LOTR: The Rings of Power Cast Answer 50 of the Most Googled LOTR Questions

- This is Wired's fifty most asked questions

About Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

[snappy music]

Let's begin.

How do the rings of power work?

With magic.

They're not battery powered.

Fingers.

Well one has nun chucks, the other one has a bow staff,

We're in trouble already.

They can enhance, kind of the power that one already has

but they can also corrupt.

It's a double edged sword, the ring of power.

Which Middle Earth character are you?

I am Galadriel, who is an elf from Valinor,

one of the oldest elves in Middle Earth, older than Ulmo.

I play Queen Regent Miriel, and she is the leader

of the island kingdom of Numenor.

I am Durin.

I'm a sailor on the island of Numenor called Isildur.

I'm Elendil, the tall.

I am Gil-Galad, King of the Elves,

and you know, giver of Numenor.

[laughs]

Not me, particularly, we do.

Who is Galadriel in Lord of the Rings?

She's a very old and powerful mythical elf,

and I am playing her in The Rings of Power.

Who has the Rings of Power?

Which ones?

Ooh, didn't see that one coming, did you?

Okay, how many,

Cause there's like 19.

Is there? You need to read the books.

I get a bunch, Celebrimbor gets one,

I think she's gonna get one.

And the bad guy gets one.

Spoiler alert.

[yells]

How old is Sauron?

Old.

Old.

Thousands and thousands of years old.

Since the beginning of time basically.

Where was the Rings of Power filmed?

Detroit.

[laughs]

New Zealand.

In and around Auckland,

and some location stuff on the south island.

If you were lucky enough.

Does Middle Earth have bees?

Yes.

I imagine the Hobbits and the Harfoots

would like a bit of honey

They're flowers, so let's say there are bees.

Yeah, but the bees are enormous.

[laughs]

How big are Dwarves are Harfoots?

I think we're, 3 foot 54,

no 4 foot? Four foot and a half?

[speaking over each other]

What's shorter, who's shorter?

A Harfoot would be smaller.

Harfoots are smaller.

That sounds like a dwarf opinion.

Pfft. We're much taller than the Hobbits.

My stool is lower than everyone else's on this table

so I feel a little bit like a Harfoot and a dwarf here.

Are we taller than you?

Most dominant, no.

I think we are.

Hm, no.

We're, we're,

I reckon, Elendil, Elendiel the tall

Well, I mean, he, you know, had joint problems.

Is Mordor Lord of the Rings?

So Mordor is where Sauron resides during the third age

full of fire and darkness.

Well, if you think about it,

Celebrimbor is a lord, and he makes the rings,

So in my opinion, he is the lord of the rings.

How many kingdoms in Middle-earth Second Age?

Okay, let's list them.

Lindon,

Kingdom of Numenor,

Yes.

Kingdom of

Khazard-dum.

Mhm.

Eregion.

Well, is Eregion a kingdom?

Good question.

I mean, I'm going with Mordor.

Yeah, the orcs, yeah.

So six.

Six, yeah.

Who is Valar?

It should be who are the Valar.

Like Mount Olympus, you've got Zeus,

which would be Iluvatar, and beneath him

are the kind of demigods which are the Valar.

Sort of like angels, right?

Yeah.

What is an Orc?

A baddie.

Well, he originally was an elf.

A fallen elf.

It all goes back to the elves.

Who is Elrond in Lord of the Rings?

He's related to me, Isildur.

He's a half elf, he chose to be an elf instead of a human.

Could you see the judgment in the pure elf there

about the half elf?

[laughs]

I felt it.

How many Lord of the Rings shows are there?

Just one, I think.

I mean there's ours, could be others.

That's the only show.

A few cartoons, there's some films,

Some games,

Some radio plays.

What's a Harfoot?

It's a small person.

They're a prototype of a Hobbit.

Yeah, like a predecessor.

They're emotional, kind, and brave.

Who directed the Lord of the Rings shows?

We have three incredible directors.

J.A. Bayona,

Wayne Yip,

And Charlotte Brandstrom.

Who is Melkor?

The origin of evil.

Or the dragon in NeverEnding Story,

[laughs]

Oh no, that's Falkor.

Is Hobbit Lord of the Rings?

I would say yes to that.

Yeah, definitely.

It's the original book that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote.

The book of The Hobbit is set before

The Lord of the Rings, but the ring is in The Hobbit.

Is in The Hobbit.

Can there only be one lord for all rings?

Ooh.

Yes.

Well, I'd say, the baddie thinks so.

Yeah, and I would agree with him.

Sauron wants to be the lord of the rings.

He made one to make himself

[in unison] the lord of the rings, but he's lost it.

How small are elves?

Ah, very small.

That's a bit passive aggressive, how small are elves?

Ouch! That is a bit messed up.

How grand are elves, I'll accept.

Does the ring give you powers?

Yeah.

Superpowers, you can fly, I'm joking.

Are there wars and battles in Lord of the Rings:

The Rings of Power?

Yes.

Yes.

What are the races of Middle-earth?

Elves,

Dwarves,

Ents,

Humans,

Numenorians, who are humans but

Special humans,

Yeah.

