The Wheel of Time is barreling toward the end of its third season, but we're still reeling from the past few weeks of Prime Video's epic fantasy series. Based on the beloved book series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel of Time is one of the most iconic fantasy sagas of all time. It spans 14 books (and a prequel), with thousands of named characters and bits of lore to keep track of. Season 3 of the TV show introduces a slew of new elements, as well as some faces that fans have been dying to see on screen.
Those introductions began right near the top of the season, when Queen Morgase Trakand (Olivia Williams), the mother of Elayne (Ceara Coveney), came to the White Tower to demand answers for her daughter's abduction last season. Morgase brought the rest of her immediate family with her: her consort Lord Gaebril (Nuno Lopes) and her two sons, Gawyn Trakand (Luke Fetherston) and Galad Damodred (Callum Kerr).
The royal family of Andor all have major roles to play in the story story, so these were characters the show had to get right. Fortunately, it did; Galad, Gawyn, and Morgase all made a huge impression, which is impressive considering how little time we got to spend with them this season.
We caught up with actor Callum Kerr to talk about stepping into the boots of Galad, Elayne's self-righteous eldest brother. We discussed his audition process, what it was like joining the series, filming opposite "Lord Gaebril," and more. We also got into a MAJOR SPOILER FOR THE WHEEL OF TIME books to discuss Galad's parents, because I couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask Kerr how much he knew about his character's complicated family tree. Watch our full interview below, or read on for a transcription edited for length and clarity:
DANIEL ROMAN for Winter Is Coming: Obviously Galad is a character fans have been waiting to see for years. Can you talk a little bit about how you were cast, and what preparations you had to do for the role once you knew you got it?
CALLUM KERR: Classic audition to start off with...you set up a camera in your house and you read some lines with someone, and then you send it off. I didn't know who I was playing because they used code names for the characters...they kind of squashed the characters together, so it was Galad/Gawyn. And so I read in two very different styles, the same lines. And I guess from that they were like 'Oh, this guy is more Galad, or Gawyn.'
Even though they used a code name it's one of those things where like, when The Wheel of Time's casting, everyone knows they're casting, you know what I mean? It's very hard to hide such a big show is about to go into production.
I very fortunately got the role, caught up with a few of the people on the creative team, on the stunts team, and then a couple weeks later flew out to Prague and started training in stunts. During that time, there's way too much to read, in the three weeks that [after] I'd got the role...so I looked at a lot of the fan websites. I live in Nashville, and a bunch of my friends were losing their minds because they've all read the books. So actually I went to them to get some details. And then I spoke to Ceara and Luke, who play Galad's siblings...and got as much background and training done as possible before we started filming. So it was really good, it was really fast.
WiC: The initial press release kind of hid this, but in the credits for Episodes 2 and 3, it says Galad's last name is Damodred, the same as Moiraine's family. So I was curious, how much have you and showrunner Rafe Judkins discussed Galad's parentage? Do you know those details, or is that something you're hoping to discover as the show goes on?
CK: Yes, I looked those details up. And it's one of those things where you almost have to draw...I think I had to draw it out when I first started the show. [Laughs] When I read it at first, I thought Galad and Rand were half brothers. But they're theoretically step brothers. But because Galad was born before his mother became queen. that's why he gets his dad's name, and his other two siblings get his mom's name. So yeah, it took me a strong second to get my head around it. And like I said, a couple years later after filming I'm like, 'Did I get that right?' You watch season 2 and we're not in it yet, so I'm trying to keep it fresh. But I'm glad [season 3] finally came out. I'd love to explore more of that.
Editor's note: Galad's family tree is indeed very confusing. Here's the breakdown: Galad's parents are Taringail Damodred and Tigraine Mantear, the previous daughter-heir of Andor. After giving birth to Galad, Tigraine fled her duties and marriage to go live in the Aiel Waste, where she began a relationship with Janduin, the clan chief of the Taardad Aiel. She would eventually give birth to Rand on the slopes of Dragonmount. Shortly before Tigraine gave birth to Rand, her mother — the Queen of Andor — died, plunging the nation into the succession crisis where Morgase ascended the Lion Throne. Morgase married Taringail to help solidify her claim, and had two children with him: Gawyn and Elayne. So Galad is Rand's half brother on his mother's side, as well as Elayne and Galad's half brother on his father's side. This information is first made clear to the reader in book 6, Lord of Chaos, though it's a much longer time before all the relevant characters learn about their relations.
