The Rings of Power Cast Offers Fantastic Insights into Season 2

and now a brief word from our sponsor I am about to start the biggest war of this century and I'm not going to fire a single shot well if you think that got there un EAS in want you just wait what did the president know and when did he know it every Mr gof tear down this wall Wants to Rule the World he gains the ability to sculpt their very thoughts our armies cannot defeat him there's so much going on this season and it's so exciting um I want to know both of you are playing these monarchs in this tolken world and was there anyone in history that you kind of look towards um when taking on this role not for me specifically but you know you certainly think about leaders throughout history you know be they Queens Kings Prime Ministers presidents um because they all are in this very unique position um obviously all very different context different circumstances but I I always thought about you know that sort of top tier of society where it's a very small circle and that that Circle of concentration it just shrinks and potentially it it can be that question of like do you have reliable people around you who can you trust um it's Lonely at the Top um it can be very isolated and so I often thought about those things um but there wasn't necessarily tapping into any one figure or or sort of using that in a way it was more about just you know sort of thinking through the idea about emotionally kind of what what is that like what would that be like and obviously many leaders throughout history have written their own autobiographies and have Diaries and there's plenty to mine from sort of like the the thought process of various uh world leaders yeah I mean Eisenhower Truman Lincoln uh they're they're all so much of your job as a leader is hurting cats for gil g yeah oh there you are hello oh there you go nice to see you for a second now you can see my smile in my laugh so yeah great um but that there's something about uh kind of being a loving parent in the sense that you're Parenting teenagers and you know what you have to do is going to be unpopular and they're going to fight against it but it is for the better good of your people and especially for someone like Gil gallot who's been alive for thousands of years um he he he has the experience to back up his decision but also has to have the grace to allow for mistakes and growth of of those who serve under him and um so certainly there's a lot to glean from past leaders and there's also a lot to glean from tolking I mean we it's just uh the source material is the best material frankly well I like that analogy because I've got three little people and it's a battle every day so uh I understand evil has arisen you're the queen of your own kingdom yeah exactly um Cynthia can you talk about you know how your character works through her being disabled actually my mother was blind so I thought it was an interesting you know character what you your character went through yeah I mean I always remember when the when the showrunners sort of um you know when I was first cast and they sort of uh talked me through you know what her journey was going to be in season one um and I thought wow this is really interesting because obviously there is this sort of you know allegorical uh loss of vision um but then I also was keenly aware of wanting to make sure that she it was never about a a situation of pity and that it was really about I accept this situation and I will continue to lead and I will continue to be the leader that that my people deserve and so it was very important to me that it you know when when she found herself in that situation that it didn't diminish her you know the people have doubt uh toward her because she lost a battle you know it isn't necessarily ultimately her blindness but it's it's more that you know she still has to be a public facing figure and a leader and maintain that strength on their behalf um but I did think a lot about you know when your vision is sort of taken from you how you sort of turn inward and that your inner life is is Rich and there's a lot of inner turmoil for medial this season so you know I I love sort of what the show Runners have laid out for her for season two and how she navigates all of the challenges ahead you know with her loss of vision but but also with a I believe a newfound strength as well this may be applicable to both of you this is my last question but or it may just be applicable to Benjamin we're yet to find out right but how do you feel like um faith and goodness like plays a part in your character desite all the darkness maybe you Benjamin well you have to remember especially for the elves when you've lived so long to see everyone you know and love die over and over again the question becomes how do you muster the strength to love how do you muster hope and they do these are the elves that are they chose to to remain in Middle Earth uh when presented with Paradise they said no I'll just stay on this dirty rock where everything that lives here wants to kill each other this will be fun and there's something beautiful about that not unlike the the metaphor of being a parent you I'm going to fail at this I've never met a parent who aced it but love and hope is the reason that you do it that I'm going to take what I was given and build off of that and then give the foundation for those that come after me to build off of that I can't think of anything more loving and it's that's quintessentially tolini and also that that over time we get better if we pay forward the love and hope that was given to us and I think that's self-evident in our show I think that's uh self-evident in the books and I wish it were more self-evident in our daily lives [Music] griel if you enjoy videos that follow your values like ours and you want to help us continue uh go to movie guide.org donate because we're actually a nonprofit you may not know that but we're working in Hollywood every day to help families have 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