00:19It was just announced that the first two episodes are going to be going to movie theaters.
00:23I was curious what your reaction was when you heard, did you guys not, did you guys not know this?
00:31They announced that the first two episodes are going to be played in movie theaters as part of a special
00:36fan event.
00:37Oh, I heard about the fan event. Okay, that's incredible and rightfully so.
00:42I want people to have that experience like we did of seeing it on a big screen.
00:48It's very cinematic, so that's amazing.
00:51You're the first person I heard that from. Great news.
00:54Yeah, literally, that's the brand new news right from you, right there.
00:57You new? I saw that on Twitter. I don't know.
00:59You're not on Instagram? No. Well, I am, but I don't look at it.
01:03Yeah, I found that out on Instagram.
01:05Bravo. That is very, very good news.
01:08I know Corey Olsen, the talking professor, was pushing for that, so obviously someone did well.
01:13It's really cool. I think the show is so cinematic, and the first two episodes, J.A. Bayona, who directed
01:21it, is such an amazing director who works with the camera so beautifully.
01:26So I think they'll really shine in cinemas.
01:29He is a film director, he's an auteur.
01:34You know, there's very few, I feel like there's very few of those directors still working at this scale.
01:41There's a handful of those that believe in the process from its inception, that get involved to, you know, the
01:48end of it, like, see it through, want to run as long as the cameras need to roll in order
01:55to find that nugget and that kernel, that essence.
01:59And it was, that's what the process was like for me to work with him.
02:05And I had a particular closeness to him as we both speak Spanish.
02:08So I was able to meet that even more intimate J.A.
02:13And, because I call him J.A.
02:15Because we're friends.
02:18He did a thing that was very, that I found being more of a visual person and the character being
02:24quite behavioral.
02:26He would run takes without any dialogue sometimes, and we would just run through the beats with looks, he would
02:34play music to get you in that environment of the character.
02:38So it just felt like working with just a great film director.
02:42His imagination is just wild, and so is his ambition, and yet also, he's very kind of silly and lighthearted
02:50on set.
02:51And that's a wonderful combination for an actor, to be able to work with someone like that.
02:55Yeah.
02:56And I think also, like, this is a global cast, which I think really suited the material because Tolkien was
03:03obsessed with myth and legend, and we had kind of all these different cultures who kind of were bringing their
03:09particular imagination from their particular place.
03:12And J.A.'s is just, and also his links with horror.
03:15I think that fantasy and horror kind of go really well together.
03:18The beautiful thing about Tolkien is that a new generation can continuously find this material, and so I'm curious how
03:23you would pitch this show to someone who, you know, maybe saw the Peter Jackson movies once and have never
03:30read the books.
03:30J.A. This is where you want to start. The films are Middle-earth in its adulthood, and they stand
03:36on their own. But this is the first chapter. This is the first steps on these epic journeys that you
03:43get to witness. You don't need to know anything. Just turn on Amazon. You'll be happy.
03:48J.A. And what you'll see is such a rich, rich set of worlds and realms because each realm is
03:53at the peak of its power. Numenor, Khazak Dune, the Elven Kingdoms.
03:58J.A. It's a brilliant time to come to Middle-earth and discover what happened before all those major events
04:04that we know quite well.
04:06The beauty about Tolkien's work is that there's so many themes which are timeless and still modern.
04:14The themes of friendship, of hope, of love and despair and, I guess, sticking together, believing that something better is
04:27coming.
04:28J.A. And I think that's the beauty of this world because it's so vast and so fantastic, yet within
04:36it, it has these stories which hopefully audiences will really be able to connect to. I think it's a really
04:41good combination.
04:42J.A. I think it's interesting because Tolkien was not a big fan of allegory, but I think one thing
04:48that appeals to me about fantasy is that it cushions you in a world where you can comfortably explore our
04:55existential longing, what it is to be human.
04:59J.A. And those themes of love, of loyalty, all these things are timeless. They belong to all of us.
05:05They're universal. And that belongs to this moment as much as it did 20 years ago.
05:10J.A. I would say that the themes are mythological. They are, you know, where he started it was local,
05:17but it's translated to the universal.
05:18J.A. So any of the themes that we feel as humans, you know, the battle between head and heart,
05:23the relationship to power, what happens to ego.
05:27J.A. I mean, specifically in terms of Numenor, there's people who want to live forever. And there's another side
05:32of the island, which is more of the faithful, who would like to continue on with the gift of Iluvatar
05:39and die and be mortal.
05:40J.A. So, yeah, there are many a theme. And I think because Tolkien was a genius and that he
05:49condensed lots of different mythologies, that this will be relatable as a story throughout the centuries, probably, for him. I'm
05:56sure it's going to be ongoing.
05:57J.A. Going into this, we were told that there's a five-season commitment to this, which is great. It's
06:02job security for you guys, and you can sort of plan out what you're going to be doing.
06:06J.A. I'm curious how much you asked about the future of the arc or where the story is going.
