“Oh, wow! That was so nuts that I actually don’t blame myself for not remembering most of it. That was the craziest experience I’ve ever had in my life,” says Robert Aramayo as I remind him of our meeting in Mumbai back when he visited India in 2022. As he laughs with a hint of amusement and nostalgia, one can tell he’s come a long way from Season 1 to 2 of The Rings Of Power. For starters, he’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt as he’s seated casually over our Zoom call, an appearance wholly different from his onscreen elven look. The English actor plays a young Elrond in the fantasy series set thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson’s movies. Interestingly, he recalls watching Hugo Weaving’s Elrond and feeling curious about the elves of Middle-earth. Over the next 20 minutes, the actor muses over everything from his Julliard education, his brief appearance in Game Of Thrones and delving into his much-loved character.
What was it like going back for Season 2?
For me, it was a completely different season because in the first season, it was all green screens and a huge picture of me behind myself, standing on ladders. Now all of that is gone. I was in the field. So it felt completely different. And the only thing that felt the same were the sets of Lindon where I had worked before. Everything else was fairly new territory. I used to go down the rabbit hole of Elrond, years ago before I obviously knew that I’d be playing him. I used to always be interested in certain decisions that he made in the Legendarium. So I’ve been down these rabbit holes and they’re enjoyable. I try to avoid them but now I know how enjoyable it is to make your own decisions and that’s what I like about Tolkien, everyone has a unique perspective based on their opinion of what they’ve read. And one opinion can be as astounding as another and they could be completely contradicting one another.
When you play a character for this long do you find it difficult to snap out of it or is it just not that deep?
No, I’m still getting out. Yeah, it’s actually like quite a unique thing. It’s the first time I’ve experienced it. Playing a character and then returning to them is an interesting experience. It’s like dropping something and then picking it up after a period of time. Even if not much time has passed between the seasons in the story, I’ve changed, and the character has changed to some degree as well. So you get to reflect and think about where you want them to go in the future. For me, that was a really new thing and a fulfilling one as well. There is no finished article to think about. It’s like these characters are constantly evolving things. Our life experience feeds into them as the show goes on.
People have been raving about your portrayal of Elrond as opposed to the more serious character we see in the movies…
I’ve recently learnt the term soft boy. It sounds almost as good as Sexy Sauron. I have these earrings that my character wears. And I think Hugo Weaving is quite sexy too. But of course, all the characters we see in The Rings Of Power are all way younger than the movie characters. The whole history takes place long ago and so many events need to happen before they get to where they need to be. But in this season in particular, I was keen to not let Elrond get ahead of himself in terms of what he’s capable of at this point in his life because there were things I believe he needs to go through in order to get to a certain place. It is definitely weird when you know where your character is going, but not how they’re going to get there. That’s the fun of the show.
Elrond’s and Durin’s bond is so endearing. What was your experience of working with Owain Arthur?
That is easily one of my favourite things in the show. I love the bromance between Elrond and Durin and their banter. It was great to explore because of what it means. It’s an elf and a dwarf having a friendship. It’s so complicated because they just look at the world so differently. And Owen and I are constantly talking about how they see things differently. We’ve never really let go of that element of the dynamic because it’s important. It’s always fun with Durin and it’s great for the characters in Season 2 because I feel like any time I get to see Khazad-dûm, I’m just so excited. Anything they do with that city and its sets is always amazing.
If you hadn’t bagged this role, which Tolkien characters would you Have liked to play and why?
I always liked this hero from the First Age called Beleg Strongbow who’s a wonderful character, a Sindarin Elf. And quite a few tragic things happen to him but he’s a real Elven hero. I really enjoyed reading about him.
The Rings of Power has all these visually stunning moments. When you’re on the set what is your process of making your performance shine amidst all the big set pieces?
The visuals really help you. Obviously, you don’t want to get lost in them but we’ve spoken a lot about Celebrimbor’s workshop. The sets are just breathtaking and so detailed.
You have a Julliard education. Between your brief appearance in Game of Thrones and your role in The Rings of Power, did you expect to be working in popular fantasy shows?
(Laughs) No, not at all. I was obsessed with The Lord Of The Rings when I was a kid. I do remember being particularly interested in… this is going to sound cheesy, but it’s true, I’m interested in Elrond and where he came from and his history and stuff. In the Third Age and in Peter Jackson’s movies, there are not many elves around. With Lothlorien and Galadriel, it seems to make a lot of sense to me because it sort of feels like Elvendom on air. Then you have this sort of city where people go for help and stuff like that. And it is really interesting. So I remember being super interested in him and his history. So when I got to play him, and now that
I continue to play him, it feels great.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.