The Rings of Power: Meet the cast and characters of Prime Video’s epic Lord of the Rings TV series

TV shows don’t come bigger than this.

Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, based on the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien, has been one of the most highly anticipated TV events of all time.

Set in Middle-earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines set thousands of years before the events in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and his first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Expect to learn how the Rings of Power were created, how relationships between men, elves and dwarves led to war across Middle-earth and how the Dark Lord Sauron established his grip across the land of Mordor.

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies grossed nearly $6bn worldwide and won 17 Academy Awards. The book was voted the book of the millennium by Amazon customers and named Britain’s best-loved novel in the BBC’s Big Read. 

The epic fantasy series was finally unveiled on 2 September 2022, when the first two episodes were released. One more episode will be released at 2am UK time every Friday until the series finale arrives on 14 October.  

From Men to Harfoots and Elves to Dwarves, here's our guide to the huge cast of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and the characters they play.

Quick links: Men | Elves | Dwarves | Harfoots

The Race of Men

The men and women of Middle-earth are a lot - perhaps too much - like our own human race. Men can be brave and loyal but their ultimate weakness, driven by their mortality, is a desire for power that, as we will discover in The Rings of Power, can end up harming everyone and everything they hold dear.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson plays Queen Regent Míriel

Míriel is Queen Regent of the island kingdom of Númenor. Although she is the rightful heir, her cousin Pharazôn forces her to marry him in order to take the reins of power.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson has recently appeared in the Starz series Power and has also been in The Vampire Diaries, Flash Forward and Ben Afleck’s The Accountant.

Trystan Gravelle plays Pharazôn

The ambitious Pharazôn is the cousin of Queen Regent Míriel who forces her to marry him against her will. His hunger for wealth and glory will trigger a mighty war and aid the rise of Sauron.

Trystan Gravelle's TV credits include The Terror, National Treasure, A Discovery of Witches, Baptiste and Quiz.

Lloyd Owen plays Elendil

Elendil, whose name means 'The Elf-Friend', is a sea-faring Númenórean warrior and father to Isildur and Eärien. 

Lloyd Owen's TV and film credits include Miss Potter, Wonderwell, Apollo 18, Monarch of the Glen, and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Maxim Baldry plays Isildur

Isildur, son of Elendil, plays a significant role in the saga of the One Ring, and was featured in flashback in Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings film The Fellowship of the Ring. 

Maxim Baldry played Viktor in Russell T Davies' BBC series Years and Years and his previous screen credits include Skins, Mr Bean’s Holiday, Last Christmas and Strike Back.

Ema Horvath plays Eärien

The character of Eärien - whose name means 'Daughter of the Sea' has been created for The Rings of Power. She is the daughter of the Númenórean Elendil and sister of Isildur. As Elendil's son Anárion does not appear to feature in season 1 of The Rings of Power, there is some speculation that Eärien is replacing Anárion in this adaptation.

Ema Horvath is a Slovak-American actress whose credits include The Gallows 2, The Mortuary Collection and Viscous.

Leon Wadham plays Kemen

Kemen is a new character created for The Rings of Power. He is a Númenórean nobleman and the son of Pharazôn.

Leon Wadham is a graduate from the Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School who has appeared in award-winning New Zealand TV series.

Nazanin Boniadi plays Bronwyn

Bronwyn, a character created for The Rings of Power, is the village healer of the Mordor (then known as the Southlands) village of Tirharad, lover of Arondir and the mother of Theo.

Nazanin Boniadi is a British-Iranian actress rapidly making her mark in both film and television. On the big screen, Boniadi portrays former Fox News reporter Rudi Bakhtiar in Bombshell. On TV, Boniadi starred in critically acclaimed Starz original Counterpart and seasons three and four of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning drama Homeland.

Tyroe Muhafidin plays Theo

Theo, a new character created for The Rings of Power, is the son of Bronwyn.

Tyroe Muhafidin is an Australian actor who is making his major TV series debut.

Ian Blackburn plays Rowan

A villager of Tirharad, Rowan is a friend of Theo. He resents the Elven presence in the Southlands.

New Zealand youngster Blackburn has experience in short films Unbreakable Beau, Shelter and Behold the Ghost.

Charlie Vickers plays Halbrand

Halbrand is a new character created for The Rings of Power. In the series trailer he is seen stranded on a raft along with the Elf Galadriel.

Charlie Vickers' career credits include Netflix’s Medici and the film Palm Beach.

Other Men

Other characters from the Race of Men featured in The Rings of Power include:
Waldreg (played by Geoff Morrell), the owner of the village pub in Tirharad, and Tredwill (Peter Tait) one of the pub's regulars.

