Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power's Dwarf Makeup Took 3 Hours To Apply And 45 Minutes To Remove [Comic-Con]
Middle-earth has been around for a long, long time, and the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy was just a tiny tidbit in the massive lore and history he created. The "one ring" was in fact, not the only ring, but the new series from Prime Video — focusing on the Second Age of Middle-earth, the fall of Númenor, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and the forging of the Great Rings — looks to tell that story.
"Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has been described as a Machiavellian drama, with the series already having mapped out five seasons worth of story, culminating in roughly 50 hours of programming. Fortunately, The Tolkien Estate is working very closely with Amazon and the show's creators, so we hopefully won't end up with another "Game of Thrones season 8" debacle.
The series will introduce a new world of characters for fans to become obsessed with, like Owain Arthur's Durin IV. According to Tolkien's lore, Durin IV was a king of Durin's Folk and of Khazad-dûm in the Second Age. As is the case with the previous three "Durin" in his lineage, it is believed that he is the fourth incarnation of Durin I. He shares similar behaviors and his memorable dwarven appearance. The Peter Jackson films established the "look" of live-action Tolkien dwarves, and the new series is continuing the trend of bringing characters to life using practical makeup effects. Like, a lot of practical effects.
'Another artform to play with'
During the "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Owain Arthur spoke about just how intense it was to transform into Durian IV. According to Arthur, his makeup took a whopping three hours to apply each day, and roughly 45 minutes at the end of each shoot to remove. "But you know what?" he said at the panel, "I was so excited to know that I was playing a dwarf and that I got to put the gear on my face." Arthur then jokes, "Cut to: the last day of shooting — the relief of taking it all off." He shared a laugh with the audience before really selling home the honor he felt playing the character.
"But no, it's special," he said. "It's the first time I've worn prosthetics and it was a challenge." Despite the advancements we've made over the years with prosthetic creation, it's still an incredibly difficult job to act when your instrument–your face, voice, and body, are all being modified by prosthetics. "It's another artform to play with, to act with," he said. "I loved it."
"Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" debuts on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.