At the heart of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is Galadriel, a regal elf out to avenge her fallen brother by tracking down and slaying the dark lord Sauron. Played by Morfydd Clark, Galadriel rides along with the forces of Númenor to confront the orcs in the Southlands only to discover that Sauron was hiding before her under the guise of her friend Halbrand. Though betrayed, Galadriel overcomes her vengeance-fueled perspective over the course of The Rings of Power Season 1, ready to stand against Sauron while relearning her appreciation for the natural beauty present in Middle-earth.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark explains Galadriel’s character arc over the first season, reveals her inspirations behind developing that trajectory and talks about the big twist of Sauron's identity in the Season 1 finale.
CBR: I love Galadriel's arc this season because she goes from carrying this grief and anger for thousands of years and finally sees life beyond that. How was it charting that trajectory across these eight episodes?
Morfydd Clark: I loved that trajectory for her because it felt very Tolkien. I feel that community is so vital in his worlds, and she has kind of alienated herself. Her becoming more in tune with others again, like seeing the beauty of Númenor, for example. There's one second where she's kind of like back to what it is to be an elf and find joy in the world, it was really fun.
Playing a mythical creature who is thousands of years old, she was blinded by her own sadness, which is something people can relate to, hopefully. I felt very sad for her because she was so alone, and I love knowing where she ends in The Lord of the Rings, with her people.
I love that scene in Númenor when you're walking through the market and teaching fencing because you’ve got a bit of a swagger. As someone who does so much physical stuff on this show, how was it capturing that swashbuckling element?
It was so much fun! I'm so glad they included that. I think when she does fight, she wants to actually kill or give big blows. I was so lucky that the stunt team was so amazing to me and really believed in me so that I got to do that all myself. I never saw myself as an actor who’d be like, "I did that bit!" My stunt double Rosalie [Button] is an incredible dancer and stunt person, and she made her magical as well, she did a lot of the stunts. I did a considerable amount, but she was the one who elevated it with her incredible body and skills.
It was really important that I felt as strong as I could as the mere mortal that I am, to feel as close as to what it might feel to be immortal and magical.
Speaking of community, let's talk about Charlie Vickers and the scene where he reveals himself as Sauron. Walk me through that scene and having him as a scene partner because it really was the "Luke, I am your father" moment.
I think Charlie is just wonderful. I've been really touched and felt so proud that people really love our chemistry in this. We really want people to know that came from Charlie making me feel so safe, and that meant that we had such freedom in our scenes. We feel really proud of what we've got there, and we needed them to have such strong chemistry so that it was devastating when she’s betrayed.
For myself, as well as Galadriel, seeing him shift like that was really frightening. That line that he has, "I've had many names," still gives me chills. Working with him has been a huge joy and my character would’ve been very different if I'd have had a different scene partner. I had the best!
In terms of secrecy, you didn't know you were playing Galadriel until you got to New Zealand. How was it learning who you'd be playing?
What's more, I can't believe I moved out here not knowing who I was playing. That was nuts! What was I thinking?! I couldn't believe it. There was obviously an "I can't!" moment. When you're playing a mythical creature, you don’t feel like Galadriel until you're strong, until you're as flexible and powerful. You can be physically until you're in those Kate Hawley-[crafted] outfits made of antique material.
I was literally wearing stuff [made of] hundred-year-old fabric. I remember [the] final fitting of [the] Northern Waste armor, we had every department seeing that. I'll always remember [that] because I had the privilege of wearing all this work and seeing people feeling proud of it and also, therefore, feeling like [Galadriel]. Elves love beauty as well, so the clothes and things are so vital to her and her being.
When we first see Galadriel, she's scaling a mountain like Edmund Hillary before she gets the beautiful blue dress in Númenor and the battle armor in the Southlands. How is it finding the performance in those costumes?
What I really like about the elves -- I'm going to make a few people angry -- there is a gender fluidity to them. I think that Galadriel's looks in this shows that, and she’s just as at home in armor or in delicate robes, and she can do both in both. What I love about the Númenorean costume any why Kate Hawley is such a genius, she paid a lot of homage to the films. They're so wonderful and had such an impact. [The fact] they won Oscars for the fantasy community is huge.
We're in a different time, but she went with the idea that Galadriel could have seen fashion that could’ve then come back to Middle-earth. Númenor is slightly more medieval and that kind of feeds into what people are we’re in the Third Age and that was really fun.
The elves are so stoic, they're like the Vulcans of Middle-earth. How was it finding the emotion beneath that veneer?
I really enjoyed playing her because I feel like the elves don’t fake any emotion and I think, as humans we do a bit more whereas they're kind of free of that, but also, the elves weep. The elves are weeping when you read The Silmarillion, so you know that it’s all there, it’s not from a lack of feeling, it's just expressed [differently]. I didn't want her to explain her feelings, which is something that I think is very human.
I'm really glad that we did the Harfoots, dwarves and humans. It meant the elves could be something particular and different. I've got ADHD, and looked into the idea of neurodivergency because they always seem slightly like the other and slightly not in line with social norms that we're accustomed [to].
Developed for television by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Prime Video.