00:00 We had no idea what all the other guys were doing
00:02 in different levels.
00:03 - That's what I wanted to ask.
00:05 Have you guys shared scenes together
00:06 or are you meeting for the first time somewhat recently?
00:09 - Well, that goes into secrets.
00:12 (all laughing)
00:14 - Nice try.
00:14 (upbeat music)
00:17 - Before you guys dive into your own production at all,
00:28 have you touched the Peter Jackson films
00:31 just to maybe set the tone for yourself
00:33 or do you wanna keep a distance from what exists?
00:36 - I think, you know, I'll speak for myself.
00:38 I think it's great to have the film as a reference,
00:43 as something that, you know,
00:44 obviously is a classic set of films,
00:48 but we very much were intent
00:51 on really creating our own thing.
00:53 This is our adaptation
00:55 and it's nice to have ownership over that.
00:58 For me personally, it's really about Tolkien's writing
01:01 and always going back to the literature and the lore.
01:05 And obviously it's inspired many adaptations.
01:08 And so, you know, we all get to coexist happily.
01:12 So to me, you know, I know the comparison
01:15 is a natural one to make,
01:17 but I think this feels like something
01:19 that is a new, fresh take
01:23 and you can enjoy our version
01:26 and you can enjoy all the other versions
01:27 that are out there.
01:29 - Charlie, to that end, with the lore,
01:30 you could get swallowed up, you know,
01:33 as much as we want to. - Oh yeah, we should be.
01:36 - So how much do you just rely on the script,
01:38 you know, what's in front of you to get through it?
01:40 And how much did you branch off and deep dive into?
01:43 - I branched off, once I arrived on set,
01:46 a lot of my work was with Rob Aramayo,
01:48 who's a very, he's a very smart guy when it comes to Tolkien.
01:53 And so I did a lot of reading,
01:56 but my character exists in a key,
01:59 but in a very minimal way in our usable source material.
02:03 So as far as Celebrimbor is concerned,
02:05 I did all the research I could,
02:06 but Tolkien gives us a sketch, essentially,
02:09 of Antwerp in terms of my character.
02:12 And it's up to me and everyone else,
02:15 all the heads of department and the showrunners
02:16 to contribute to the character,
02:19 bring the wardrobe, the design of the studio,
02:23 all that stuff.
02:24 So I have since done a lot more reading,
02:28 but the reading I did before I started acting the role
02:32 was purely focused on the character.
02:34 - Gotcha.
02:35 Emma, when there are so many characters
02:37 in a series like this and so many storylines,
02:39 it can be tough for the audience to keep it all straight
02:42 and, you know, try to follow different plot lines
02:45 and how things are grouped.
02:46 How does this show in particular work
02:48 to maybe avoid some of that confusion?
02:50 - I think the worlds are so separate
02:53 and rich and beautiful in their own ways.
02:55 I think there's, I remember, like,
02:56 we saw the first three episodes a few days ago.
02:59 And each world has its own very distinct color palette
03:03 and atmosphere, and you can feel it coming
03:07 from the first shot when we switch
03:08 to a different storyline.
03:10 So I think there's no trouble there.
03:11 - Maxim, your character is best known
03:13 for not destroying the One Ring
03:15 when he had the opportunity to do that.
03:17 - Sorry.
03:18 (laughing)
03:19 - Way to go. - Sorry, guys.
03:20 (laughing)
03:21 - But I mean, so now this gives you an opportunity
03:23 to explore a different aspect of that character.
03:25 That's primarily what he's known for.
03:26 So what was it like having the ability
03:28 to go down different roads with him?
03:29 - I mean, a privilege and an honor.
03:32 Definitely felt the weight of expectation
03:33 of people's interpretation of this character.
03:36 But we're kind of at the beginning of his journey, almost.
