Why Jamie Campbell Bower Was "Desperate" for The Rings of Power After Stranger Things (Exclusive)
With Stranger Things' Vecna in his rearview mirror, Jamie Campbell Bower was ready to tackle a more "loving" role in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season three.
Following his tenure as Upside Down baddie Vecna in the final two seasons of Netflix's Stranger Things, Jamie Campbell Bower was ready for something new.
His desire for some kind of palette cleanser took the form of Elven royal Celeborn (future husband to Morfydd Clark's Galadriel) in season three of Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Jamie Campbell Bower on Moving from Stranger Things to The Rings of Power
"I loved what did in Stranger Things, it was amazing," he exclusively told SYFY Wire at San Diego Comic-Con. "But I came out the back of [season] five desperate for something loving, desperate for something that was deeply feeling."
"This came through and it was just one scene," he continued. "I remember reading and connecting with it and just being like, 'This is amazing.' At to that my love of the show, my love for the world...it was just this space of awe and genuine connection and genuine emotion...I'm lucky. For some reason, they saw something in me and here I am."
Premiering in November, The Rings of Power season three jumps forward half a decade into the future to focus on the height of the war between the Elves and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) as the Dark Lord seeks to conquer all of Middle-earth by forging the One Ring.
"The thing that will reverberate above everything else is Sauron's psychology," Vickers said during the show's SDCC panel. "Five years have passed. Yes, his evil has been spreading across the map, but he has been locked away in Barad-dûr, trying and failing to forge the One Ring. So, he's now hellbent on finding a way to make it happen."
"It was an absolute joy for me to spend time in Barad-dûr because the set was incredible," he added. "And if I'm not mistaken, I believe this is the first time we're seeing the interior of Sauron's dark tower. It was hot and fiery, incredibly dark. I hope everyone will be really excited to see it."
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay serve as executive producers with Lindsey Weber, Justin Doble, Charlotte Brändström and Kate Hazell. Andrew Lee is co-producer. The series is directed by Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Stefan Schwartz.
