Zoë Robins was “intimidated” to play Nynaeve on The Wheel of Time

Nynaeve al’Meara is one of the most memorable characters from The Wheel of Time. This is a woman who will stop at absolutely nothing to accomplish her goals, and woe to anybody who tries to talk her down. Playing a headstrong character like this can be a challenge if you’re not bellicose by nature, which is the situation actor Zoë Robins found herself in before auditioning.

“At first, when I was reading her, I was a little bit intimidated by the prospect of playing her because she’s so headstrong and fierce and stubborn,” Robins told People. “I’m from New Zealand and we’re not really known to be like that at all. Sometimes we can be quite passive and agreeable and just nice, which are not bad things. But I was like, at the beginning, how could I find that route into playing someone like that?”

As it happens, Robins auditioned by play both Nynaeve and Egwene, a role that eventually went to Madeleine Madden. She quickly got over her initial hesitations once she talked about the role to showrunner Rafe Judkins, whose passion for the series was catching. “The thing I love the most about Nynaeve is just how human she is and how flawed she is,” Robins said. “I actually haven’t had the opportunity to get to know a character so intimately and spend so much time in their mind.”

Among the younger cast members, Robins has received a lot of praise. One of her biggest moments so far came in Episode 4, when she tapped into the One Power to heal a group of wounded warders and Aes Sedai, something she had no idea she was bale to do.

“She’s coming to grips with the fact that she has this newfound power that she had no idea that she was able to access, she’s slowly falling for someone, which she can’t help at all, and she could potentially, in her mind, be the Dragon Reborn,” Robins said. “Nynaeve is not someone who necessarily thinks much of herself. There’s this interesting mix of her being very free to speak her mind and she knows her place, but she’s also quite humble. So for her to discover that she’s able to wield this power is really quite scary for her. Also, at that point in time, she’s just desperate to get to her Two Rivers people. So, there’s a lot going on for her.”

What’s ahead for Nynaeve and Lan on The Wheel of Time?

Specifically, Nynaeve is “slowly falling” for Lan, Moiraine’s warder. Why are these two drawn to each other?

"I think what connects them at the end of the day is they have the same motivation. [Lan’s] is to protect Moiraine, no matter what. As her Warder, he will die for her. That’s his job, really. So he puts his life on the line for her. And he also has this very special bond where they’re connected almost in a spiritual way. Nynaeve has the same thing, specifically with the group of young kids that get taken from the Two Rivers. She will also die for them. So, I think there is this common understanding of each other’s purpose. There’s this respect that I think actually surprises Nynaeve because it takes a lot for her to respect someone. But she sees him and it obviously catches her off guard, as I don’t think she’s actually in a position where she’s looking to fall in love."

Nynaeve and Lan took their relationship to the next level in the most recent episode of the series, and book-readers know they have miles yet to go.

The season 1 finale of The Wheel of Time airs this Friday, December 24 on Amazon Prime Video.

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