03:39 And I was grateful to be able to explore the,
03:44 you know, him finding himself and wanting to, you know,
03:48 not wanting to pursue his father's dream
03:50 and becoming a sea captain,
03:51 kind of wanting to do something else
03:53 and take it in a different direction.
03:54 And I think in turn, it makes him a lot more relatable
03:57 and maybe you can understand him down the line.
04:00 - Right.
04:01 - A little bit more.
04:02 - I hope so.
04:03 We'll see.
04:04 Daniel, I wanna talk about fan theories, if I could.
04:06 - Sure.
04:06 - There've been some fun ones out there
04:08 about your character primarily being associated
04:10 with what they call the Meteor Man.
04:12 - Right.
04:13 - How much have you read up on this?
04:15 I'm not gonna ask you to clarify anything
04:17 unless you want to right now.
04:19 But do you have fun sort of exploring fan theories?
04:21 - Yeah, when it all started, I did.
04:23 And now I think it's so massive.
04:26 - Right.
04:27 - And actually it's sort of so exciting
04:28 that people are having those discussions
04:29 quite aside from anything that I'm saying.
04:31 So I'm sort of letting that all cook away,
04:33 but I am really excited that when we, you know,
04:36 nearly under a month,
04:37 we're gonna be able to start showing people
04:38 what we've got in terms of this character.
04:40 And then those discussions are gonna start really honing in
04:43 and that's when it'll get sort of even funner, I think.
04:46 So I'm waiting for that.
04:47 - Are you sort of fending off from friends and family?
04:50 - Yeah.
04:51 (laughing)
04:52 But that's because I've seen that,
04:52 that's been going on for, you know, two years.
04:55 'Cause for all of us, really,
04:56 we've been trying to keep a lot of under wraps
04:58 so that when people see it on screen,
04:59 it's the first time they're experiencing things.
05:01 - Sure.
05:02 And to that end, Ismail,
05:04 when was the moment when it actually felt,
05:05 the enormity of it all felt real to you on set?
05:09 - I was gonna say the enormity of it,
05:10 whole H.
05:11 (laughing)
05:14 On set.
05:15 - That's the first time I'm assuming?
05:15 - Yes.
05:16 - What did that feel like?
05:17 - Rockstar moment.
05:18 - Yeah, yeah.
05:19 - Yeah.
05:20 - Rockstar moment, it was so great.
05:21 - Can you see far out?
05:22 - You can, but you definitely can feel that wave of energy.
05:26 Like you really can.
05:27 And for the most part, it feels,
05:29 I mean, it feels positive.
05:30 You just feel like you're there to be celebrated
05:33 and embraced.
05:34 But for me on set, the enormity of it all,
05:38 to be honest, first day on set.
05:41 - Really?
05:42 - I got in full costume, full prosthetics,
05:45 and just saw this incredible world
05:48 that they have built inside of Sam's stage,
05:50 in which every aspect of it was thought out
05:54 and obsessed over and thought about.
05:58 Even things that you know they're not gonna make
05:59 in the camera.
06:00 - Okay.
06:01 - But it was all part of the environment,
06:03 and that's the commitment that I think
06:05 is the through line for the show,
06:07 and the through line for the characters as well.
06:10 - So, Tolkien, when he was writing "Lord of the Rings,"
06:12 had a lot of parallels to World War II at the time.
06:15 And I'm curious how you guys think the show
06:17 speaks to our modern age, if it does at all.
06:20 - Well, I think it does.
06:23 I think, I mean, I think all art is representative
06:26 of the times, and it's not really,
06:28 the art doesn't have to speak to the times.
06:30 I think the times speak to the art.
06:32 And if people have the lens of what's happening right now,
06:35 they will definitely feel,
06:36 and they will definitely find their own attachments,
06:39 their own metaphors, their own stories.
06:42 I think because it is so driven by humanity,
06:45 and it's so driven by truth and honesty,
06:47 that it's going to be universal in that sense.
06:49 - Right.