The Elves

Tolkien's Elves are a wise and cultured people with skills and abilities well beyond those of the men who they largely resemble. They are peaceful people but also skilled warriors, in particular with a longbow. Elves often dedicate their time to artisan pursuits such as music, sculpture or fine smithwork.  

Benjamin Walker plays High King Gil-galad

High King Gil-galad is the leader of the Ñoldor elves who forms the last alliance of elves and men against the forces of Sauron.

Benjamin Walker is an American film, TV and theatre actor whose credits include The Ice Road,  In the Heart of the Sea, Flags Of Our Fathers, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight and Netflix’s Jessica Jones.

Charles Edwards plays Celebrimbor

Celebrimbor is an elven prince of Ñoldor, ruler of Eregion and a master smith. It is he who creates the three Elven Rings of Power.

Charles Edwards played Richard Hannay in the acclaimed West End and on Broadway productions of The 39 Steps, and played George VI in the original stage play of The King's Speech. On TV he has appeared in Downton Abbey, as Dr McDonald in The Terror and as the Queen's Private Secretary Sir Martin Charteris in The Crown. 

Robert Aramayo plays Elrond

The half-elven Elrond will be familiar to fans of Tolkien's books and Peter Jackson's films, in which he was played by Hugo Weaving. Back in the Second Age, Elrond had chosen to live among the elves and became captain and herald of High King Gil-galad.

Robert Aramayo is a British actor who has starred in Netflix thriller Behind Her Eyes, Antebellum, and The King’s Man. His credits also include Suicide Tourist, Mindhunter, Stray Dolls and playing a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel

Elven Lady of the Woods Galadriel, as played by Cate Blanchett, was one of the key characters in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the Second Age she and her husband Celeborn rule over a group of Elves in Lindon, under High King Gil-galad.

Morfydd Clark's TV credits include Mina in the BBC’s latest take on Dracula and as Sister Clara in His Dark Materials. She also starred in Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield, playing the role of Dora.

Fabian McCallum plays Thondir

Thondir is a new character created for The Rings of Power. He accompanied Galadriel in her search for Sauron's whereabouts, but refused to continue the search after their group were attacked at Morgoth. He returned to Lindon and entered the Undying Lands as a reward for his service. 

Fabian McCallum's screen debut came alongside Megan Mullally, Rob Lowe and Jenna Fischer in British series You, Me & The Apocalypse. 

Ismael Cruz Córdova plays Arondir

The Silvan Elf Arondir is a new character created for The Rings of Power. He is a member of the Elven garrison occupying the Southlands, including the village of Tirharad, where he falls in love with Bronwyn.

Ismael Cruz Córdova's impressive screen credits include HBO’s The Undoing, Mary Queen of Scots and Miss Bala and the TV series Berlin Station and Ray Donovan

Other Elves

Other named Elf chracters in The Rings of Power include:
Rian (played by Kip Chapman), another member of Galadriel's search party who, like Thondir, entered the Undying Lands;
Watchwarden Revion (Simon Merrells) and Médhor (Augustus Prew), Arondir's comrades in the Southlands outpost;
Amelie Child Villiers played Young Galadriel in episode 1, alongside Will Fletcher as her brother Finrod.

The Dwarves

Tolkien's Dwarves are a secretive and obstinate yet laborious race who are also great warriors. They are highly skilled in the making of weapons and armour, especially the fearsome battleaxe, as well as great treasures which they guard jealously. 

Owain Arthur plays Prince Durin IV

Durin IV is a descendant of Durin III who is destined to be King of Durin's Folk and the bearer of a Ring of Power.

Owain Arthur is best known for playing Francis Henshall in The National Theatre's production of One Man, Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. His TV credits include A Confession, London Kills, Hard Sun, Hinterland, Babylon and Casualty.

Sophia Nomvete plays Princess Disa

Dwarf-princess Disa has been created for The Rings of Power.

English actress Sophia Nomvete has impressive theatre credits including The Color Purple, Vice Versa and Miss Littlewood, and has appeared at Shakespeare's Globe and the Chichester Festival Theatre.

Peter Mullan plays King Durin III

King Durin III is a dwarf king, descendant of the great King During I and the first bearer of the mightiest of the seven Dwarf Rings. 

Renowned Scottish actor Peter Mullan is best know for his performances in My Name is Joe, Westworld, Ozark, Mum, Top of the Lake and Tyrannosaur.

The Harfoots

Harfoots are one of three sub-races of Hobbits. By the time of the Third Age the three types had intermixed, but the agrarian Harfoots are more similar to the later Hobbits than the other groups, the Fallohides and Stoors, although unlike the later Hobbits of the Shire, they are a nomadic people. They were also the more numerous of the three and the first to enter the land of Eriador which includes the Shire and Bree. 

