One of the biggest mysteries of Prime Video’s Rings of Power series, based on Tolkien’s Middle-earth mythology, was the identity of the character known to viewers only as The Stranger. Portrayed by actor Daniel Weyman, the wizard-without-a-moniker finally received his name in the last episode of Season 2. Going forward, he will identify as “Grand Elf,” a.k.a. Gandalf.
That probably won’t come as a shock to most viewers, since the character had already exhibited all of the traits (though in nascent form) of the great Grey Wizard who will come to play a central role in saving Middle-earth from the evil Sauron.
Last month, Aleteia spoke briefly with Daniel Weyman, along with actress Markella Kavanaugh (playing Nori, a Hobbit), about their love for their characters and the joys of working together.
Now that we officially know that Daniel Weyman is portraying Gandalf, we were able to have a follow-up conversation with him about what it’s like to portray the most famous wizard in the world.
Below are excerpts from our conversation. You can watch the full interview on video at the end of this article.
Aleteia’s conversation with Daniel Weyman
Daniel Weyman on the challenges of playing a character who was a “blank slate” at the beginning of the series.
“I think that was actually a huge gift for me as an actor because I could just quiet the mind. I could just concentrate on or rather focus on being present and being in the moment with the people I was working with or just the landscape.”
“There were lots of things that were new and discombobulating and difficult and wonderful and and I really just had to be there and honestly, truthfully, authentically try and respond in the moment.”
On the character of Gandalf and children’s imaginations.
“The idea of being magic, I think, was definitely present in me (as a kid). I loved the idea of being sort of special in some way, having some kind of power...”
“A number of the cast had kids out in New Zealand with us when we started and you know, obviously now I know their families as well back in the UK. And watching kids and how they interact with things around them is always enlightening. I think for an older person, because we can become a bit cynical about things or we can have seen something so often, (it) doesn't register anymore. But you know when you see kids focus on them that’s excited to them, they laser in.”
“They really do become focused and you can't tell how long that focus is gonna last. I remember being with my own kids or young people and you think 'Oh, I'm going to join them in this piece of imaginary world or in this piece of focus' and suddenly they branch off on something else and you're sort of playing catch up.”
On if actors are really “wizards” in their own way.
“I guess you're right that there's this kind of conjuring trick isn't there? I’ll give you an example. I did a play a few years ago and the character had to go through a nervous breakdown. After four weeks of rehearsing and four weeks of playing the character, we then moved it to the West End. And I began to develop a bit of a pain behind one of my eyes. I was a bit worried about this pain because it didn't feel great, you know?
"I went to the doctor, and she said to me, 'What do you do?' And I talked about the part and especially the breakdown. She said, 'Look, you're telling your body every night that you're going through this really massive ordeal. And your body is responding. Your body is getting prepared for the fight or the flight. It’s doing it every night and it's no wonder that these little physical things are beginning to happen because your body doesn't necessarily know that it's not for real.'”
“It's not just actors. We all can do this. (...) We can all conjure such a strong imaginative world. (...) How quickly an audience can believe that they see streets, that they see landscapes, that they understand the relationships, that these people have been together for years and years, even though they just met them, you know, 20 minutes ago. It's a real testament to human imagination.”
On the “test” that Gandalf must go through.
“I think, it’s sort of oversimplifying to make it like that. Oh, there's a test. There's a hurdle he's got to get over. (...) He said to Nori at the end of season one that wizard means 'wise one' and I think really it's for us to try and justify or quantify what wisdom is. And from my experience playing The Stranger and, you know, getting to middle age, it seems abundantly clear that the more I learn about the world, the less I realized I actually knew about the world. It’s like every door I'm opening is a new door and I'm thinking, well, how I did I get to 47 and not really understand this yet? Or how is it that I've never come across this or thought about their point of view? And that feels like the journey that The Stranger is going on.”
“What he's learning is that if you go back to the things that are important, if you serve the friendship, the love, the honesty, the integrity, the forgiveness, the seeking forgiveness, all these things... If you serve those small, really, core things that are foundational to his being and to most of our beings, then that way the future will sort of take care of itself. And that for me, has been his journey in season two.”
“What I loved about Gandalf as he becomes present in this last episode is that he isn't bestowing (his name) on himself. You know, he doesn't sort of slam a staff into the ground and say, 'I'm Gandalf and now everybody will take notice of me!' What happens is that other people begin to need to call him something. They feel something for him, and they find words that allow them to express, in what we call a name, how they feel about this character. You see that with the Stoors [a tribe of Hobbits] leaving and calling him 'Grand Elf.' And you can feel that they think of him as a sort of benevolent creature, something that they can be themselves with, something will be on their side going forward. I love that the name came outwardly to him as opposed to from inwardly, if that makes sense.”
