"The Rings Of Power" Cast Shared Their Favorite Season 3 Memories, And I’m SO Ready To Return To Middle-earth
by Andrew Firriolo · BuzzFeedPosted on Nov 10, 2026 UTC
Season 3 of The Rings of Power is just about here, and I'm so excited to return to Middle-earth.
When I got an invite to interview the cast at the NYC premiere, my inner Lord of the Rings fan was ready to hear all the tea. Season 2 left us on quite the cliffhanger, and I couldn't wait to chat with Jamie Campbell Bower (Celeborn), Daniel Weyman (Gandalf), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Míriel), Charlie Vickers (Sauron), Robert Aramayo (Elrond), director Charlotte Brändström, and co-creator Patrick McKay.
The cast is as lovely in real life as you could imagine, and we unpacked some truly insightful behind-the-scenes memories and reflections on the upcoming season.
Here's everything I learned on the red carpet:
(L-R) Patrick McKay, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Aramayo, Charlie Vickers, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniel Weyman, and Charlotte Brändström.
What is a behind-the-scenes memory from filming Season 3 that stands out to you?
Jamie Campbell Bower fondly remembers filming his first scene.
Jamie: I was terrified on my first day. I was really nervous. My first scene that we shot was the dance scene in Episode 1 with Morfydd [Clark], who plays Galadriel.
I remember standing on the stage, kind of tucked behind a tree, and Morfydd turned around and looked me in the eyes. She was like, "You got this. Are you good?" (Laughs) I was like, "I guess so!"
Just having that support from her was beautiful. I was so lucky.
Daniel Weyman loved a funny moment with his Dark Wizard co-star.
Daniel: Ciarán Hinds, who plays the Dark Wizard, is an extraordinary human being and actor. He's got this lovely childish wonder, and excitement, and imagination. He and I, in our wizard garb, would occasionally go out onto the street to get coffees and things, and it was great. People loved it.
We also noticed that people were cycling around the studio lot because it's quite big. I thought, "What better behind-the-scenes moment could there be than two wizards on a bike?"
So we tried to set up the camera to be static, with Gandalf and the Dark Wizard cycling past, just chatting to each other, and then the camera would follow us into the sunset.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson enjoyed bonding with her co-stars at Nando's.
Cynthia: I was really fortunate because, in this season, Míriel's Hideaway in Númenor is actually a location that we got to film in Wales. Our wonderful locations team found this incredible abbey. The production design sort of "married" our amazing Middle-earth world with a real historical place.
Maxim Baldry (Isildur), Rob Aramayo (Elrond), Ben Walker (Gil-galad), and I all have some great scenes that we got to film out there. In our downtime, for eagle-eyed observers, you might have seen us at Nando's having a lovely meal and a lot of laughs. I love that bonding time.
Charlie Vickers had an epic moment filming a climactic scene.
Charlie: When I finished crafting the ring, we were playing Bear McCreary's Sauron song, and I lifted the ring up. We weren't using the audio, so we could play the track in the background.
As I lifted my hand up with the ring, the song sort of reached its epic conclusion. It was perfectly timed, and totally unplanned. It was a really cool moment.
Director Charlotte Brändström and co-creator Patrick McKay reflected on two more challenging moments.
Charlotte: My most difficult scene was actually finding a way for Sauron to pick up the ring in the box with his big glove on. It was absolutely impossible with that glove, and you just couldn't do it. I had to figure out how to shoot it so it looked like he did it.
Patrick: There's a scene, Celeborn's introduction, that we shot in Wales. We went to this location, and it was filled with water and had amazing light. It was such a great location. We loved it. Then we go to shoot three months later. The water had dried up, and it was gray skies and no light.
I remember being on set back in London, texting with our cinematographer, Alex Disenhof. I was asking, "Is the sun out? Is the sun coming?" He was so sad, but you know what? The results are still pretty cool.
Robert Aramayo was blown away seeing a new location for the series.
Robert: For me, it was seeing Rivendell for the first time. I loved seeing what they'd done with it. I was really, really excited.
Finally, I asked one question specific to each cast member.
Jamie, you played the terrifying Vecna in Stranger Things, and now you're playing a really good guy. Do you approach playing a good guy differently than a villain?
Jamie: At the core of any character, for me, there has to be an emotional connection. With Stranger Things, it was always about having the walls up to protect the character's vulnerability and sensitivity, because at the end of the day, there was this little boy underneath it all.
With The Rings of Power, I really wanted to consistently be in a space where the walls were down, where that innocence and that sensitivity and that vulnerability were accessible.
Gandalf has very recognizable character traits. Are there any particular physical habits or mannerisms you've developed while portraying him?
Daniel: I think often it's physical in that it's vocal. Gandalf mutters, and he sort of has this "hmm, yes, that's right, mmm hmm" (imitates Gandalf muttering).
As I was finishing the preparation of getting into his character, that was something that I would find. His voice would drop a little bit. He would soften his tone, and that then worked its way into my body and made me move differently.
Cynthia, something I particularly like about your portrayal of Míriel is how you say so much without saying anything. Especially with Míriel losing her sight, how do you incorporate physical movements into your acting?
Cynthia: With Míriel losing her sight, instead of it being a weakness, it's something that heightens all her other senses. It becomes her strength because she has to listen more intensely. She has to pick up on the energy around her, and that affects how she moves throughout the world.
I like the idea that her blindness has really allowed her to see even more, to see deeper into situations, and maybe go more inward into herself. I'm glad you picked up on that.
Sauron has had five years to do his wicked deeds since we last saw him. What do you think has changed the most about him?
Charlie: I think he's now at the point where he's very comfortable. In the second season, he's quite calculated. In the third season, he is a bit knocked off-kilter.
He is a bit unstable at the start, and I think that's quite exciting because you have to watch him regain control and then pursue his goal.
Patrick, what does a five-year time jump allow you to do with the story instead of just picking up directly from Season 2?
Patrick: My co-showrunner, J.D. Payne, and I don't want to rest on our laurels. We want every episode to be better than the last. We want every season to be better than the last. We wanted to do something different.
Seasons 1 and 2, to one extent or another, kind of built up to big events. In Season 3, we wanted to start with big events, and the idea of beginning at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron gave the show a jolt of energy. Very quickly, we felt like it was a really promising angle.
Robert, Elrond is an elf of principle, but how has the war affected him as a leader?
Robert: Elrond has been through so much. There's been a lot of loss, and not just Celebrimbor and people around him. I think something died in Elrond when he watched Eregion burn. It was something he didn't think was possible.
Everything is different after that point, and now he has to try and literally pick up the pieces and carry on the spirit of Eregion.
I think what he understands, and I love this about Elrond, is that he's not ruling the beginning of Imladris on his own. He's got two other elves there who are way more proficient at certain things than he is. He's relying on them, and they're making decisions together. I find that really exciting.