The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – meet the cast

Embrace the power of the rings! The Lord of the Rings trilogy might be done, but the origin story surrounding the rings of power has just begun and will resume with season two on August 29.

"Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will," teases the synopsis.

"Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other."

Ahead of the season two premiere, meet the incredible cast…

Morfydd Clark

The Saint Maud star reprises her role as Galadriel, Elvish royalty who was previously portrayed by Cate Blanchet in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Reflecting on Galadriel's arc in season two, Morfydd told Entertainment Weekly : "She has really made a fool of herself. The elves aren't really known for doing that, so she's in a whole new space where she's no longer the voice of authority and reason. He's been very successful at destabilizing his enemies."

Charlie Vickers

Charlie Vickers fooled us all! After joining the series as Halbrand, the human king of the Southlands, fans were shocked to learn that he was in fact the Dark Lord, Sauron. Prior to his breakthrough role in Rings of Power, Charlie had appeared in Medici (2018).

Robert Aramayo

Robert, who fantasy fans might recognise as the young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones , plays Young Elrond – the Elven lord portrayed by Hugo Weaving in Peter Jackson's film franchise.

Speaking to Vulture in 2022, Robert explained that the two interpretations are very different.

"I grew up with those movies, and I love his [Hugo's] performance, and I think it's natural for people to compare the performance. But right now, Elrond's a very young elf with so much to go before we get to the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring .

"He's lived through so many defeats by that point, so I was excited to just start with this young elf who still has a lot to learn. That felt like an exciting place to begin. He's going to live thousands and thousands of human lifetimes until he gets to that point!"

Joseph Mawle

Joseph is also a Game of Thrones alumni, having played Benjen Stark in the hit show. In Rings of Power, he’s Adar – aka The Stranger. Currently, there’s an air of mystery surrounding the character, but Lord of the Rings fans are convinced that he might be a young Gandalf, after reciting one of the character’s most famous lines: "Always follow your nose."

Markella Kavenagh

Markella has previously starred in The Cry and Picnic at Hanging Rock . Set to reprise her role as Harfoot, Nori, this time around the character and her new friend, Adar, will travel across Rhûn and encounter a new tribe of hobbit-like creatures known as Stoors.

Benjamin Walker

Benjamin has previously starred in Jessica Jones , Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Flags of Our Fathers. In the Lord of the Rings universe, he's now known as the high king Gil-galad.