Sara Zwangobani, Markella Kavenagh, and Megan Richards Talk The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Sara Zwangobani, Markella Kavenagh, and Megan Richards are three of the stars of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to talk with Sara, Markella, and Megan about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Tolkien’s legacy, and more.

PC: Sara, you’ve said that one of your hopes for this series is to introduce Tolkien to a new generation. How has this work impacted you as a storyteller? Why do you think it’s stood the test of time?
Sara: His work has impacted me as a storyteller in that it started a lifelong love of language. Maybe that love was there before I read Tolkien and it happened to come out with his work, but certainly, it started this love of language in me and of fantasy as well.

I’m a teacher. I hope that a show like The Rings of Power can actually transfer some of that love to the kids that I teach or the kids who haven’t been introduced to his works yet.

I think it’s stood the test of time because of the bigger themes of good and evil. People find that fascinating. There are themes of friendship, loyalty, and love, but there are also themes of struggle within one’s self—how to do the best within one’s self, how to fight the darkness within one’s self, and how far you’re willing to go into that darkness to do what’s right. He speaks to the human condition. That’s why he’s still so universal.

PC: Markella, a lot of the series was shot on location and the setting itself feels like its own character. How helpful was that as you stepped into the shoes of your character who is very nomadic in nature?
Markella: It was incredibly helpful. You said it exactly how I felt. The environment was like a character in this world. It was amazing to be able to go there every day and feel like I was actually in Middle-earth and not be able to tell where the set ended and the actual environment/landscape began. It was incredibly helpful in bringing these characters to life, specifically my character. I loved it. I can’t wait for people to see that and be like, “Wow, it’s a beautiful landscape.” We were so privileged to shoot in New Zealand.

PC: Megan, you discovered a lot of your character through movement. Can you talk a bit about the physicality of this role and that process?
Megan: I love this process. As you said, it was based on and built off of movement. Our movement director Laura is brilliant. She gave us a couple of sources at the very beginning that were generic Harfoot movements. The first one was to walk like a five-year-old child. That was our base. The second was meerkats and their sharpness. I really loved that for Poppy—she’s very cautious and very observant as well. That’s really relatable. She would then set up the room with obstacles and be like, “Now you’re running away from this thing” or “You’re running towards this thing.”

You really did get to build the character through that. Every single Harfoot has a different movement. They walk differently. They sit differently. They run differently. It was really fascinating to be able to do that. Also, I’ve never had the opportunity to play a character who’s not human. They’re creatures.

It was really exciting to be able to really explore that and develop that. It really tingled my senses and allowed me to get into Poppy. Every day I’d do stretches or before takes I’d do hand flicks or bum wiggles. It was helpful. I loved it. I loved that experience, and I hold it very close to my heart.

PC: You’ve all said in the past how collaborative the set was. How did that openness and environment allow you to take agency over your characters?
Sara: Oh, wow. In so many ways, it allowed us to talk to the showrunners about the world that they developed and the characters that they created specifically in relation to ourselves. It allowed me to talk to my fellow castmates in the Harfoot world to discuss the nuances of the text, their relationships, and this world.

Megan: There are so many people who are a part of Poppy’s world and who helped create Poppy. I felt as an actor that I was carrying those people, their wisdom, and their level of detail within the character. That really helped flesh it out as much as possible and make it as 360 as possible.

Make sure to follow Sara (Instagram), Markella (Instagram), and Megan (Instagram). Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime today.