The female stars of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, premiering Sept. 2 PHOTO BY JASON BELL/ PRIME VIDEO
HISTORICALLY MALE-DOMINATED, PRIME VIDEO’S $1 BILLION THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER SERIES (THE MOST EXPENSIVE EVER CREATED) HAS EIGHT LEADING LADIES AT ITS FOREFRONT. GET TO KNOW THE ACTRESSES TAKING ON NEW AND FAN-FAVORITE ROLES IN THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EPIC DRAMA SET THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE THE EVENTS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN’S THE HOBBIT AND THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
ACTRESS: Sophia Nomvete
CHARACTER: Princess Disa
REALM: Dwarves
This dwarven princess is seen standing in front of Khazaddûm, also known as Moria from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, an ancient subterranean kingdom in Middle-earth, beneath the Misty Mountains. Nomvete marks the first female dwarf—as well as the first Black woman—to play a dwarf in a Lord of the Rings movie or series. Born in the U.K., Nomvete is of African and Iranian heritage and speaks fluent Persian.
ACTRESS: Morfydd Clark
CHARACTER: Galadriel
REALM: Elves
Morfydd Clark, a Welsh actress, takes on the ethereal but powerful role that Cate Blanchett played in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films, only thousands of years younger in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. In the new show, her character has an unwavering certainty that evil is closer than others realize.
ACTRESS: Nazanin Boniadi CHARACTER: Bronwyn REALM: Southlanders
Not included in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, the role of Bronwyn was specially created for the Amazon series. She plays the single mother of Theo and the village healer who owns an apothecary in Tirharad, Middle-earth’s Southland. In the series, she falls in love with Silvan Elf Arondir. British Iranian actress Boniadi was born in Tehran and fled to London shortly after the Iranian Revolution. In her adopted home, she trained in contemporary drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
ACTRESS: Sara Zwangobani
CHARACTER: Marigold Brandyfoot
REALM: Harfoots, the predecessors of Hobbits
The Australian actress is best known for her roles on a series of Aussie TV shows and soap operas. Zwangobani has performed in the Sydney Theatre Company’s In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and has toured Australia playing Mark Antony in Bell Shakespeare Theatre Company’s groundbreaking production of Julius Caesar.
ACTRESS: Ema Horvath CHARACTER: Eärien REALM: Númenóreans
A Númenórean lady of the Second Age, Hovath’s character is the daughter of Lord Elendil of Andúnië, but does not appear in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. A Slovak American actress, Horvath’s film career began in 2015 after being offered the opportunity to audition for a role in the film Shell, even though she had come to Los Angeles to study screenwriting. Horvath was admitted to several theater conservatories but ultimately chose to pursue a B.A. in English literature from Harvard University.
ACTRESS: Cynthia Addai Robinson
CHARACTER: Queen Regent Míriel
REALM: Númenóreans
American actress Cynthia Addai Robinson plays the daughter of King Tar-Palantir, and the last rightful heir of Númenor, the kingdom of Men, located on an island between Middle-earth and Aman. When we meet her in the series, Robinson’s character will be in power, overseeing the region.
ACTRESS: Megan Richards
CHARACTER: Poppy Proudfellow
REALM: Harfoots
Ancestors of the Hobbits, the Harfoots do not live in The Shire but in a similar society that thrives on secrecy and evading detection. Just 20 years old, Richards has trained at West London Drama Training and The BRIT School. She is an accomplished singer and musician and plays the piano, saxophone and guitar.
ACTRESS: Markella Kavenagh CHARACTER: Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot REALM: Harfoots
Alongside Megan Richards’ character, Australian actress Kavenagh’s curious Nori encounters an enigmatic lost man whose identity is part of the series’ greatest mysteries. They both play curious harfoots in the Amazon series, but it is Elanor’s name that has fans predicting that she’s Sam’s (Samwise Gamgee’s) daughter.
Photography by:
