00:00I mean it is hugely energising, you know, you come to a place like this and it is extraordinary
00:06to think what the creative minds and the logistical minds have managed to throw up.
00:12They continually surprise you when you're on set and you work.
00:15The Tom Bombadil set was extraordinary, you know, that was really the only set that I
00:19worked on.
00:20A lot of location work, that was extraordinary and Tenerife, you know, up a volcano and seeing
00:24this arid desert landscape for real, being miles from anywhere, you know, hot, all these
00:29things.
00:30So everywhere you turn with Rings of Power it seems to be extraordinary and hopefully
00:34the audience sees that on the television screen.
00:36I certainly think when I watched season one that it was really palpable how much talent
00:42and joy and effort and, you know, sort of commitment had gone into the season and hopefully
00:47that's going to be there season two as well.
00:48Do you allow yourself to look at fan speculation when it comes to The Stranger?
00:52Do you enjoy seeing their speculation about who The Stranger might be?
00:56I definitely do and the reason that I enjoy it is because people have such clear foundational
01:03reasons for their version of where he's going to go.
01:06You know, they're like, I know it's going to be this character because and then they
01:08explain and it's really humbling as an actor to see how much the stories mean to so many
01:13different people and how they can come to very different conclusions about the same
01:17person that they've watched so far.
01:19I think for me it's about staying in the present.
01:21You know, I'm really lucky that I've built from a blank slate, scene by scene by scene,
01:26provided I can stay present in the moment, work with these wonderful actors that I work
01:29with, Markella Kavanagh, Megan Richards, and be committed to that and keep ploughing myself
01:35into that then hopefully the showrunners can take that theme, run with it and create their
01:40overarc of the story and that's what the audience is going to see.
01:43I know that even the actors are often kept in the dark when it comes to certain things.
01:48Are you even aware of who the Stranger is?
01:51When it comes to fan speculation, can you be like, tick, that one's correct or...
01:54Oh, well, I think the weird thing about it is up to episode 8, season 1, there was a
02:00possibility I thought I might be playing Sauron.
02:02You know, I read the beginning of episode 8 and the mystics say, you are Lord Sauron
02:06and I was like, I was reading it with Markella and I was like, oh my god, I'm Lord Sauron,
02:10you know, and then suddenly about five pages later, like, he is not Lord Sauron.
02:14I was like, no, no, no, I'm not, you know.
02:15So I think that has been a joy for me.
02:19I think it's like in life, isn't it, who will I be in five years' time, I've no idea but
02:23the only way to get there is to live the present and if I can commit to the present, the future
02:27will take care of itself.
02:28I sort of feel that with the Stranger.
02:30He's a joy to play.
02:31And without giving spoilers away, you seem to be very good at not doing so.
02:35When it comes to season 2, what's a moment or a scene or an episode that you are particularly
02:39excited for fans to see and you think they can have a big reaction?
02:42I think for me, one of the most difficult scenes was in Tenerife.
02:47The Stranger is trying to protect his, you know, the group that he's in.
02:50Nori and Poppy have already tried to protect him in certain ways and now it's his turn
02:54to step up and he really feels that he's got this.
02:57This is within his wheelhouse and he starts off and he starts to think, you know, this
03:01is working, I'm good at this and a little bit of pride creeps in and as the pride creeps
03:07in, he doesn't, because he's not so well formed yet, he lets it go and it infects his nature
03:12and I'm afraid he goes a little bit too far and things turn out very, very bad.
03:17It was amazing to see, to film, you know, hopefully it'll be an amazing scene to watch.
03:22I had a lot of sand in my eyes, that's all I'm going to say.
03:25A few medics were called for watering my eyes, but yeah, that was a pretty special scene.
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