Advertisement
TV

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power stays true to Tolkien’s environmental message says Elrond actor Rob Aramayo

“If a character tries to supersede the natural process, Tolkien usually punishes them” the actor who plays esteemed elf Elrond explains

In our world today there is no bigger issue than the climate crisis. And so it’s only right that the biggest TV show of all time addresses the problem.

According to Rob Aramayo, who plays the elf Elrond – a younger version than that seen in the existing Lord of the Rings film trilogy – the environmental message was deeply rooted in Tolkien’s writing.

“One of the things I really love about what Tolkien tries to teach us is about respecting and honouring the natural world, and the natural process of things,” Aramayo tells The Big Issue.

“In the legendarium [Tolkien’s collected mythology] if a character or a group of characters try and supersede the natural process, Tolkien usually punishes them. So I feel like we could all learn something about respecting the natural world, and that’s something that’s really important.”

Aramayo is no stranger to ginormous fantasy shows – or playing younger versions of notable characters. In the final season of Game of Thrones he played Ned Stark in a series of flashback scenes. For Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, he certainly did his research and speaks like a Tolkien scholar.

He explains why setting the story in the Second Age of Middle-earth is such an interesting time: “because it’s a time when we don’t have much information, which is something really fun to play with in terms of the story perspective.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Relations between elves and dwarves were, Aramayo says, as good as they ever get – though constantly fluctuating, naturally. But there is another powerful message about the importance of different people coming together.

Aramayo explains: “It speaks to an interesting time in Tolkien’s history. For example, in the First Age, most of the stories involve some elven elements. Elves are everywhere, the great kingdoms at the First Age are all elven. Then in the Second Age, elves are not as prominent, but they’re more prominent than they are in the Third Age.

“It’s a time where the other races really come into their own and are going to, essentially, inherit the earth.

“So it’s the beginning of that acknowledgement that the world is a different place now. And we’re right at the beginning there.

“Ultimately, the strength of Tolkien and why eventually they manage to overcome enormous troubles with dark lords and things like that, is because they realise that together, with a mix of immortality, mortality, men, dwarves, elves and halflings, you can achieve strength as opposed to being fractured.

“That is the journey of the Second Age.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to watch on Prime now with a new episode weekly

Advertisement

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

Read All
Ralf Little on leaving Death in Paradise, his replacement and taking on Jeremy Hunt
Ralf Little
Exclusive

Ralf Little on leaving Death in Paradise, his replacement and taking on Jeremy Hunt

Mary & George's Tony Curran on playing pacifist, pleasure-seeking King James
Tony Curran as King James I
TV

Mary & George's Tony Curran on playing pacifist, pleasure-seeking King James

John Malkovich on fashion, hope and why beauty is mandatory for the survival of the species
TV

John Malkovich on fashion, hope and why beauty is mandatory for the survival of the species

Filmmaker Adam Curtis on epic new BBC drama The Way – and how the power of TV is shaking up Britain
Callum Scott Howells in The Way
TV

Filmmaker Adam Curtis on epic new BBC drama The Way – and how the power of TV is shaking up Britain

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue