Editor's note: The below interview contains spoilers for Episode 7 of The Rings of Power.From showrunners JD Payne & Patrick McKay, the Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth’s history, thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and at a time when the Dark Lord Sauron, believed by all to have been defeated, is quietly planning his comeback. Following an ensemble cast of characters consisting of both familiar faces (like Galadriel and Elrond) as well as newcomers (the Harfoots, the Stranger, and Halbrand, to name a few), the first season, which consists of a total of eight episodes, is gearing up to air its finale later this week.
With more show on the horizon (the series has already been renewed for a second season which is currently in production), Collider had the opportunity to speak with Owain Arthur, who plays the Dwarven prince Durin IV. On the heels of Episode 7, "The Eye," dropping on Prime Video, Arthur discussed his character's most pivotal moments as well as his most important relationships — his wife Disa (played by Sophia Nomvete) and his formerly-estranged Elven friend Elrond (Robert Aramayo), as well as what Durin will potentially do now that he's been stripped of his princely title by his father, King Durin III (Peter Mullan), not just in this week's finale but in the second season to come.
Collider: One of the things I definitely wanted to ask you about, before getting into the specifics of the episode, is wearing the makeup and the prosthetics. Seeing you without them, you don't even look like the same person, which is a testament to how transformative they are. How helpful is something like that for you when getting into character?
OWAIN ARTHUR: It's so exciting to be putting the prosthetics on, the beard on, the costume, and all the care and the different versions as well. There's been a lot of different versions of Durin look that not a lot of people know what know about — but to come up with this final one is, like I say, really exciting. To look at myself in the mirror as Durin is a very strange... it's an out-of-body experience, at the beginning anyway. Because you are raising an eyebrow, and then there's a stranger raising his eyebrow back at you immediately, which is just quite scary. But it's very humbling and exciting to become a different person entirely.
It just kind of supports my approach to Durin. By looking at yourself in the mirror, or even watching it back on Amazon Prime now you kind of go, "Oh God, what a blessing it is to actually physically become another person." You inhabit another being, usually another human, as an actor, but to inhabit a Dwarf and a Dwarf's physicality and mannerisms and different accent as well [from] my own was a very liberating experience that I thought would restrict me as an actor on set. But it did liberate me and freed me up to live in the moment and to make it as fresh and as exciting and as dangerous as I possibly could. So humbling and exciting and a little bit itchy, is how I describe it.
I'm not sure how online you are, but I have to ask if you're aware of a certain line of yours from a few episodes ago that has kind of become a meme now.
ARTHUR: Oh, tell me. Which is it?
It's the line where Durin says to Elrond, "Give me the meat and give it to me raw."
ARTHUR: Yes, I've heard of this. Yes, yes. All right. So has this become a thing? This is exciting. (laughs) What I like is the... (laughs) Yeah. It's the double entendre to that, which is great. What's most revealing is who gets what out of it. So if you are to think of it in a different way from how it was meant on set, I think that says more about you as a viewer than it does about Durin. My cheeks are hurting from smiling so much here, but I do like it. I would definitely be one of those people who would go, "Hang on. Did he just say, 'Give me the meat, give it to me raw?' Yes, I think he did. Wow." I am of that mentality as well, so I join you in the memes.
One of the relationships on this show that I love so much is Durin and Disa. They're so playful, but also so tender, and I think that's a testament to you and Sophia, and the dynamic that you've established. I just wanted to ask you about what it's like to play that with her, establishing those intricacies of their marriage.
ARTHUR: Yeah, it's great. Sophia and I hit it off from the get-go. We knew exactly who we were playing, we knew each other, and I think we liked each other from the beginning, and that's important. Very rarely you come upon somebody and go, "Oh, I know this person. I like this person. We will get on." That doesn't always happen, but Sophia and I are positive people, and we enjoy life, and we enjoy each other, so it was really easy and safe to go and explore those moments with her, and therefore be able to be vulnerable. That's something that the showrunners and I were keen to show on Durin's behalf, and therefore the Dwarves' behalf, was the vulnerability, the heart. We're not always this stubborn.
By revealing Khazad-dum, we're revealing more about the Dwarves and diving deeper into the Dwarves' way of living, and showing that vulnerability is, I think, different and exciting for me as an actor, and to be able to do that with Soph was just so humbling and blessing. It's very rare, and I think mine and Sophia's, and mine and Rob's friendship, as well, is quite special. It doesn't happen every day, where you get to explore in a safe space like we've created for each other. So yeah, I'm very humble.
I'm glad you brought up the vulnerability aspect, because Durin and Elrond's friendship, there's history to it that we don't see before the show starts, but it's more of a reconciliation for them because they've been estranged. This episode, we get the moment of Durin almost sharing the secret name, but also that very emotional scene where they think that Elrond is leaving. In getting to that place with Rob, how did that kind of feel on the day, to film those moments?
ARTHUR: It's fascinating for me to hear about the viewers who watch the show, and who pick up on these things, despite the prosthetics and the beard and everything that could get in your way and stop the storytelling. I'm so pleased that Rob and I have done what we strived to do, [which] is have that connection together, to put it on the plate. We had our hearts on our sleeves, showing our vulnerabilities and our friendship and our love for each other on set. For that to be picked up on and for all our work... you're best off when you're creating characters and friendships and relationships, and for that to be picked up on is kind of good. We did the right thing, we worked hard, and it's shown that it pays off.
We went through those emotions on that date. Without a doubt. Rob and I have like an unspoken conversation whilst we're on set. Either we can crack jokes about having nuts in my beard, or yogurt on his face, or we just kind of respect each other's process and each other's moments. When we hit the set, it all comes with us and everything is behind his eyes, and hopefully, he sees all the thoughts that I have behind mine, and it all happens live on set.
The conversation between Durin and his father all culminates in presumably him being stripped of his title. What's the situation going to be like for him heading into the finale and beyond, into Season 2?
ARTHUR: One can imagine if you are stripped of the right of becoming king, what does that do to a Dwarf? To a Dwarf's pride? It's going to change someone. So I'm certainly excited to see where that goes, without giving you any spoilers. You nearly got me.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres its first season finale this Friday on Prime Video.