Middle-earth's Second Age is here
"I think when you live for thousands and thousands of years, the ability to be one-track-minded makes much more sense. I'm exploring the possibilities of being lethal."
Welsh actor Morfydd Clark is currently tearing up TV screens as the sword-wielding and ship-jumping Galadriel in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power', currently streaming on Prime Video. Once famously played by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson's trilogy, this is a new age for the character, who is younger, more aggressive and more headstrong than we've seen her previously.
The 33-year-old has been enjoying a steady rise in Hollywood, with this role certainly her biggest to date. She's also starred in the horror movie 'Saint Maud', played opposite Dev Patel in 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' and will soon play Orphelia in 'Hamlet', which is also starring Riz Ahmed and Joe Alwyn.
We caught up with the actor over the phone just days before 'The Rings of Power' debuted on Prime Video.
How has it been for you to talk about all things Galadriel these past few weeks?
It's just the strangest - I can't quite believe it. You're quite lucky as an actor to bury yourself very deep in unexpected topics and I never thought mine would be Galadriel. I'm chuffed that it is.
You've had quite the trajectory on-screen leading up to 'The Rings of Power' - how has all of that been for you?
Well, you see most of that happened while I was in New Zealand filming this so it kind of felt disconnected from my real life. I think my normal life hasn't changed very much unless I'm abducted by aliens and put in unexpected situations! A late-night talk show being top of the list there [Morfydd appeared on Stephen Colbert last month talking about lambing season].
I wanted to ask you about this - do you have a farming background?
Yes, I would help with lambing and would work on a farm throughout my teens. It's just such a secret world, isn't it, farming? Unless you've done it, you can't understand it! Sometimes if I smell certain beauty products that smell a bit like colostrum powder - I'm like, 'Oh no I don't like that one, sorry' and no one around me knows that smell.
Back to 'TROP' - Galadriel is a rogue elf essentially, what was it like to play her like that?
It's very cool. I think I worry a lot about what people think - but I think Galadriel's fearlessness to not be part of the crowd is something that I find difficult to relate to. So it was really fun to try and explore that. I think when you live for thousands and thousands of years, the ability to be one-track-minded makes much more sense. I'm exploring the possibilities of being lethal.
Did you reach out to Cate Blanchett at all to get her "blessing"?
I reached out to Cate Blanchett in terms of re-watching the movies all over again and doing marathons of them - but as an actor, I don't always know how useful it is talking to the other actor about their process because everyone has one. So I watched her work as a way of "reaching out" and let her get on with her Cate Blanchett-y life.
We're living in a world of adaptations right now - is there a book, a TV series or something from your childhood you'd love to see get the big screen treatment?
Hmmm... Oh! I definitely know. I would love if some of The Mabinogion stories were adapted - the Welsh myths. They're very Middle-earth-y and really weird and intense.
Catch Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power', which continues with a new episode dropping on Prime Video every Friday until September 30.