‘LOTR’ Cast on Elrond & Durin Friendship, Harfoot Special Effects

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings some familiar faces to the screen, plus characters unseen in the Peter Jackson movies and ones created for the show. Elrond is a major player in the Prime Video series, premiering September 2, as is Prince Durin IV. Durin’s presence in the series means viewers get to see the city of Khazad-dûm (also known as Moria) in its former glory for the first time on screen. And Durin and Elrond will cross paths in Season 1, reuniting after many years apart.

Elrond is played by Robert Aramayo and Owain Arthur plays Durin. The two actors were joined with co-stars Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, and Trystan Gravelle at the TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine studio, sponsored by Hollywood unBranded during San Diego Comic-Con 2022 and spoke with Emily Aslanian about the upcoming series. And Aramayo and Arthur said the Elrond and Durin dynamic will be captivating.

“There’s been time apart, and they’ve both got different relationships to that time, which is one of the great things about the differences between species in our world is everybody looks at time in a different way,” Aramayo shared in the video interview, above. “Time operates for characters in different ways in this world, so their initial interactions are structured around that relationship, I would say.”

“There’s history between us, and there’s been some time since we’ve seen each other,” Arthur added. “It’s interesting to see how each character reacts to that time apart. Dwarf wearing his heart on his sleeve. I’m not hiding anything. I speak what I think. And it’s interesting seeing how an elf deals with that too.”

Elves and Dwarves bickering are certainly not a new sight for Lord of the Rings fans (if that is what Elrond and Durin get into) — Legolas and Gimli’s “rivalry” is still beloved by fans of the Jackson films. Seeing a new Elf/Dwarf relationship in The Rings of Power will undoubtedly drum up some solid entertainment.

While Hobbits won’t be part of The Rings of Power, their ancestors, the Harfoots, will. Zwangobani and Richards — who play Marigold Brandyfoot and Poppy Proudfellow, respectively — described what it was like to film their scenes when accounting for the Harfoots’ small stature. And like our previous interview with The Rings of Power cast in reference to the Orcs, the Harfoots special effects were handled practically.

“Sometimes it was actually amazing. It was such a gift that they worked really hard to let us do things practically and not with special effects so that we could work with our fellow performers, which was so important for character development and story development,” Zwangobani said. “Sometimes it was also a bit challenging.”

The Harfoot actors were given large props to help establish their heights, such as “massive berries the size of our fists” and a live giant rabbit. They also worked with scale doubles to help with continuity. Learn more about how The Rings of Power was filmed in the full video interview.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Series Premiere, Friday, September 2, Prime Video

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