Morfydd Clark was at the Toronto International Film Festival promoting “The Personal History of David Copperfield” when she was told she was cast as Galadriel in the upcoming Amazon series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
“I found out and then I went to a screening and Q&A for ‘David Copperfield,” Clark told me Monday night at the “Rings of Power” premiere at Culver Studios. “I suddenly realized what a big deal it was for me, and I passed out during the Q&A. I was caught by a lovely security guard.”
Set thousands of years before the “Lord of the Rings” films, Clark plays the same character portrayed by Cate Blanchett on the big screen.
“I knew I was auditioning for an elf but I didn’t know which one,” Clark recalled. “So me and my sister went mad trying to figure it out. I never dreamed it would be Galadriel.”
Morfydd Clark attends “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” premiere in Los Angeles on Aug 15.
Getty Images
She has not reached out to Blanchett. “I couldn’t possibly,” Clark said. “But her performance was such a big part of my life. Those films have gotten me through exams, troubles, teenagehood. She was with me all that time.”
For one ocean sequence early in the season, Clark spent a lot of time doing water work. “It was really hard,” she said. “I thought I could swim, but then I took my first swimming lesson and I could see my teacher going like, ‘Oh, no!’”
Michael B. Jordan, Amazon Studios’ Jennifer Salke, Lauren Sánchez and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos attend “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” Los Angeles premiere on Aug. 15.
Getty Images for Prime Video
With reports that “Rings of Power” is the most expensive television series ever made, I asked the cast if that meant craft services were better than most. “I’ve had better and I’ve had worse,” said Owain Arthur, who plays Prince Durin IV. “The money didn’t go to the craft, let’s put it that way.”
Robert Aramayo, who plays Elrond, insisted, “It was pretty good.”
The money certainly was spent on production. “Our advice to people is watch it on the biggest screen you can,” said Patrick McKay, who serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside JD Payne. “There’s so much love that has gone into every single pixel.”
Sophia Nomvete, who plays Princess Disa, is hoping to see some “Rings of Power” Halloween costumes in the fall. “I won’t believe it ’til I see it,” she told Variety, laughing. “It would be an honor!”
Oh, and don’t assume that being cast on an Amazon project means you get a free Prime subscription. “I already have a subscription,” Charlie Vickers laughed. “We should get some sort of deal now, right? I was always a Prime member. It would assume to get it for free.”