Super Humans.

The Harfoots,

Goblins,

Balrogs,

Not really a race though, are they?

Imagine if we're all wrong on these questions

Yeah.

And we just,

We've enjoyed being in the show.

[laughs]

How long is the Second Age?

3, 2, 3, thousand years?

It is 2 thousand years,

I think it's almost 4 thousand years.

Long, but very adventurous.

Who wrote the Lord of the Rings?

3,2,1

[in unison] J.R.R. Tolkien

Jrr Tolkien.

Where does Lord of the Rings take place?

It takes place in Middle-earth, which is part of Arda.

Why is Sauron mad?

[laughs]

I like that question,

That's a really existential question.

Why is he, why is he mad?

He's power hungry, he wants it all for himself.

He's after absolute power.

But he doesn't think he's mad, that's what's scary.

Well, we never do.

When does Lord of the Rings take place?

Well there's a first, second, and third age.

The Lord of the Rings takes place in the third age,

which is thousands of years after our show.

Where is Middle-earth?

In Arda.

[in unison] in Arda.

Bang in the middle of the road.

That's simply put.

Um, yeah, uh, yeah.

In the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power,

who arrives in Middle-earth via comet?

A stranger.

A strange man.

[talking over each other]

The Stranger.

What kind of answer is that? The nobody.

The nobody.

What source of power did Celebrimbor use

to create the Rings of power?

Mithril.

Thank you.

He built a forge as hot as dragon's breath

and as bright as a star.

Are Lord of the Rings elves immortal?

Yes.

They are.

However, it's not quite as simple as they live forever

because they sometimes die

and then they go to the Halls of Mandos

where they have to wait a bit,

and then they can come back into a new body,

is that correct? Or is it the same body?

I don't know, I stopped listening about halfway through.

Glorfindel came back.

Are there wizards in the Rings of Power?

Watch and see! Wait and see.

[sings]

What Middle-earth race are you?

If you get this wrong,

[laughs]

I am a dwarf.

We're Numenorians,

Proud Numenorians.

Only because the elves gave them the place

but they get really upset about that.

Oh!

[talking over each other] And Ben's a small elf.

How much did the kings of Numenor know

about the Rings of Power?

Zip.

I don't think they knew anything about them

Yeah

Until Pharazon decides he was more powerful

than anyone else.

And then they ultimately became the Nazguls,

so it wasn't a good ending.

When is the Second Age?

After the first.

And before the third.

What is Middle-earth made of?

Dirt?

No, in the

Oh! I got the question wrong.

You can even read.

What is Middle-earth made of?

The ocean, surrounded by the sundering seas.

But what's to the East of it?

All the way, all the way, all the way to the East,

because I don't think it's surrounded,

I don't think it's an island, is it?

The ocean, water.

Everything's an island when you zoom out far enough.

It's in the middle of water.

What is the new Lord of the Rings about?

It's about the Rings of Power.

It's the quintessential battle between good and evil.

Also, about different groups coming together

for a common cause, the common cause of defeating evil.

I like the idea of that.

Who is the most powerful person

in the Lord of the Rings universe?

Don't, don't jump too quickly guys.

Elendil.

[laughs]

I think you have to watch the show to see that one.

What is Sauron doing in the Second Age?

Being naughty?

Yeah, devious.

Growing.

Yes.

Did the Elves blame Celebrimbor

for making the rings of power?

I mean, they feel conflicted about it,

he, he's so quickly punished for doing it

that I think casting blame at that point is pretty ruthless.

How big is Middle-earth?

It's pretty vast.

Huge.

It would take you a long time on a horse to travel across.

Who are the bad guys in Lord of the Rings:

The Rings of Power?

You could make the case that the orcs, in particular,

are the bad guys, but you know, it's a conflicted issue.

Okay, are Elves and humans friends?

It's complicated!

Definitely on the island of Numenor

there's a schism happening.

If you're a Numenorian,

you might not be too keen on an elf,

cause they live forever, and we don't,

and we're a bit jealous of that fact.

Who is Elendil?

Me. I'm Elendil.

Elendil is the father of Isildur

and founder of the kingdom of Gondor.

Why were the Rings of Power created?

To match an outfit.

Well they were created by Sauron,

To control Middle-earth to one entity.

Is that correct?

No he only created the one to control those rings.

Oh, but why were the rings of power created?

To save Middle-earth, basically.

To kind of save, save the elves.

What are the Misty Mountains?

Where the dwarves live.

Where to the Elves live?

In the woods.

Who is Isildur?

He's Elendil's son.

Me.

[laughs]

I'm Isildur.

Potentially a problem child.

Why is it called Middle-earth?

It was something that Tolkien was playing with

round about the Middle Ages idea, wasn't it?

That somehow, it gives it a time

that is fantastical and yet rooted in some sort

of historical reality.

[in unison] We made it through.

Fifty questions. How do you think we did?

Fine.

I enjoyed that. Yeah it was really good.

I love talking Tolkien, and you guys are incredibly fun

and really good in the show.

I mean, we could have stayed here for hours,

We probably got 30, 30 percent.

I'm sure as a cast we answered all of them, beautifully.

Thank you for watching!