The Lord of the Rings: JD Payne On How Season 1 Criticism Of The Rings Of Power Shaped Season 2

hi this is ABI Manu from DNA and I have with me JD pay the showrunner of Lord of the Rings and rings of power and my favorite halfs in the worlda thank you for your time welcome to DNA um I did call you guys my favorite halfs and this is question for all of you but they can get a bit annoying right I mean the half foots are annoying thank you for saying I agree yeah I mean you two are more more sane than the others so this a question for the two of you first did you drop from your experiences of dealing with annoying family members while playing those characters um no I didn't really uh no yeah I think it's so specific their circumstances are so specific that yeah just focusing on that and and building the kind of family Dynamic within yeah the family of the hot foot when you were creating these these characters and of course in the books and written and everything but you have to make sure that they are similar to The Hobbits but not too similar but not too different because the fans are around how is that Balancing Act and particularly after season 1 you have to stay the course despite every criticism coming your way and all that how tough is it to sort of block out that noise that is coming from everywhere U well I mean it's not that challenging me but obviously we we listen to and and you know hear what's you know going on in the in the world and um you know if it's fair criticism like if it's criticism that's given respectfully and it's really thoughtful and and that we think it it really lands and it's like okay that's that's if it's constructive yeah it's really really worth listening to um you know if it's just people sort of like having ax to grind and just like throwing mud for the sake of you know blowing off steam on on the internet then like that's not as as constructive and that as helpful yeah like Twitter and Reddit basically well I mean it depends there you can find good or bad everywhere yeah no but you can but I I know when when I say that noise because I am PR we journalists we get so much of that noise about your shows and your acting and your performances and sometimes we get fatigued so how do you make sure that uh you only take the positive and don't take whatever else is Happ happen because that can get to you right yeah I think um it's for me anyway like I tried to not read anything well I don't try I just don't um and I think it's important for the incredible thing about our job is that as actors and as creators we create in a room um whether that be a studio or on location and we do our job um and then we just give it out to the world and it resonates with people in different ways and they take from it what they will um but by that point my job is done um but what's so lovely is that we get to meet fans for example we've just gone to Comic Con um and we get to have those kinds of interactions and have those you know just like really lovely conversations with people and that those are the those are the moments that I cherish because that's so special Michel you have something to add to that yeah I mean I think someone an actor told me Australian actor told me ages ago you and Leslie if you're going to he's amazing if you're going to look for the positive reviews you have to be open to to find some negative ones as well so I think uh I think exactly just adding on to what you say it's just staying really true to the character in the room with amazing creatives and amazing cast and really respecting the law and acknowledging the fact that you want to put something out there that people are going to really you know connect to and connect with and relate to hopefully uh and then yeah just do your best to to do it justice and and you mentioned comic on and I have a question from there is it surreal or how is it when you see someone dressed as your character I mean what's that feeling like is it like oh God I have made it or oh God I did not think something like this would happen or is it like I always wanted this to happen when I was thinking of being an actor what's it like what's that like I I don't know the feeling I never thought about that is even a possibility I just never thought that I mean who it's amazing yeah it's completely surreal it is actually completely surreal that someone would think of of finding thing making costume like they make these incred dble costumes and the detail hours of work into it it's like extraordinary it makes me so happy because like it's just a testament to how much people want to be in Middle Earth and the yeah it's like their own personal portal to be part ofely the love is spreading really nice Middle Earth is spreading yeah exactly J coming to you uh the the the second season is much more paer edgier everything is more action-packed and because and that's because you in the first season you had to set things up you had to build the world and a lot of people get annoyed by that uh but do what do you want to tell fans that the payoff is worth it I mean the payoff is absolutely worth it I mean you know this is a 50-hour mega epic you know so so you're going to take some time uh and and toing takes his time you know and so we felt like that that uh was a correct way to approach this material um you know we didn't want to just jump in and fire hose you with you know action from moment one we want to help you understand these worlds these peoples these characters this age it's a whole new age that people had never spent time it before but now that saon has grabbed hold of the narrative uh at the end of season one he really never lets go so he starts season 2 by going to the uh Orcs over here and setting things in motion there and setting the armies of the elves in motion over here and then going to a regon and and um you know seducing and manipulating and gaslighting Kell bmore and it's this dark uh psychological Thriller um so it's got a sort of like Edge to it um it goes in places that season one didn't go because we're going out to run you know there's um just a lot to explore season 2 we're really excited for fance to see it just one last thing I want to ask before I end this and that's that what can you reveal because people like call backs and Throwbacks and references to the books without spoiling much anything in season two that people are going to like particularly um I mean I think people are going to love the Iram Story I mean there's there name of the series is the rings of power right and this season we get to watch as the rings of Power are created um and also the siege of oron you know I think people have been imagining that for for you know decades yeah and uh you know so we're going to have a not one not two but three episode Siege battle uh you heard it here first yeah uh thank you for your time and all the best for the show which drops on Amazon Prime video on August 29th thank you guys thank you