Forging the Rings

The creators and cast of Amazon's epic series The Rings of Power talk about the show's relationship with JRR Tolkien's writing, the movies and departing New Zealand after filming just one season.

- RUSSELL BAILLIE

Leon Wadham was L at primary school in Wellington when the Lord of the Rings films first arrived 20 years ago, and at drama school when The Hobbit trilogy delivered its encore. So, while Peter Jackson's forays into JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth helped launch the careers of many local actors, Wadham figured for him that particular ship had long since sailed.

"I did not see a universe where there was a role for me in one of these Tolkien stories, so it's completely surreal to be involved in one now."

Today, Wadham sits talking to the Listener from Los Angeles, where he's one of 20 or so lead characters gathered for promotional duties for Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the series otherwise known as the most expensive television show ever made.

Despite the series being made here, he's the only Kiwi among the throng of Brits, Americans and Australians talking up the show as it heads to its debut. Presumably, it will be Wadham's turn to up sticks for the UK for the show's second season after Amazon's surprise decision last year to relocate it after finishing the New Zealand filming on the first season, which was given a taxpayer-funded rebate of some $162 million for the $650 million spent. The official reason for the departure is that Amazon is consolidating its screen production in the UK facilities it has invested in. With film-making technology being what it is, New Zealand landscapes already captured on camera may be dialled into the backgrounds of shots for years to come.