‘The Rings Of Power’ Adds ‘Rome’ Actor And 6 Others To Season 2 Cast

We’ve still got well over a year before The Rings Of Power returns for Season 2, but Amazon just announced the addition of seven new actors to the coming season’s cast. This expands an already massive cast in a pretty big way, though there’s no telling what sort of roles each of these actors will take on.

Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna, Ridley Road), Yasen “Zates” Atour (The Witcher, Young Wallander), Ben Daniels (Jupiter’s Legacy, The Crown), Amelia Kenworthy (Messenger), Nia Towle (Persuasion), Sam Hazeldine (Peaky Blinders), and Nicholas Woodeson (Silent Witness, Rome) have all joined the cast, Amazon announced today.

“Since its premiere, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ has been bringing audiences together to experience the magic and wonder of J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnificent Middle-earth,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Amazon Studios. “To date, season one is the top Original series for Prime Video in every region and has been viewed by over 100 million people worldwide, a truly global hit that speaks to the universal nature of powerful storytelling. We welcome these wonderful actors to our ‘fellowship’ and look forward to telling more incredible Second Age stories in season two.”

Check out portraits of each of the actors right here.

I highlight Woodeson in the title and here in this post because he’s the most distinct of the bunch, a face I think most everyone is familiar with whether or not you can put a name to it. He’s been in countless films and TV shows over the years, but he stands out most to me as the body slave to Julius Caesar, Posca, in HBO’s excellent historical drama Rome.

I’m definitely curious to see who all these actors as cast as, but especially Woodeson—whose acting talent, I’m afraid, may run up against the mediocrity of the show itself and its creators. Will they cast him as yet another elderly elven lord—oddly wrinkled by time despite his immortality a la Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) or will he be a human or, perhaps, a dwarf? Maybe he’s a Harfoot!

Update:

Well, we know who one cast member is playing. Joseph Mawle, who played Adar in Season 1 and was—in my humble opinion—quite possibly the best thing about the show, is stepping down. He’s being replaced by Peaky Blinders’ Sam Hazeldine. Mawle tweeted the news:

So . . . that’s huge news, and not great news for the show.

Who will the other new cast members play? That remains a mystery.

We’ll find out sooner or later. In the meantime, read my scathing review of the first season of The Rings Of Power right here. Or check out my latest video about how Theoden actor, Bernard Hill, is not a fan of the show.

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