The Lord of the Rings: Halbrand star Charlie Vickers didn’t know he was playing Sauron

In the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” the charismatic southerner Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) turns out to be Sauron, much to Galadriel’s (Morfydd Clark) shock. While many fans suspected from the beginning that Halbrand could be Sauron, not even the actor knew what role he was playing.

In our exclusive interview with actor Charlie Vickers, he reveals that he didn’t know that Halbrand’s true identity would be that of the Dark Lord until the third episode.

I didn’t know until the third episode of season 1. I have two episodes long – wait, I’m not in the first [Episode zu sehen]but in the second – and I didn’t know it, [dass ich Sauron bin] when we shot the raft scene with Galadriel.

Charlie Vickers

The raft scene in episode 2 marks the first scene with Halbrand and his first encounter with Galadriel. After jumping from an Elven ship bound for Valinor, Galadriel drifts through the waters and eventually comes across a raft with some humans, including Halbrand.

In the scene, Halbrand even greets Galadriel with a Galadriel quote from Tolkien’s books: “The stream of fate flows on.” A little suspicious of the elf, she is let onto the raft. From then on, Halbrand begins his manipulation to win Galadriel over.

It remains unclear what event in the third episode led to Charlie Vickers being informed of his role’s true identity. The series makers probably did not want to arouse suspicion in the first scene and were afraid that Vickers’ acting might give too much away if he knew from the start that he was playing Sauron.

While Vickers was already informed of his character’s true identity in episode 3, fans only received official confirmation in the final episode of the first season, despite numerous theories. In season 2, Sauron’s identity is no longer a secret, only Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is still in the dark.

Will Sauron get support in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2? Ciarán Hinds’ role was revealed in a new character poster. The Oscar-nominated actor plays a man with a long, black and white beard and bushy eyebrows that are reminiscent of Saruman. In an interview with the series creator, he provides clues that it is really Saruman.

On August 29, 2024, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 will start in Amazon Prime Video’s new releases program with three episodes at once. The remaining five episodes will then be released weekly, one episode per week.