WiC: If The Wheel of Time gets to return for a fourth season, what's one aspect of Galad that you're hoping to dig deeper into in the future?
CK: I love his relationship with his family, actually. I think that was really fun to play, and because a lot of our filming and a lot of prep went into the fights — which I love that, I could do that all day, put a sword in my hand and we can go for it — but those little scenes with the family, I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed maybe a little bit of humor to a character that might not be the most humorous of characters, but I think the humor comes from the other siblings kind of thinking that, 'Ugh, he's just so annoying...you're trying to be so serious and asking all the annoying questions.' I thought that was really fun. I like the fact that he can be annoying to siblings, but in his head he's just looking after them, he's trying to do what's right.
And then, I'd love to see him torn. Because there's this thing where he is almost...not emotionless, but stoically always trying to do what he thinks is right. I would love it if there's a situation that arose where he wasn't sure and he had to take some time to contemplate...and then his actions would then follow his decision, and then it means that his decision was really thought out. And then you can kind of either judge him for that or you can support him for that. And I know what the future holds in the books, so I'm really excited. And like you said, I hope it goes further. I think this was an introduction, I think there's a lot more that we can unwrap.
WiC: So one of the things we found out in the third episode of the season is that Lord Gaebril has a secret identity. He's not who he says he is, he's actually one of the Forsaken and he's been using Compulsion on Queen Morgase's whole family to make them think he's been around for a lot longer than he's actually been around. What do you think is Galad's fondest fake memory with Lord Gaebril?
CK: Oh my gosh, that's a good one. God, I bet it's not even...I bet his fond memory is just like sitting down and discussing like tactics or something. Like the other siblings will probably be like 'Oh my god, the time he got me through this hard time'...I bet Galad's just like, 'Yeah I love just like sitting down and drinking tea and talking about the world.' [Laughs] These conversations that didn't even happen!
WiC: Were there any on set directions about how you all should act toward Nuno Lopes [who plays Lord Gaebril]? Because I'm assuming you know obviously, going into those scenes. Was that a consideration in terms of how the scenes were shot?
CK: Yeah, definitely. I think [Ceara Coveney] said something like, 'It's good to see you again' at the top of that scene...but we didn't have any kind of direct lines, me and Nuno. But I guess the direction which we all kind of fell into naturally is, this just feels completely normal. Like we all think that this is the normal thing, this is the guy that we think it is. So less we do, the more it feels like...this guy is basically like a father figure, a neighbor figure that we've known forever.
But I really like, you know when we first walk in...the big entrance and here comes the queen. [The character who announces us, Leane] says, 'And...oh...forgive me I forgot for a second, Lord Gaebril.' And I thought that was a really nice touch, because if you don't know, you can learn later and then if you rewatched it you'd go, 'Ah!' But because you've read the books, you go 'I know exactly what just happened there.' I thought that was a really nice moment. So we knew then, you know when were filming it, that's why that was in the script, because when we discussed the script before we kind of...try and pick out these little moments. So that was cool. But I never, as Galad, got a moment like that with Lord Gaebril.
WiC: I think we've got time for one last question. What was your most memorable day on the set of The Wheel of Time?
CK: I think my most memorable day was the 'friendly fight' with Luke, where they're kind of just showing off a little bit. They're kind of sparring...they're letting each other get little points on each other to look cool, you know? Like if he throws an elbow, Galad will roll extra hard and then come up looking tough, and look up at the girls. I thought it was really fun to play.
But also I really liked that because a lot of the cast [was] there that one day. So not only was it fun to film, and it was a month of kind of hard work with stunts paying off, it was also just really fun to get to know the rest of the cast a little bit. So that was really cool...Zoë [Robins] was there, I think I'd seen Marcus [Rutherford] in stunts but he wasn't there, obviously Ceara was there and Dónal. I can remember every time you know it was 'Cut, we need to change the lights around' or whatever, we go off to cast holding where everyone's just sitting around the table and talking about their experiences so far on the show and what they've all been up to. I just thought that was a really cool day to just sit and drink coffee and learn about the show a little bit from the cast that play the characters, and then go in and film a really cool scene in the sand.
A huge thank you to Callum Kerr for stopping by the site to talk all things Galad and The Wheel of Time!
Two episodes remain in The Wheel of Time season 3. We'll be covering them extensively, so make sure to check back soon!
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