Lenny Henry plays Sadoc Burrows

Sadoc Burrows is the trailsman and leader of the tribe of Harfoots that features in The Rings of Power.

One of Britain’s best known comedians and actors, Sir Lenny Henry’s screen credits include Broadchurch, The Syndicate, Chef, Danny and the Human Zoo and The Long Song.

Dylan Smith plays Largo Brandyfoot

Largo Brandyfoot (above right) is a Harfoot character created for The Rings of Power. He is the father of Elanor 'Nori' Brandyfoot.

You may have seen Canadian actor Dylan Smith in I Am The Night with Chris Pine, Ripper Street, Into The Badlands and the film Murder on the Orient Express.

Markella Kavenagh plays Nori Brandyfoot

Elanor 'Nori' Brandyfoot is a Harfoot character created for The Rings of Power. She is a friend of Poppy Proudfellow and the daughter of Largo Brandyfoot.

Markella Kavenagh's TV and movie credits include Picnic at Hanging Rock, BBC drama The Cry, My First Summer and The Gloaming.

Megan Richards plays Poppy Proudfellow

Poppy Proudfellow (left) is a Harfoot character created for The Rings of Power. She is a friend of Elanor 'Nori' Brandyfoot (right).

Brit School star Megan Richards has previously appeared in BBC series Wanderlust and Doctors.

Sara Zwangobani plays Marigold Brandyfoot

Marigold Brandyfoot is a Harfoot created for The Rings of Power. She is the wife of Largo and stepmother to Nori and Dilly Brandyfoot.

Sara Zwangobani's Australian TV credits include Doctor Doctor, All Saints, Packed to the Rafters, Love My Way, Home and Away, Two Twisted, as well as The Starter Wife and Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.

Thusitha Jayasundera plays Malva

Thusitha Jayasundera plays the Harfoot Malva, pictured alongside Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry) in the trailer.

Thusitha's extensive TV and film credits include Midsomer Murders, Doctor Foster, Humans, The Foreigner, Broadchurch, The C Word, Lewis, Diana, Doctors, Silent Witness, Young Dracula, The Jury, Above Suspicion, The Bill and Goodnight Sweetheart.

Other Harfoots

Other Harfoot characters featured in The Rings of Power include Nori's younger sister Dilly Brandyfoot (played by Beau Cassidy), and Vilma (Maxine Cunliffe), a friend of Malva. 

And finally...

Daniel Weyman plays The Stranger

It seems one of the key storylines of season 1 will be the identity of character known as The Stranger. Nori Brandyfoot found The Stranger unconscious in the burning - although not hot - embers of a meteorite, hid him outside the Harfoot camp and clothed and fed him while he recovered from his ordeal. He only speaks two words - "Mana" and "Úrë", which means “What is heat?” in the Elven Quenya tongue - but does possess magical powers: he can talk to fireflies and get them to do his bidding. Could he be Sauron himself or one of the wizards we already know from the Lord of the Rings movies such as Saruman or Gandalf?

British actor Daniel Weyman has previously starred in TV series Silent Witness, Gentleman Jack, Foyle’s War, Treadstone and A Very English Scandal. His film credits include The Happy Prince, Great Expectations and Where Hands Touch.

Bridie Sisson plays the hooded character

A further mystery surrounds the white-robed, blonde-haired character seen in the series trailer. Though as yet unconfirmed by Amazon Studios, fans have speculated that this could be the Dark Lord Sauron in the guise of Annatar, in whose form he befriended the Elf craftsmen and encouraged them to forge the Rings of Power. We'll await the character's debut in the series itself before speculating any further...

Bridie Sisson is a New Zealand actress who has appeared in the film The Justice of Bunny King and long-running hospital soap Shortland Street.

Other cast members of The Rings of Power

The cast of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power also includes the following actors in as-yet unnamed roles:

• Anthony Crum
  
• Alex Tarrant
  
• Joseph Mawle

Who is making Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?

The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

Three directors have been chosen to film various episodes in the series. They are J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom), alongside his partner Belén Atienza; Charlotte Brändström, who was a director on Netflix’s The Witcher and Jupiter’s Legacy; and Wayne Che Yip (Hunters, Preacher, The Wheel of Time).

Executive producers include Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire), Sharon Tal Yguado, Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad), Jason Cahill (The Sopranos) and Justin Doble (Stranger Things).

Watch the first two episodes of The Rings of Power on Prime Video in the UK from 2am on Friday 2 September. The rest of the eight-episode first season will be released at the same time each week from September 9 to October 14.