‘The Rings of Power’ Galadriel Actor Morfydd Clark on the Role: ‘The Shoes Were Enormous’

Galadriel is an essential character throughout Middle Earth lore. While she doesn’t have a central role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, she became memorable to many fans, primarily due to Cate Blanchett’s performance. Morfydd Clark portrays Galadriel in Amazon’s The Rings of Power, and she is aware of the enormous shoes she is filling.

Galadriel is a powerful character in ‘Lord of the Rings’

Galadriel is a powerful elf who has been present at many of the most important events of Middle Earth. She is a supremely gifted elf who surpasses others in knowledge, power, and beauty. During the second age, Galadriel bore Nenya, one of the three Elven rings of power. She appeared in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and presented the fellowship of the ring with gifts. 

She also appeared in The Hobbit films, despite not appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel. The Rings of Power follows a young Galadriel as she hunts Sauron. She is a mighty warrior who comes into conflict with her superiors after she refuses to give up the hunt. The series will eventually see Galadriel forming the rings of power. 

Morfydd Clark knew the pressure of portraying Galadriel in ‘The Rings of Power’

In an interview with AnOther, Morfydd Clark spoke about the weight of portraying Galadriel in The Rings of Power. Despite playing a younger version of the character, she is aware of Galadriel’s legendary status, along with Cate Blanchett’s excellent performance. She felt inspired by Tolkien’s work and the previous movies but still found the role “daunting.”

“I feel like Tolkien was coming at me in so many different ways, like it has been explored in those different mediums,” Clark said. “I just felt really lucky to have all of that. Watching those films at the age I did, it was in my imagination; I felt really inspired by not just Cate Blanchett’s portrayal, but the films in general. Every way that I’d previously managed to get Tolkien into my veins felt like it was setting me up to do well.”

“But yeah, it’s obviously daunting,” Clark added. “Galadriel is like a legend. She is an actual legend in Middle Earth, but also a legend in our world. And then Cate Blanchett is a legend who played her, so the shoes were enormous. But I also felt like I was playing someone who had a wealth of stuff to research.”

Clark didn’t know which character she was auditioning for

In an interview with Variety, Clark did not know she was auditioning for Galadriel when she auditioned for The Rings of Power. She knew she was playing an elf but had no idea it would be one so iconic. 

“I knew I was auditioning for an elf, but I didn’t know which one,” Clark explained. “So me and my sister went mad trying to figure it out. I never dreamed it would be Galadriel.”

Even after finding out she would be playing Galadriel, Clark has still not reached out to Blanchett. However, she is still inspired by Blanchett’s performance. 

“I couldn’t possibly,” Clark said. “But her performance was such a big part of my life. Those films have gotten me through exams, troubles, teenagehood. She was with me all that time.”

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.