Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn —PHOTOS COURTESY OF PRIME VIDEO
The early reviews of Prime Video’s groundbreaking series “The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power”—which has an 84-percent approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes—quickly singled out Markella Kavenagh (as the inquisitive young Harfoot Nori Brandyfoot) and Nazanin Boniadi (as single mom and human healer Bronwyn) for portrayals that are as “grounded” as they’re “engaging.”
In Episode 3, we see elven warrior Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and mysterious guy Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) getting rescued from the shipwreck by sailor Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and taken to the island kingdom of Numenor.
Nori’s run-in with The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who fell from the sky in a flaming meteor, continues to unravel as the nomadic Harfoots prepare to migrate. Meanwhile, Bronwyn is increasingly drawn to the Silvan elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), further channeling the forbidden love story of mortal man Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and elf-maiden Arwen Undómiel (Liv Tyler) in the Third and Fourth Ages of Middle-earth.
We recently spoke to Nazanin and Tyroe Muhafidin, who plays her son Theo, for this exclusive two-on-one chat to discuss the show and their characters in it.
The former is an LA-based British-Iranian actress-activist whose family relocated to London shortly after the Iranian Revolution. Nazanin’s acting credits include roles in “Homeland,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Iron Man.” The latter is a Perth-based Australian actor who is “The Rings of Power’s” youngest series regular.
Scene from “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
Redeeming the Southlands
“Tyroe and I are among the humans in Middle-earth’s magical world,” Nazanin told us when we asked her how her character figures in Middle-earth’s Second Age, some 4,000 years before the events in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) films. “Historically, our ancestors have suffered from evil always winning over the forces of good. “So Bronwyn’s intention is to redeem the Southlands (which would later be known as Mordor) and help its people break free from their dark past. They’re being watched over by the elves. My relationship with Theo is quite tense because he’s a rebellious teenager.”
Explaining further the complex dynamic between his character Theo and his headstrong mom, Tyroe said, “There’s a lot going on in their village. And it doesn’t help that my mom is in a little bit of a forbidden romance with Arondir. So, the relationship between him and the elf isn’t very positive.
“Since the relationship between humans and elves is just as tricky, the way Theo receives Bronwyn’s relationship with Arondir isn’t also very positive. There’s a bit of tension between mother and son, not to mention the tension between Theo and everyone else in the village, because he is seen as the son of the ‘traitor.’ So, he’s battling with that [perception].
“More than that, Theo is also dealing with puberty and teenage hormones … He’s battling with himself and trying to find who he is. But we see what’s really at stake for them … it’s their home. They’re fighting for it, fighting for justice, and fighting for their people.”
British-Iranian actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi
Fantastical version
We told Nazanin that we’ve also read about how she had initially pursued medicine before she decided to study acting at Rada (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and shift gears. But more than the ability to heal other, she said there was more to Bronwyn that she could relate to.
“Actually, there’s a lot about Bronwyn that truly resonates with me,” explained the lovely actress. “I call her the fantastical version of myself. Because she is committed to her people. She wants to liberate them from the shackles of their past.
“I’m a human rights activist for my homeland, Iran. In my activism, I’ve come across hundreds of women who I’ve spoken to who are at the forefront of the fight for democracy and freedom in Iran—and they inspired this role. “There’s so much of Bronwyn that I relate to … she’s so tenacious and resilient. She’s got an inner lioness in her that I’m excited for people to discover. I hope that resonates with viewers as much as it does with me.”
We also asked Nazanin and Tyroe in what way they thought the TV series would expand the mythology originally built around the “LOTR” and “The Hobbit” movies.
Tyroe mused, “The films we’ve already seen have all been based on the Third Age of Middle-earth, whereas ours is based on the Second Age, which takes place thousands of years beforehand. So without giving too much context to the original trilogy, we’ve got five seasons [over 50 episodes] to tell our story.
Australian actor Tyroe Muhafidin
Magic and wonder
“That way, we’ll be able to look at every intricate detail of each role and really focus on character development. We’ll understand what motivates certain canon characters to make the decisions that they make and how those affect the people in the Third Age. I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how this all fits in and influences what happens in the future.”
For Nazanin, the series allows the story of Middle-earth to break boundaries to see how this world comes to palpable life. “You’re going see Numenor, which hasn’t been seen onscreen before. Viewers will see coastlines for the first time. We’re bringing all the magic and wonder of this tale to 2022 given the technology that wasn’t there before.”
Episode 4 of “The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power” will be streamed on Prime Video beginning tomorrow.