06:12Did you want to know any of that, or are you just focused on the now?
06:15J.A. I mean, of course. I mean, everyone kind of wants to know, like, what their security is like,
06:20I guess. But I think right now, I think the person that Theo is in the first season would be
06:27very different to what Theo is when he's mid-20s, you know?
06:30J.A. He's also the humans. Some people are elves, and they get to live a lot longer. So, I
06:35honestly have no clue what's going on. But right now, I've been set a task to do, and I think
06:41I don't really want to get ahead of myself too much and just kind of focus on doing the job
06:45for now.
06:46And if I live through Theo as he's living it, then I think that's where the best of it will
06:53come out.
06:54J.A. You won't be in your mid-20s five seasons from now.
06:57J.A. You'll be 19.
06:58J.A. Oh, yeah, probably.
06:59J.A. Well, I guess we know who we're playing in terms of Elendil, Eyarion, Kemen, but like, some of
07:06the characters are canon, so we know where the trajectory is. And Tolkien's written kind of signposts, moments that we
07:15know for these characters. But at the minute, we're focusing on season one and, you know, exploring the characters in
07:20their early beginnings.
07:22J.A. Isildur, for example, isn't a warrior yet. He's a sailor on the cusp of adulthood who's trying to
07:29find himself and his place in Numenor.
07:32J.A. It's quite exciting to kind of not know everything. And I think also kind of the showrunners have,
07:41as they've got to know us all as well, had that influence, how they've written particular characters and stuff.
07:49So it's really, it's exciting.
07:51J.A. I'm curious if you guys were able to keep up with some of the storylines that were happening
07:55in other kingdoms and other realms, or were you guys focused primarily on what you were doing?
07:59J.A. I think it's, you've got to focus on the world that you're in, I think. Yeah, I guess
08:05that there's no need really for a sense of the macro. You can just keep it to your world.
08:10And I think that benefits your character, depending on your storyline, of course. And with myself, I think it was
08:15all things Numenor.
08:16J.A. I mean, we were primarily focused within our worlds, but we had the gift of going to other
08:21people's sets and seeing their worlds. And that was really special.
08:24J.A. I once saw a dwarf, a wine author, eating sushi at lunch. And that is, that is a,
08:31that is a very bold thing to see. He had to kind of like take his beard and like lift
08:37it up and then just swallow some sushi.
08:38J.A. But like, yeah, seeing all the worlds was very special, but we only fully saw the finished product
08:43a few weeks ago. And that was an emotional experience because we've all been so engrossed in our own worlds
08:50and then seeing everyone else bring their A-game. And yeah, that was, it was great. It was great.
08:55Who's review of Rings of Power means the most to you?
08:59J.A. For better or worse, my mom. My mom, she has introduced me to the book. She's been a
09:04huge Tolkien fan as long as I can remember. And, you know, I grew up in Wellington.
09:07So, Tolkien has been inescapable my whole life. When I was in primary school, Peter Jackson was making his first
09:13trilogy. I was at drama school in Wellington. He was making the Hobbit movies.
09:17You know, Middle Earth has been in the air my whole life. I never thought I'd be part of one
09:21of these stories. But now that I am, the person who has the strongest opinion is, in fact, my mother.
09:27My mom. That's also mine. It's your mom. My mom.
09:32My mom. My mother is one of the least overtly excitable people about my career.
09:39Not in a bad way. She's proud.
09:41But she, you know, I am her boy. You know, so there is all this mirage of fame or big
09:51posters and stuff like that. That really doesn't do much for her.
09:54So, so having, I want to bring essence to the character. And if my mother sees that, I know that
10:06then I did it right. Because she knows my essence.
10:09So, like, I'm very excited to hear what she has to say.
10:12I found that I was terrified for the characters at every turn. It felt like there was a threat around
10:17every corner.
10:18I personally don't think I'd make it about five minutes in the world of Middle Earth. How long do you
10:22think you would survive?
10:23I can't see very well. So, I'm sure.
10:29You could get some glasses, surely. Middle Earth.
10:31Does anyone have glasses?
10:32We don't need them in Numenor. We've got perfect glasses.
10:35If I lived on Numenor, I could last a long time, I think, if I was in Middle Earth.
10:39Hmm. She's got a lot of smarts, though, this one. So, she's got to go away around.
10:43No, you could go to, like, a wizard and, like, get some...
10:46Get some eyes. Yeah, get some new eyes.
10:48Like, could Ima go to a wizard and get some new eyes?
10:52An actor in Middle Earth with all these...
10:56Orcs.
10:57Do you think I could say a sonnet, like, and they'd leave me alone or something? I don't know.
11:02I'd like to think maybe a couple of weeks.
11:05You know, I enjoy fishing. I can climb a tree.
11:08But probably not very long, to be quite honest, with all these warriors and everything.
11:12And, you know, I'm used to my comfortable life in the 21st century, so...
11:18But also, if I'm in DoomECO, I don't know.
11:22But...
