The Lord of the Rings: Enemies in the series, friends in real life – exclusive interview with Sauron and Celebrimbor

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER

31 August 2024 at 19:00

For the start of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2, we spoke exclusively with stars Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor) and Charlie Vickers (Sauron).

The Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power: Watch now❯

The first three episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 have been released on Amazon Prime Video and one of the most exciting stories in the new episodes revolves around Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). The Dark Lord seduces Celebrimbor to forge the eponymous rings.

While Celebrimbor is initially deceived, the elf will increasingly realize that he is being deceived. We spoke exclusively with the two actors in the roles and gained some interesting insights into Sauron’s manipulation strategies and how the rings work.

Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards in an exclusive interview with Netzwelt

Networld: I’m happy to see you here and I’m especially excited that you have a great dynamic not only in front of the camera, but behind it too. Did your friendship develop after you shot so many scenes together or were you already that close beforehand?

Edwards: I mean, we met five or four years ago…

Vickers: An eternity ago!

Edwards: And as a cast, as you probably know, it all started in New Zealand, we quickly became a very close-knit group. It was just a wonderful time and when you’re away from home for so long, you become friends with the people you work with.

But we also approached each other because we knew where the story would go.

Vickers: We knew it was inevitable that we would spend a lot of time together because of the story.

Edwards: When I first met Charlie, it was at a party. And I said, “Hi, I’m Charlie.” And he said, “Yes, I’m Charlie too.” I said, “I think we’re going to do a lot of things together.” And he said, “Yes, I think we are.” And that was long before the revelation [, dass Halbrand Sauron ist].

Vickers: Nobody in the cast knew at the time that I was Sauron, only he had heard the whispers.

Networld: Did you know from the beginning that you would play Sauron?

Vickers: No, I didn’t know until the third episode of season 1. I have been watching two episodes – wait, I’m not in the first [Episode zu sehen]but in the second – and I didn’t know it when we shot the raft scene with Galadriel.

Which is funny because we come full circle with that scene in the prologue of season 2. It’s a direct connection to the raft scene. That was very interesting because we had to recreate the whole set and the moment, this time in a small water tank in a studio in England.

And we had to try to recreate the exact moment from Season 1. That was a challenge. Bad flashbacks came because we [für Staffel 1] were on this raft for weeks.

Edwards: That must be strange to do.

Vickers: Yes, very strange. And it’s edited in such a way that it leads directly into the moment.

Edwards: Did you run the scene from the first season in parallel and watch it as a reference?

Vickers: Yes, they showed me a screenshot and I had to sit exactly like in the scene.

Edwards: Crazy!

Networld: That sounds cool. My next question is about Sauron’s seduction. In the first season, you seduce Galadriel and make her believe your lies and deceptions and there’s a little bit of that sexual tension as well.

In the new episodes you seduce Celebrimbor to forge the rings. Are you also relying on a certain sexual tension?

Vickers: I think all the tension is about the work. Many of the scenes are very emotional and intimate, but it’s always about the creation of this idea that will change Middle Earth. It all comes from this idea of ​​power not over the body but over the mind.

And I meet him [zeigt auf Celebrimbor-Schauspieler Charles Edwards] and he can make that happen for me. I think this whole relationship is based on this idea of ​​inspiration and creativity.

Edwards: And that is also absolutely intense. And it gets physical, I mean, not in that way, but it gets physical…

Vickers: Literally!

Edwards: Yes! But that’s also the energy, because they’re both so passionate, almost insane, about what they do. That’s what we have here.

Networld: Do you think that Celebrimbor knows deep down that something is wrong and he simply wants to follow his passion at a high price or is he really completely deceived by Sauron?

Edwards: When Sauron presents himself to Celebrimbor as Annatar and steps out of the flames, it is a huge moment that changes a lot of things. Up until then he was just Halfrand, whom he was told to avoid. He was warned about Halfrand, but then Halfrand says that he is not actually Halfrand, but presents him with a new “truth”.

At this moment, Celebrimbor falls to his knees and surrenders himself to Annatar to guide him. At the time, he believes that Annatar is a messenger of good, someone who helps and is benevolent. This changes later, but at first he thinks he is working on something important and honorable.

But that’s not to say he doesn’t have problems with his pride and ambition, which of course is a godsend for Sauron. But yes, his perspective changes over the course of the season.

Networld: The next question is for you Charlie, I know that Tolkien portrays Sauron as pure evil. But how does that feel to you? Do you think Sauron has a genuine admiration for Celebrimbor or is he just taking advantage of him?

Vickers: No, there is certainly a great appreciation for Celebrimbor. Even though Sauron represents evil in this story, I don’t think it’s useful to approach the role that way. Celebrimbor is a master of his craft, whose mentor was Aule – that Valar, that god! – and he was a blacksmith.

So there is this great appreciation of excellence and perfection that has been in Sauron since the beginning. And Celebrimbor is the epitome of that in this age! He is the greatest artist of his time and I think Sauron has great admiration for him, which is why he asks him to forge the Rings with him.

He knows Celebrimbor is the only one who can do this and it is sincere when he says, “You are the only person I can do this with.”

Networld: This is a question for the creators of the rings, who are Celebrimbor and Sauron. In the first episodes we see that Círdan can move fish with the ring, …

Edwards: I love the scene!

Networld: And I would like to know how the magic of the Rings of Power works, can you give us some information?

Edwards: I think what they’re doing is enhancing the qualities that the Ringbearers already bring with them. I think that’s a step in the right direction. It’s a little hard to categorize.

Vickers: I think it’s important that Tolkien never really described a scientific mechanism for how these rings work.

Edwards: There is no recipe. When we made them, we didn’t say, a spoonful of this and a spoonful of that… There is no such thing and we didn’t try to show it, I think.

That would destroy the mystery. But then I think, in the case of the elves, for example, they amplify their life energy. For other peoples, it has different effects.

Vickers: And I think the way the show conveys this story, and this is book canon, is that Sauron’s influence over the rings is growing. So the three Elven rings are not corrupted because even though I was there, I had no part in their creation.

I had already left Eregion by the time they were forged. And as the series progresses, we’ll see that I play a very active role in the creation of the Dwarven Rings and then, as the series continues, the Human Rings!

Edwards: I can’t wait to see this!

Vickers: Without giving away any spoilers, but I have more… – let me say, I bring more of my personality into it! The corruption increases with each ring. And people are also the easiest to corrupt.

It is a mix of the typical characteristics of the ethnic groups and the influence of the Dark Lord in the creation of the rings.

Edwards: It is a mix of the magic that lies dormant in each individual. My magic is to tease out the good in people. And then he over there [zeigt auf Charlie Vickers] still a little something in the mix.

Vickers: And I make these rings with the idea that maybe… I could forge another ring, one to find them all, to drive them into the darkness and bind them forever! [Er lacht finster und bricht danach gemeinsam mit Charles Edwards in Lachen aus.]

Networld: Oh yes, I’m looking forward to it!

The next episode will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video on September 5, 2024 at 9 a.m. The second season consists of eight episodes in total. Work is already underway on “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 3.