‘I auditioned as Satan. You can’t get more evil than that,’ says Charlie Vickers
He plays the baddie Sauron in the hit fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It’s second nature for Charlie Vickers.
You star in the US fantasy TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is set thousands of years before Tolkien’s stories about Middle-earth. The show has become an international success. Coming from Australia, how did you get into acting? I’ve lived in England for 10 years now, but I grew up in Geelong never thinking I could do acting as a career. My brother came back from London raving about all these drama schools. I later found one in Sydney but didn’t tell anyone I would be coming up for an audition. It was a shock when I got in.
It wasn’t until filming episode three of the first series that you were told you were playing the main antagonist, the evil Sauron. Weren’t there any clues? The first clues were chemistry tests with Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel. During auditions we knew we were auditioning for two central characters that shared a lot of screen time. The biggest clue was when they gave me an audition monologue from Shakespeare’s Richard III. Then, the final one was Paradise Lost – I was literally Satan, you can’t get more evil than that.
With an expanded role in season two, did you need to prepare any differently? I used music a lot because Sauron moves and talks differently to Halbrand [the human character Sauron disguises himself as]. I had a new playlist filled with choral music. The top track was one from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. He’s an angelic character, really, so I thought it would be useful.
It’s a physically demanding role – you freedive and do a lot of your own stunts. What’s been the most challenging aspect of training? A huge part of filming the first season in New Zealand was training in combat. If we weren’t in front of the camera we’d be training in the stunt gym for hours. This season, I’ve replaced fighting with more precise movements. I’m doing pilates for the first time. I’ve been humbled because it’s easy to underestimate how difficult it is.
The show is one of Prime Video’s most-watched original series, yet you’ve chosen to remain off social media and away from the hype. Why? For me, it’s a distraction. All I want to be is an actor. I know people think it’s part of the job nowadays, and maybe I’m old fashioned, but I just want to do the thing I fell in love with back in Geelong years ago. I have a lot that makes me anxious in my life. I don’t need another element on top of that.
You’ve previously starred in the Netflix series Medici and the Australian miniseries The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Are there any actors you’ve learned a lot from on set? I worked with Sam Neill seven years ago on a film called Palm Beach. It wasn’t the kind of film that required any real in-depth immersion but he was so calm, open and kind. It’s something I’ve taken with me into jobs as I’ve got older. I’m still in touch with him now.
Your partner Georgie Oulton is also an actor. Do you keep shop-talk to a minimum at home? Not at all, we share ideas because acting was the original thing that connected us. It’s a nice part of being in the same industry. She understands if I’m coming home from a really long, intense stretch of work and just need to detach from it by watching Aussie Rules clips continuously.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams on Prime from August 29.
Why don’t we embrace eccentrics in Australia anymore?
The recently departed, singular filmmaker David Lynch had the strength to be exactly himself. Parts of the world venerate independent thinkers like him but our nation is not one of them.
Listening for signs of life
This tiny swamp wallaby joey, rescued from its dead mother’s pouch, was brought to a wildlife vet who listened for a heartbeat with his stethoscope.