Lord of the Rings Star Calls Facing an Orc in Rings of Power “Frightening” and “Empowering”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted last week and wasted little time in reintroducing viewers to the orcs, fearsome foes considered to be the enemies of elves and men. The orcs infiltrated the town called Tirharad, located in the Southlands. One ends up crawling up through the floorboards into Bronwyn’s home. Upon discovering the orc, Bronwyn and her son, Theo, are forced to deal with it in one of the series’ earliest action scenes. ComicBook.com had the opportunity to speak to actress Nazanin Boniadi, who plays Bronwyn, about what it was like coming face-to-face with an orc. 

“There is an incredible scene that I felt very privileged to do to be a part of in episode two for which I trained an awful lot to get to that point of strength and stamina and stunt ability that I’ve never done before,” Boniadi said. “But to be in close contact with an orc, and the actor playing the orc, I have to say, just all of the actors playing orcs, the longest time in the makeup chair, they couldn’t really go to the bathroom all day because of their costumes, so it’s very, very challenging for them, and also extremely frightening. I mean, very believable that that makeup and costume.”

As frightening as coming that close to a fully-costumed orc was, Boniadi admits it was also empowering being able to stand up against such a being. “It was very empowering, I won’t lie,” She says. “That was the moment I was sort of like, yeah, this little thing, meaning myself, comes out of nowhere. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but there’s more to Bronwyn than meets the eye.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted its first two episodes last week. The series’ debut broke records for Prime Video.

“It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy. And it is the tens of millions of fans watching – clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are – who are our true measure of success.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s first two episodes are streaming now on Prime Video. New episodes debut weekly on Fridays on Prime Video.