Being cast in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power meant a lot to Morfydd Clark – so much that she passed out after discovering she landed the role. In fact, you can watch the exact moment she truly realized she was about to embark on a new adventure to Middle-earth.
Speaking to Total Film for the new issue of the magazine, featuring The Rings of Power on the cover, Clark revealed that she discovered the news just before the Toronto premiere of Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History Of David Copperfield, in which she had a key role. "And then I just passed out in the Q&A," she says with a laugh, now able to reflect more fondly on the moment. "That’s how I dealt with it!"
If you watch the below video from the event, at around the 16:25 mark, you will notice that about halfway through, Clark mysteriously leaves the stage. No one around her seems to know what's going on, but now we know: she was processing being called to lead one of the most ambitious TV shows of all time.
What’s perhaps more surprising is that Clark hadn’t even been told which character she would be playing. "Morfydd moved to New Zealand without knowing what role she was playing," says The Rings of Power executive producer Lindsey Weber. "We broke the news to her there. It was an incredible moment." Clark has gone on to play Galadriel, previously played by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson's movies, though this incarnation of the character is much younger as the series takes place thousands of years before the events of those blockbusters.
"She’s so powerful," Clark says of Galadriel. "I’ve explored a certain element of her power in this season."
- Subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive
Read more from the cast and crew behind the series in the new issue of Total Film, featuring our huge TV preview on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, Andor, The Mandalorian season 3, and so much more.
The magazine reaches shelves on July 26 and will be available to order through this link. Or subscribe and never miss an issue again and receive magazines with exclusive cover images and insider secrets. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video from September 2.
