'The Lord Of The Rings' TV Series Adds 20 More Actors To Its Sprawling Cast
The Lord of the Rings is becoming the one show to hire them all. The latest casting news from the Amazon Studios series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novels features a whopping 20 (!) actors who are joining the sprawling cast of the show.
That joke that there are only five British actors and they've all worked together may have just been shattered by The Lord of the Rings TV series, which seemed to have hired so many Brits that they've had to tap into the well of New Zealand, Sri Lankan, and Australian actors for its ambitious adaptation of Tolkien's beloved series. Amazon Studios announced 20 additional cast members joining the already enormous ensemble cast, who are currently filming in New Zealand.
The new cast members include Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker and Sara Zwangobani.
Blackburn, Chapman, Crum, Cunliffe, Tait, Tarrant and Wadham all hail from New Zealand, with the remaining international ensemble cast originating from Australia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States, per Amazon's statement.
Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said of the newcomers:
"The world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is epic, diverse, and filled with heart. These extraordinarily talented performers, hailing from across the globe, represent the culmination of a multi-year search to find brilliant and unique artists to bring that world to life anew. The international cast of Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series is more than just an ensemble. It is a family. We are thrilled to welcome each of them to Middle-earth."
Payne and McKay spearhead Amazon's most ambitious (and expensive) original project yet, tapping Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom filmmaker J.A. Bayona to direct the first two episodes, and recruiting a core cast of mostly newcomers that include Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.
Bayona also serves as executive producer alongside his creative partner Belén Atienza; with executive producers Lindsey Weber, Bruce Richmond, Callum Greene, Gennifer Hutchison, Jason Cahill, Justin Doble and Sharon Tal Yguado.
We don't have many concrete details about the plot of Amazon's Lord of the Rings prequel series, apart from a cool-looking map that hints at a narrative that takes place during the Second Age of Middle Earth, long before the events of the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit.