‘Rings of Power’ Star Eddie Marsan on Playing a Power-Hungry Dwarf and Why He Once Had 2,000 Pairs of Orlando Bloom’s Elf Ears in His Attic

Following the seismic events that shook the Dwarven underground kingdom in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” season 2 finale, which saw King Durin III sacrifice himself in order to deal with an unruly Balrog he’d accidentally awoken, Prince Durin IV was anointed his successor. But in step Thrain, Durin III’s older son — and technically the rightful heir — to challenge for the crown, sparking a major power struggle and fallout. Played by veteran British actor Eddie Marsan, Thrain is one of the most notable new additions in the third season of show, which launches Nov. 11 on Prime Video.

And while it may be Marsan’s first on-screen adventure into Middle-earth, he’s no stranger to Tolkien’s world. As it happens, “The Lord of the Rings” has been a major part of his family’s life for more than two decades — to the extent he once had several thousand pairs of Orlando Blooms prosthetic Elven ears stored in his house. Speaking to Variety, Marsan explains his meditation routine during the lengthy make-up process and why he only joined the show to take the piss out his friend Peter Mullan.

It kind of felt slightly inevitable, really. My wife Janine [Schneider-Marsan] was a makeup artist on the original Lord of the Rings film. So I was shooting “Gangs of New York” and flew out to see her in New Zealand, and we spent some time together.

And she kept going back for years afterwards to do the sequels and do pickups. So it was part of our early marriage for three or four years. She did the makeup for Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler.

And in our old house, in the loft, we had around 2,000 pairs of Orlando Bloom’s ears. I was going to bring them to “Rings and Powers” to see if they wanted them! But it was all part of our family life.

And I also watched the show, because Peter Mullan is a very good friend, and I really loved the end of the second series when he sacrifices himself. I thought it was incredible. And then they came in and said, “Would you like to play Peter’s son?” And it was two things.