Shohreh Aghdashloo tells us about joining The Wheel of Time, how Elaida differs from The Expanse's Avasarala

The Wheel of Time is in the thick of its third season, and things are heating up for Prime Video's fantasy series. Last week the show aired "The Road to the Spear," its tour de force mid-season episode where Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) and Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) journeyed into the mist-covered Aiel city of Rhuidean. There, they each went on separate vision questions: Moiraine saw thousands of horrific possible futures while Rand relived key events in Aiel history through the eyes of his ancestors.

The result was one of the most powerful episodes of The Wheel of Time to date. But the season is just getting warmed up. Since we spent the entirety of "The Road to the Spear" with Rand and Moiraine's party in the Aiel Waste, there will be a lot of other storylines to catch up with when the next episode, "Tel'aran'rhiod," comes out, including the Trolloc and Whitecloak invasion of the Two Rivers, Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Elayne's (Ceara Coveney) hunt for the Black Ajah, and the mounting unrest at the White Tower of the Aes Sedai, where the Amyrlin Seat's former rival Elida do Avriny a'Roihan is stirring things up.

Elaida is a major antagonist in The Wheel of Time books, and the television show needed an actress with considerable gravity to play her. They tapped Shohreh Aghdashloo, best known in the sci-fi and fantasy world for her breakout role as Chrisjen Avasarala in The Expanse. With her commanding presence and signature gravelly voice, Aghdashloo has effortlessly stepped into The Wheel of Time to portray Elaida as a figure formidable enough to give Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) headaches at every turn...and her most daring gambits are yet to come.

We spoke with Aghdashloo about her unusual road to joining The Wheel of Time, how Elaida differs from Avasarala, her favorite aspects of the series and more. Watch our full interview below, or scroll to read it below:

DANIEL ROMAN for Winter Is Coming: I want to start by talking about how you got into this series. Because you, very famously in a lot of nerdy circles, had this conversation with showrunner Rafe Judkins on Twitter about joining the show. We know he's had you in mind to play Elaida for years. How much of a role did that sort of stuff have in your decision to join the series?

SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO: Well, Rafe Judkins said something that [made me know] I could immediately accept the offer. He said, 'We've had Aghdashloo on our radar ever since 2018, but we knew she was working on The Expanse.' And that was it. I'm like, okay, I can do something really tangible...because the showrunner has had an eye on me from 2018. I'm sure, being such a smart guy, he knows this [character], I may be able to do a good job on the show. And that's how I got in.

WiC: It's cool to see his excitement for getting you in this part, that he's been dreaming of having you in this role. You mentioned The Expanse, obviously I'm a huge fan of that show too. You also played a very powerful, very political character in Avasarala. What's the biggest difference for you between playing Avasarala and Elaida?

SA: Well, I have to say that Elaida do Avriny is a ruthlessly powerful politician. Avasarala in The Expanse wasn't ruthless. She believed in morality. She was not a Machiavellian, and for her the ends did not justify the means. So that's a huge difference between the two characters.

WiC: What is the part of this season that you are most excited for people to see?

SA: My favorite one is being able to enter the dreams of others. Which has been talked about for ages, for centuries. Not a new notion really, but I'm dying to see if it can happen in real life, like how we can enter each other's dreams. That is the best part for me, the most exciting part that I would love for fans to see.

WiC: Elaida always seems to have schemes within schemes, and hidden meanings to her words when she's talking. Do you think there's anyone in the series that Elaida actually trusts?

SA: I don't think Elaida trusts anyone, especially at the White Tower. She's been fooled once, she's not gonna be fooled again. No, there's no way. I don't think she can trust anyone in her situation, and I don't blame her to be honest with you. [Laughs]

WiC: How much do you think her time with Queen Morgase has informed that? Do you think she was more trusting before, or not really going all the way back?

SA: I [would say] years before she returns to the White Tower. She's been betrayed once, and she still does not know who was responsible for this. Therefore, it could be anybody, anyone, Either at the White Tower or the castle, it does not make a difference. I don't think being in that situation would allow her to trust anybody, even Queen Morgase, although she's very faithful to her. But still, I think she's trying not to reveal herself fully, because she cannot trust anyone here.

WiC: I loved the video that was put out recently that was kind of like your first day on set, showing what it was like going through your first costume fitting, the makeup department, walking onto the White Tower set. This is a huge production with a lot of different departments all working at the top of their game. You've been on a lot of different shows, what is the element of The Wheel of Time that has impressed you the most since you've joined?

SA: Diversity. Our diversity. It's one of the most diverse, global shows I've ever been in, and I just love the fact that it has millions and millions of followers and fans, and the fact that it is aired all over the world. I love when...in real life, little girls in Asia, Africa, elsewhere, when they see me in this huge grand show, they would think, 'If she made it, I can make it too.'

A massive thank you to Shohregh Aghdashloo for taking the time to chat with us about The Wheel of Time!

New episodes of The Wheel of Time drop Thursdays on Prime Video. We'll be covering the series extensively, so if you're enjoying the season make sure to check back for more!

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