The Wheel of Time’s Ayoola Smart on Preparing for Aviendha’s Role and Shipping

The Wheel of Time’s Ayoola Smart put in a ton of work to prepare for her epic introduction in the series. Smart’s character Aviendha debuted halfway through Season 2 of Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time, carving her way through numerous Whitecloaks after she was freed by Perrin. Her intense action scene made her an instant favorite among fans, even those who haven’t read the books and isn’t aware how her character will play into the greater plot of the series. 

ComicBook.com had the opportunity to sit down with Smart for a video interview this month and asked how she prepared for playing an Aiel warrior.  “Once I landed in Prague, kind of everything,” Smart said. “Just general PT sessions to spear work, gymnastics, hand to hand combat, some dagger work. Just everything there could be. I worked a lot with spears, and also did a lot of fights that weren’t in the show or weren’t meant to be in the show to get used to being in combat situations and also reacting and doing things like that. I’d never had an old screen role that kind of required this level of fighting.” 

Smart told ComicBook.com that the action focus was something that attracted her to the role of Aviendha and that she got to work with “world champion” level boxers and stunt professionals. “Everyone’s literally at the top of their skillset, which is incredible,” Smart said. “Everyone was really, really wonderful and helpful.”

Later in the interview, we asked Smart about her favorite scene to film in Season 2 and she mentioned the fight scene once again. “I did really love doing the fight sequence as the whole introduction to Aviendha,” Smart said. “It was the first thing that we did and it took a while to do it, and so getting into Aviendha through that whole sequence was really helpful and just a lot of fun. And I felt very cool, which helps.”

Aviendha’s journey in The Wheel of Time saw her primarily paired up with Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) this season, leading to some fans (mostly non-book readers) to speculate that the two could wind up as a couple down the road. When asked about the Perrin/Aviendha ship, Smart played it off as more comrade in arms than a romantic connection. “Aviendha and Perrin, they’re … I think they just are great comrades,” Smart said. “They come across as great comrades. And I know it’s not how Aviendha is introduced in the books. It’s different. And if you take from the books, these two characters don’t necessarily interact as much. I think it’s nice to be able to build new connections where both characters can get something from each other. I think that there’s a reason that they chose Perrin to be the person that she interacts with first.”

The Wheel of Time Season 2 is now available to stream on Prime Video.