Morfydd Clark opens up about being cast as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings show

Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings series isn’t connected to Peter Jackson’s movies, but Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, still has them on the brain.

Here it is, another drop from the drip feed of news coming about about Amazon’s forthcoming Lord of the Rings prequel series set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, long before Frodo and company were born. This time, the update comes from actor Morfydd Clark, of His Dark Materials and Saint Maud fame. Clark, who will be playing a young(er) version of the elf Galadriel, revealed to Empire that she was “a really nerdy fan of the films” before getting cast in the iconic role.

In Peter Jackson’s movies, Galadriel was played by Cate Blanchette, who will be a tough act to follow. It sounds like that’s occurred to Clark, too. “You have imposter syndrome with every job you get,” she admitted. “And at times you have to be like, ‘Look, I’m not being rational, I do deserve to get this job.’ But I think with this, not having imposter syndrome would make you mad, because it is so ridiculous for it to have turned out this way.”

"I’m trying to normalise elements of it to maintain my sanity, while not losing my sanity by normalising it too much, because it isn’t normal!"

Landing such a huge role in an expensive series definitely isn’t entirely normal, and Clark seems aware of the pressure on her to do the role justice. The new series won’t be connected to Peter Jackson’s films, but Clark still has them on the brain, as do a lot of fans. “I don’t think I could possibly forget about the films,” Clark said. “I was 11 when the first one came out, so I was at this age where I had just let go of magic and whimsy, and these films came out. I was like, ‘Oh my God, grown-ups can think like this.’ There’s a huge amount of respect for the films.”

After a small pandemic-induced break, filming is back underway on the project, with director JA Bayona in the big chair working with a script from Patrick McKay and John D.Payne.

As for when we’ll actually see the show, it’ll probably be a while; they’re currently filming the first two episodes, then they plan to take another break to assess and makes necessary tweaks, and then it’s back to work on the rest of the first season. But we will return to Middle-earth sooner or later.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels