The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Character Guide

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is premiering Sept. 2, and we'll be the first to admit that it's not easy to keep track of all the central characters in the Amazon Prime Video series. Even if you're an expert of J. R. R. Tolkien's novels and Peter Jackson's film trilogy, there are a handful of new characters added to the upcoming prequel. Between the Elves, the Dwarves, and the humans, it's a lot to remember. To help you navigate this story set in the Second Age of Middle-earth (which lasted a total of 3,441 years), we've put together a character guide ahead of The Rings of Power release.

Perhaps more than any other character, Morfydd Clark's Galadriel has been at the center of many of the Rings of Power teasers shared so far. This is the younger version of the Elven queen that Cate Blanchett played in Peter Jackson's trilogy. In the main teaser dropped on July 14, Galadriel tells Robert Aramayo's Elrond that she cannot stop fighting because "the enemy is still out there." And if the main trailer shared at San Diego Comic-Con is any indicator, this Galadriel is determined to fight for a future unlike the doomed one she has seen in her visions. Clark also revealed at SDCC that the Galadriel you meet in Rings of Power is very battle-worn and is fighting for the inner peace we saw from the character in Lord of the Rings.

Robert Aramayo's Elrond is the younger version of the half-Elven Lord of Rivendell that Hugo Weaving portrayed in the Lord of the Ring films. "He's about a thousand years old, but he's young for an Elf in terms of what he's experienced," Aramayo told TV Guide and Gamespot at San Diego Comic-Con. "He's making his way, but he's not Lord of Rivendell or any of that yet." 

Aramayo said there's a lot of pressure Elrond feels. "His dad saved the world, his brother formed a country," he said of Eärendil and Elros, respectively. The actor also talked about Elrond's relationship to High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker). "He's a servant of the King, and he's very loyal."

Charles Edwards stars as Celebrimbor, who is the Lord of Eregion and the forger of the Rings of Power. "He goes down a path that he shouldn't go down," Edwards told TV Guide and Gamespot. "He's a little lost when we discover him." 

Owain Arthur plays Durin IV, the Dwarven prince of Khazad-dûm. Khazad-dûm is an underground kingdom mostly inhabited by a clan of Dwarves called Durin's Folk. 

Disa is portrayed by Sophia Nomvete. She is the first female Dwarf to be depicted in any Tolkein adaptation, and a new character added to the Rings of Power series. "It's a necessity within our industry and particularly within all these major, huge franchises to be able to reflect the world as it is," Nomvete told TV Guide and Gamespot. "And of course, with every culture, with every race, with every kingdom, with every part of the world, there are females." The actor called it a "personal and career miracle" to be able to portray Disa. One thing that fans can look forward to? "Disa very, very much has a beard, and I cannot wait for the audience to see it," Nomvete said. 

Benjamin Walker's High King Gil-galad. He is an Elf and was the last High King of the Ñoldor. Gil-galad was also the one who formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with Elendil for the goal of defeating Sauron.

Elendil is portrayed by Lloyd Owen in the prequel series. The father of Isildur and Anárion, Elendil was the King of all the Dúnedain and formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with Gil-galad to fight against Sauron. In Tolkien's work, both Elendil and Gil-galad were killed while battling Sauron for the One Ring.

Maxim Baldry portrays Isildur. In Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, the sailor cuts off the One Ring from Sauron's hand but refuses to destroy it — a decision that eventually leads to his downfall. "It's a tragic ending for this guy," Baldry told TV Guide and Gamespot. In the series, we're meeting Isildur at an earlier point in his life. "He's [at] a bit of a crossroads, he's kind of trying to make the sense of the world," Baldry explained. "On one hand, he wants to fulfill his father's legacy and become a sea captain like him. On the other hand, he's also like, I want something else — I want to travel, I want to explore."

Earien, played by Ema Horvath, is another new character created for the series. She is Isildur's sister and wants to become an architect. 

Ismael Cruz Córdova's Arondir is another groundbreaking new character created for The Rings of Power: Vanity Fair reported that Córdova is the first person of color to play an Elf in a Tolkien project. Viewers can expect a forbidden romance between Arondir and Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniad), a human village healer. 

Nazanin Boniad's Bronwyn is one of the central characters who is human. She is another addition to the Amazon Prime Video series, and does not appear in Tolkien's works. Bronwyn is a healer with an apothecary in the Southlands, and a single mother. "She's also trying to redeem herself," Boniad told TV Guide and Gamespot . "Her ancestors chose evil over good. They were banished to a barren land and were forced to rebuild and prove that they could be trusted again." 

Portrayed by Tyroe Muhafidin, Theo is the son of the healer Bronwyn.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson plays Míriel. She is the Queen-regent of Númenor in The Rings of Power. "When it comes to playing a character that holds such a lofty position, I can't say that I necessarily relate to what it is to be a queen," Addai-Robinson told Entertainment Weekly. "But I think there is something relatable about how isolating that can feel, and how you're grappling with things that no one else can really understand."

Trystan Gravelle stars as Pharazôn, a close counsel to Queen Regent Míriel. "When you see the set of Númenor, it's like you're walking through [Pharazôn's] mind," Gravelle told Entertainment Weekly. "When you see these epic statues and this wonderful masonry, you're walking through the mind of a person that's burdened by his own mortality and is very concerned about what legacy he's going to leave behind." Based on Tolkien's writing, Pharazôn's desire for eternal life leads to the fall of Númenor.

Portrayed by Leon Wadham, Kemen is the son of Pharazôn and a character created for the series. Wadham told TV Guide and Gamespot that Kemen was born into privilege. "He's having a great time with it," the actor said. 

Charlie Vickers plays Halbrand, a human castaway from the Southlands who crosses paths with Clark's Galadriel. Halbrand is another new character added to the series. "We meet him in the middle of the ocean," Vickers teased to TV Guide and Gamespot. "He's moving on from his past." 

Dylan Smith's Largo Brandyfoot is a non-canonical character. Largo is a Harfoot, a predecessor to the hobbit. In an interview with The Record, Smith described the Harfoots as "people who've been displaced from the last great war … refugees whose only goal in life is to survive." He is husband to Marigold and father to Nori. 

Sara Zwangobani stars as Marigold Brandyfoot, a Harfoot. Along with her husband Largo, Marigold is a character created for The Rings of Power.

Nori Brandyfoot is portrayed by Markella Kavenagh in the series. The non-canonical character is the daughter of Largo. "She's a really resolute, inquisitive, and curious harfoot," Kavenagh told Entertainment Weekly. "She leads with the idea that the fear of risk can be greater than the risk itself."

Another character created for the show, Poppy Proudfellow is a Harfoot. She is portrayed Megan Richards. 

Lenny Henry's Sadoc Burrows is a Harfoot elder created for the show. 

Daniel Weyman plays The Stranger, a new addition to the Amazon series. There isn't much revealed about the enigmatic character just yet. But at San Diego Comic-Con, Weyman told TV Guide this much: "He's driven by a source of purpose deep inside him ... It's so deep and primal, this feeling that he has, that's where the character starts."