Game of Thrones star Ciarán Hinds joins The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The first season of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power already introduced us to a sprawling cast of characters, and season 2 will keep its foot on the gas. We already know that actors Sam Hazeldine, Gabriel Akuwudike, Nia Towle, Ben Daniels and more are joining up. Now, Deadline reports that the show is getting three more new arrivals: Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie.

Fans might know Rory Kinnear from his role as Frankenstein’s monster in Penny Dreadful, as well as from Daniel Craig’s James Bond films. And Moodie has appeared in shows like A Discovery of Witches and Sherlock. But Hinds is the big get here. He played villain Steppenwolf in Justice League, was nominated for an Oscar for his work in Belfast, played Julius Caesar in HBO’s Rome and later the King Beyond the Wall Mance Rayder on Game of Thrones.

There’s no info on who any of these actors will play. That said, we know that the second season of The Rings of Power will introduce the elf Círdan, one of the oldest elves in Middle-earth and the bearer of one of the titular rings of power. I think Ciarán Hinds would be a great fit for a character with such presence and history. We’ll see if my guess is correct when The Rings of Power season 2 comes out on Amazon Prime Video next year.

Ciarán Hinds was “put off” by the sex on Game of Thrones

Speaking of Hinds, he talked to the Independent about his long career, including his time on Game of Thrones. He came on board as Mance Rayder in season 3, after the show had already developed a reputation. One of the things it had become known for was its sex scenes, which didn’t sit well with Hinds. “I was rather put off by the amount of sexuality that was going on in it because it was taking away from the actual political storytelling,” the actor said. “But that’s business, I guess, from their perspective.”

The first few seasons of Game of Thrones definitely had their fair share of shameless sex scenes, although they thankfully dropped off as the series moved into the back half of its life. Hinds was there for the transitionary period, although Mance Rayder was never involved in any sex scenes himself. His character died in the first episode of season 5.

Game of Thrones, Belfast and Zack Snyder’s Justice League are all streaming on HBO Max now. Although honestly, you’re likely to see Hinds in something sooner or later no matter where you look; he’s done a lot of great work over the years.

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