Middle-earth is getting a bit more crowded next season. Amazon announced eight new cast members for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Wednesday, joining the returning characters from Season 1. With Prime Video’s huge investments in this epic fantasy spinoff, these actors can likely count on job security for quite a while.
Rings of Power had an excellent first season this fall, and it likely has many more to come. According to a 2017 report by Deadline, Amazon committed to 5 seasons of the show in its deal with the Tolkien Estate, though there may be provisions to cut the production early, as the terms were never made public. Regardless, it’s clear that Amazon is invested in telling a story that is as broad in scope as The Lord of the Rings itself. That makes it understandable that an entire ensemble’s worth of actors was just added to the lineup.
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Rings of Power Season 2 began filming in October in the U.K., so it’s very possible that these actors have already shot some of their scenes. We don’t know who they’re playing yet, but since this far-flung prequel is based on slim source material, that doesn’t make much of a difference. Here’s a look at the new cast members and what we know about them so far.
Oliver Alvin-Wilson
Oliver Alvin-Wilson is an actor with experience on the stage and screen, as well as a filmmaker. He is best known for appearances in TV series including Murder in Provence, The Bay, Collateral and Lovesick.
Stuart Bowman
Stuart Bowman is a native of Scotland, possibly making him a good fit to play a dwarf in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. He has a long career behind him but his recent role on the series Versaille has brought him into public consciousness more than ever.
Gavi Singh Chera
Gavi Singh Chera is another triple-threat from the world of live theater bringing his skills to The RIngs of Power. He is best known for playing Sajid Parvin on The Undeclared War. He also made one appearance in The Lazaraus Project.
William Chubb
William Chubb is a classically-trained English actor with experience in Shakespearan work that could serve him well in Middle-earth. As one of the older actors in the cast, Chubb could be a strong contender to play another wizard character, but for now, we can only speculate.
Kevin Eldon
Of all the new cast members, Kevin Eldon is likely one of the most recognizable for fans in the U.S. who have likely seen him in movies like Hot Fuzz.ย
Will Keen
Actor Will Keen is known for appearances in Victor Frankenstein (2015), Love and Other Disasters, Operation Mincemeat and Wolf Hall, among others. He comes from England and has one child, Dafne Keen who followed him into show business.
Selina Lo
Selina Lo is on a roll right now, nabbing a role in Rings of Power after appearing in Hulu’s acclaimed Hellraiser revival earlier this year. Lo is 28 years old and studied acting in England.
Calam Lynch
Finally, Calam Lynch is an English actor who broke into the mainstream before graduating college with an appearance in Dunkirk. Fans in the U.S. may also know him from Netflix’s Derry Girls and Disney+’s Black Beauty. Rings of Power Season 2 is in production now, but it is not expected to premiere until sometime in 2024.
