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Spoilers ahead for season two ofThe Rings of Powerthrough thefinale, Shadow and Flame.
(Apologies to our fiery runner-up, Khazad-dums Balrog.)
All this takes place in, essentially, one room.
He goes out on the balcony, Charles Edwards, who plays Celebrimbor, notes with a laugh.
Where is Celebrimbors point of no return?
Is it the first time he agrees to speak to Halbrand?
A literal, magical spell, or a spell of personality?A bit of everything.
I like to think that Saurons plan is to capture this guy, to ensnare him in his web.
I believe thats when it happens.
I didnt want to play it as inevitable at all.
Why did Celebrimbor fall for Saurons lies when Halbrand first shows up at Eregions gates?
And this is what Sauron sells him in his pitch to help and heal Middle-earth.
Then it starts to unravel slightly as they go on.
From then on I thought,He believes that this is happening.
Its like Jesus in my living room.Hes going to show me the way.
Hes the path to my creative fulfillment.
Had it just been Halbrand …
They just piss you off.
Then theres the gaslighting.
But then slowly Annatar changes.
Charlie does it so brilliantly, the way his voice changes when he becomes more Sauron-like.
That happens gradually, and theres a shift from the god to this adversary.
One of the more subtly chilling moments comes when Celembrimbor forgets Mirdanias name.
Am I correct in assuming that before Saurons influence, Celebrimbor was a good, if demanding, boss?
It makes this slip up not to mention Mirdanias death all the more horrible.Very much so.
Ive had some experience with dementia in my life, with loved ones.
Its the kind of sudden blank stare when they dont have a clue who theyre talking to.
I wanted to have a go at do that in that little moment.
And they give a shot to cover up afterward, embarrassed.
Theyre this ethereal race thats above many mortal concerns, so this self-mutilation was a bit of a shock.
His name means Hand of Silver.
The fact that its his hands that he has to maim is heartbreaking in a way.
But it shows his determination.
Weve broken those rules here and there on this show, and I applaud that.
Totally unexpected and shocking moment, and it was great to shoot.
It reminds us that hes not just Saurons jeweler: Hes the renowned leader of a legendary city.
I loved the different facets of him.
Theres very little written about him.
That was another great appeal of playing the character.
Theres not a set version of who he should be.
Ive really relished this.
Because there are only crumbs left by Tolkien in terms of his character.
There is a beginning, middle, and end all in two or three sentences.
Then playing that contrast was very exciting.
Is what were seeing at the end there the true Celebrimbor?
Hes been put through the ringer and turned inside out.
The truest we see him is when hes working and getting excited.
Any artist, when theyre doing their work, thats them.
What happens outside of that, well see.
But when you see him working, sketching, writing, doing anything with his hands, thats Celebrimbor.
There could be an idea of enslavement with the rings as well.
Maybe hes pieced that together as well.
Did you have a preference?The first one was on my first day shooting the season.
I think I like the second one.
Youve got all the blood and arrows hanging out and all that stuff.
The Rings of Poweris full of echoes and allusions to the original trilogy.
Thats all we had on our minds then.
But these things do ring bells because its Tolkien.
Im sure hes intending to have echoes running through his stories about how we die.
Echoes are good to help us learn and teach us things.
Celebrimbors final words, and your last lines on the show, are the Lord of the Rings.
Thats when he kind of coins it.
Then in the death scene, Im trying to throw it back at him in a very different vein.
But yeah, you see it written down and youre like Okay, okay.
Im gonna say The Thing.
I was up there for a while and we were toying with what to say.
Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less.
It just so happens to contain the title of the show.
Ultimately, how do you view Celebrimbor?
As a tragic hero?
Hes a hero because he wants to do good.
However, his pride muddies the issue.
Hes got this familial devil sitting on his shoulder.His grandfatheris taunting him, in his ear.
Hes constantly trying to make something better; hes chasing his tail as many artists do.
Nothing is quite good enough or quite right.
When youre a perfectionist, even though people think youre wonderful, you still dont think youre good enough.
There are all these stories of actors from the movies going I got to keep my Hobbit feet.
I got to keep my ears.
Did you get to keep any pointy ears or anything?I didnt get to keep anything.
Those ears are not fun to take home.
They are worn once, and at the end of the day they just look like flaps of skin.
They look like something leftover on the operating table.
Theyre not something I particularly wanted to take.
But I never got it.
