Ahead of Rings of Power season 2 airing on Amazon, we caught up with the cast at San Diego Comic Con to talk all things Tolkien, their own nerdy habits and see what they could reveal about the upcoming season. 

It’s easy to see that Robert Strange (Glug) was the perfect choice for Rings of Power. He told us that his nerdiness was unlocked as a child when the original Star Wars films were re-released and the prequels came out  – “I was obsessed”. From there grew a passion for fantasy books of which he counts The Hobbit and LOTR series amongst his favourites. They gave him his love of monsters which he’s now “created a career out of”. Strange played various orcs in the first season but is now playing the first orc with an arc, named Glug. “I’ve always been drawn to creatures and villains especially ones with depth which is why Glug has been so incredible to play”. 

Strange then teased what an orc with an arc looks like. He’s told us that we’re going to see Glug’s home and family life, and how that is impacted by Sauron being back and the potential of war. He also confirmed that Glug would be involved in Adar’s journey, even though he definitely has his own agenda. 

Having played many orcs before, Strange is used to the transformation (and much time spent in the make up chair) that it takes to play a creature in Middle Earth but has said that his prep is slightly different to the rest of the cast – “Squats, lots of squats” – he laughs. Jokes aside, he stressed the importance of keeping healthy because movement is so important in creature acting. As such he works with a movement director, as well as a dialect coach to enhance his performance. For him, the best thing about it is being able to “play around and see what come out”. His ultimate philosophy for his performance is that when he’s got his costume and make up on “he looks in the mirror and Rob Strange is gone” and Glug appears. From there, his goal is simply to “channel the spirit of Tolkien”, something which I’m sure all fans can appreciate.