Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast reveal insane security details

The stars of the hotly anticipated new Lord of the Rings series have lifted the lid on the truly gobsmacking security on set during filming.

It’s been one of the most closely guarded showbiz secrets for years – and just days out from The Rings of Power premiering, fans still barely know anything about what’s to come.

With an ensemble cast and a mammoth production team – plus the frenzied excitement of internet sleuths – it’s truly quite a feat.

In an interview with news.com.au, the show’s stars lifted the lid on just how showrunners and executive producers Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne managed to pull it off, revealing a bag of tricks including pseudonyms, blind casting and self-erasing electronic scripts.

Lloyd Owen, who plays warrior man Elendil, explained that the process of casting happened over months, during which time he was never officially told which character he was auditioning for.

“The process was quite involved … it involved meetings online with the showrunners, long discussions – an hour-and-a-half on one particular occasion chatting to them – so there was lots of information coming my way about the character arc and where they were,” Owen said, although he was able to “pick up clues” from what he’d been sent and guess who he might be playing prior to filming beginning in New Zealand in early 2020.

“But you don’t get the official name and all that until you’re in a quarantine hotel, in this case, in New Zealand. It was nice to have my suspicions confirmed.”

Galadriel (played by Morfydd Clark) and Elendil (Lloyd Owen). Picture: Amazon Prime Video

But the mysterious casting was just the start, as Charles Edwards – aka legendary elven smith Celebrimbor – added.

“Even once you knew who you were playing and you’re filming, the scripts had pseudonyms,” Edwards told news.com.au.

“You’re referred to on set and on call sheets under your pseudonym, so you’ve got several names going on in your head, and you’re going, ‘What’s my name? I can’t remember!’

“Yes, the secrecy was considerable.”

When it came to scripts, each episode was downloaded and delivered on an iPad to the cast members, rather than paper, so that they could be “wiped at any time” if there was a security breach – a similar tactic employed by producers on Game of Thrones.

“We couldn’t take the iPads home with us – I think someone accidentally packed their iPad and took it with them, and everything got deleted,” Nazanin Boniadi, who plays healer Bronwyn in The Rings of Power, revealed.

Nazanin Boniadi as human healer Bronwyn. Picture: Amazon Prime Video

Just days out from the premiere, it’s clear the extreme secrecy paid off – although it initially caused a fair bit of confusion for one of the show’s stars, Sara Zwangobani, who plays Tolkien newcomer Marigold Brandyfoot.

“I arrived … and I was given the first couple of episodes and I read them … and the character I auditioned for, the name, wasn’t in them so I just assumed I wasn’t in it [the episodes]. So I relaxed … And then someone said to me, ‘No, that’s your character!’ and I was like, ‘Oh god, OK.’”

The extremely expensive series has been a closely guarded secret.

The new adaptation of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium brings to screens for the very first time the story of the heroic legends of the Second Age of Middle-earth.

The extremely expensive television series – set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, will explore how relative peace was shattered and greed and violence was provoked through the coveting of the Rings of Power.

It promises to take us back to a time “before the King, before the Fellowship, before the Ring”.

The Rings of Power features a huge cast including Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Kip Chapman, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Will Fletcher, Markella Kavenagh, Sophia Nomvete, Charlie Vickers, Benjamin Walker and Daniel Weyman.

The series will unfold in 50 hours over five seasons.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres September 2 on Prime Video

Originally published as Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast reveal insane security details