06:50 Steve, when you guys were filming,
06:51 do we get a sense of what content
06:54 was going into each episode?
06:55 Could you guys, like, could you think of an episode
06:57 that you can't wait for fans to see?
06:59 Or when you were filming, it was just one massive story?
07:02 - Well, I know for me, my first day
07:05 was toward the end of the season.
07:07 So I had this interesting process
07:09 of almost working backwards a little bit.
07:14 This story really ramps up.
07:16 And in each of the worlds,
07:17 there's a real sort of build to a crescendo.
07:20 And so there's some stuff toward the end of the season
07:24 that I know I can't wait to see.
07:26 And what I really take pleasure in, again,
07:29 is that, you know, I'm excited
07:31 for what happens in my own world,
07:33 but I love watching my friends in their worlds
07:36 sort of just have these amazing stories,
07:39 and they just bring these characters to life.
07:41 I know these people, I'm continuing to get to know them.
07:44 I love them so much.
07:45 And it's just exciting to just sort of watch your friends
07:48 do their thing and really bring a true sense
07:51 of who they are to these characters.
07:52 - And that's something that we've only been afforded
07:54 recently, very recently.
07:56 We had no idea what all the other guys were doing
07:59 in that different world.
08:00 - That's what I wanted to ask.
08:00 Like, how much, have you guys shared scenes together,
08:03 or are you meeting for the first time somewhat recently?
08:06 - Well, that goes into secrets.
08:08 (all laughing)
08:10 - Nice try.
08:13 - But what is a character moment, Charlie,
08:16 that you can't wait for fans to experience?
08:18 Whether it may be a meeting between certain characters?
08:21 - It's difficult to talk about.
08:23 - Okay.
08:24 - But, I think for him, for me,
08:29 and I'm so excited to be playing this role
08:32 that has never been, to my knowledge,
08:34 been played before other than in a video game.
08:36 But I don't play video games, so, you know,
08:39 I don't know what he's like in that game.
08:41 But it's, and it will be his first appearance, I think.
08:46 Because when you see him in situ, in his workplace,
08:50 and you know what may be coming later in the show,
08:56 it kind of, it sets the scene.
08:58 And that's very exciting to be part of.
09:00 - I will get you guys out of here on this.
09:03 How do you guys feel about binging versus, you know,
09:06 waiting a week in between,
09:07 or waiting for some time in between?
09:09 - Good things come to those who wait.
09:11 - Yeah.
09:12 - I think it's, you know, let it linger.
09:14 And maybe watch it again, you know?
09:17 I think it's, you know, I know it's like,
09:20 like imagine someone setting a really delicious pie
09:22 in front of you and you could eat the whole pie,
09:25 but that would be a lot.
09:26 Wouldn't you rather spread it out over the week?
09:29 - No.
09:29 (laughing)
09:31 - I think it would do a disservice to binge it.
09:34 - Right.
09:35 - I think it is such high quality television.
09:38 The conversation is going to be so big
09:39 that you're not going to be able to get away from spoilers.
09:43 I think every week people should tune in at a time
09:46 and like enjoy it and be part of the conversation.
09:48 - And actually to watch it communally, I think will be,
09:49 'cause I was thinking, yeah, actually I want to watch this.
09:51 I know Amazon do the watch parties,
09:53 but I think that kind of communal watching
09:55 could be really great.
09:56 - Yeah.
09:57 - Just from watching it together.
09:58 (upbeat music)
10:00 - 'Cause one of the issues about when a full season drops
10:03 is you never know where anybody is in it.
10:05 And the first question you always ask is like,
10:06 how far have you watched?
10:07 What episode are you on?
10:08 Kind of thing.
10:09 So I do really appreciate when everybody's
10:10 at the same point in the story
10:12 and then people can talk about it that way.
10:13 So I can't wait till we can all start experiencing it.
10:15 Thank you guys for coming by.
10:16 (all talking)
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