New Line CinemaWith production on Amazon’s highly anticipated Lord of the Rings TV series set to begin next month, the company has at long last unveiled its main cast.
The cast members were revealed in a lengthy thread on social media on Tuesday, January 14, having already been announced at a Television Critics Association (TCA) event, where TV networks were previewing upcoming shows.
Among the 15 cast members revealed were Game of Thrones actors Robert Aramayo, who portrayed a young Ned Stark, and Joseph Mawle, who played Benjen Stark.
ShutterstockOther actors joining the cast include Owain Arthur (A Confession), Nazanin Boniadi (Bombshell), Tom Budge (The Proposition), Morfydd Clark (Dracula), and Ema Horvath (The Gallows Act II), the company said.
The Undoing‘s Ismael Cruz Córdova, The Cry‘s Markella Kavenagh, Birdsong‘s Joseph Mawle, Caravan‘s Tyroe Muhafidin, Wanderlust‘s Megan Richards, I Am The Night‘s Dylan Smith, Medici: Masters of Florence‘s Charlie Vickers, and A Very English Scandal‘s Daniel Weyman were also confirmed, as was stage actor Sophia Nomvete.
PAShowrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said in a statement, via Entertainment Weekly:
After undertaking an extensive global search, we are delighted finally to reveal the first group of brilliant performers who will take part in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series.
These exceptionally talented women and men are more than just our actors: they are the newest members of an ever-expanding creative family that is now working tirelessly to bring Middle-earth to life anew for fans and audiences worldwide.
A grand journey is defined by its travelers. Meet the first members of our fellowship. #LOTRonPrime. A THREAD.
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) January 14, 2020
Last month, the producers of the TV series started casting for extras from a pool of nearly 5 million people, advertising for people to come forward with ‘character faces‘.
BGT Actors Models and Talent, an Auckland-based casting agency, turned to social media to find New Zealanders to fill out the cast, and had some pretty specific requirements. Locals who were less than 1.5 metres tall, or over 1.95 metres were in high demand, as were people with ‘wrinkles and lots of them’ and ‘circus performers who can juggle [and] stilt walk’.
Their demands didn’t stop there though, with one advertisement reading: ‘HAIR HAIR HAIR — if you have natural red hair, white hair, or lots and lots of freckles’.
New Line CinemaThe TV adaptation will explore new storylines preceding JRR Tolkien’s the Fellowship of the Ring, the first instalment in the trilogy.
The series still has a ‘few key roles left to cast’, Amazon’s co-head of television Vernon Sanders told The Guardian. Though we have cast members, the company did not reveal details about the roles the actors would play or the storylines.
The TV series is expected to cost NZ $1.3 billion, making it the most expensive television show ever made.
So, you know, no pressure there.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).