, he is probably most recognizable for his role in Netflix's Marvel series "Jessica
Jones" as the character Erik.
In 2022, he portrayed Captain Yves in "The King's Daughter."