The Rings of Power Character Guide: Who’s Who in Tolkien’s World?

Prime Video is taking us back to the world of Middle-Earth in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Like all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, The Rings of Power is a sprawling fantasy adventure with a character count that rivals that of Game of Thrones. To help you keep track of it all we thought we’d put together a quick guide on each of The Rings of Power characters and how they relate to each other and the larger world of The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power character guide

The Elves

Galadriel

Galadriel is one of the most recognisable characters who has appeared in The Lord of the Rings and now The Rings of Power. Being an elf, Galadriel is immortal, however, we’ll be seeing a much younger version of her in The Rings of Power, with Morfydd Clark taking over the role from Cate Blanchett.

Most will remember Galadriel as one of the hosts of the Fellowship of the Ring who continues to appear and guide the group throughout the trilogy. She is dedicated to the fight against Sauron and is one of the recipients of the Elven rings of power.

Elrond

Another elf who will be familiar to The Lord of the Rings fans is Elrond, played in this younger version by Robert Aramayo. As a half-elf, Elrond had the choice between the lands of men and elves, eventually choosing the latter and working under the High King of the Noldor, Gil-galad.

In the Third Age, he helped preserve the lineage of Isildur, which included him raising a young man named Aragorn who, as we know, goes on to become the next King.

Celebrimbor

Another prestigious elf, Celebrimbor (played by Charles Edwards), is best-known in Tolkien’s work as the craftsman who forged the Rings of Power. During the Second Age he also helps to build a relationship with the Dwarves and has a friendship with Elrond.

Gil-galad

High King of the Noldor, Gil-galad is another elf who will be familiar from The Lords of the Rings, where he was played by Mark Ferguson. The character is well-known as one of the characters who helped forge an alliance between the humans and elves to fight Sauron for the One Ring in the Second Age.

In The Rings of Power, we’ll see how this came to be with Gil-galad portrayed by Benjamin Walker.

Arondir

Arondir is a new character created for The Rings of Power so doesn’t have any ties to the wider Lord of the Rings universe that we know about (yet). The character, played by Ismael Cruz Cordova, is an elven warrior who has a love affair with the human woman Bronwyn.

The Harfoots

Nori

Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) is one of the new characters amongst the Harfoots, who are one of three breeds of Hobbits in Tolkien’s world.

She is curious, adventurous and sweet, and gets up to mischief with her friend Poppy. We also meet her father in the series, Largo Brandyfoot.

Poppy

Nori’s best friend, Poppy Proufellow (Megan Richards), isn’t as eager to run headfirst into danger but will always support her friend. These two are definitely giving Sam and Frodo friendship vibes.

Marigold Brandyfoot

Marigold (Sara Zwangobani) is the matriarch of the Brandyfoot family and Nori’s mother, who is struggling to lead the Harfoots through a new age of conflicting ideas.

The Dwarves

Prince Durin IV

Representing the dwarves we have Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), who is every bit as fiery and wise-cracking as we’ve come to know from The Lord of the Rings‘ Gimli.

Durin lives in the underground kingdom of Khazad-dûm (which is thriving in the Second Age) and has an ongoing friendship with Elrond. He is also a distant relative of Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit.

In Tolkien lore, Durin’s father (Durin III) is one of the Dwarf-lords who receives a ring of power and it is eventually passed down the line to his son.

Princess Disa

Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete) is Prince Durin’s wife and the mother of his children. She is able to use her voice to move mountains and is the first black Dwarf portrayed on-screen in Tolkien’s world.

The Humans

Míriel

The Rings of Power will mark the first time audiences see the historic human city of Númenor on screen. When we enter the story Míriel, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, is the Queen Regent in charge.

Pharazôn

Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) is the Chancellor of Numenor and Queen Míriel’s cousin. In Tolkien lore he is the last King of Númenor, but we’ll have to wait and see to find out why.

Elendil

Elendil (Lloyd Owen) is a sea captain from Númenor and the father to Isildur and Eärien. Elendil is a very distant answer to Aragorn who will be very familiar to The Lord of the Rings fans.

Isildur

Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil’s son, is another big name in Tolkien’s world. Isildur is known as the warrior who cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron but then failed to destroy it. Before all that, however, we’ll follow his journey in Númenor.

Eärien

Eärien (Ema Horvath) is a new character created for The Rings of Power and, as Isildur’s sister, is also distantly related to Aragorn.

Bronwyn

Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) is a female healer living in Tirharad and the mother to Theo. She has a love affair with the elven warrior Arondir.

Theo

Tyroe Muhafidin plays Theo, Bronwyn’s son. Theo’s dad isn’t around but we would hedge our bets that he’s secretly Arondir’s son.

Now you’re primed (sorry) for a new adventure in Middle-Earth. If you need more of a reason to give The Rings of Power a shot, check out our review of the first two episodes.

The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power streams weekly on Prime Video from September 2.