List of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power characters

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an American fantasy television series developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. It is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). The series is set thousands of years before the novel and depicts the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age. It is produced by Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema. The series features a large ensemble cast portraying characters from Tolkien's writings as well as original creations for the series.
Amazon acquired the global television rights for J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) in November 2017. The company's streaming service, Prime Video, gave a multi-season commitment to a series based on the novel and its appendices, to be produced by Amazon Studios in association with New Line Cinema and in consultation with the Tolkien Estate. J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay were set as showrunners of the series, titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings. It follows a large cast of characters and covers all the major events of the Second Age from Tolkien's writings: the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men.
The series was originally expected to be a continuation of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) film trilogies, but Amazon later clarified that their deal with Tolkien's estate required them to keep the series distinct from the films. Despite this, the showrunners intended for it to be visually consistent with the films and wanted any returning characters to look like they could grow up to be their film counterparts. Amazon confirmed in September 2019 that filming for the first season would take place in New Zealand, where Jackson's films were made. Seven of the season's main actors were New Zealanders, with the rest of the cast coming from Australia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In August 2021, Amazon announced that it was moving production of future seasons to the UK where more than half of the cast was from.
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The main Elves in the series are the Noldor (High Elves) who traveled from the Undying Lands of Valinor to fight the Dark Lord Morgoth in Middle-earth. Since Morgoth's defeat, their power—the "Light of the Eldar"—has begun to fade. Also included in the series are Silvan Elves (Wood Elves) who never lived in Valinor. Half-Elves, descendants of unions between Elves and Men, can choose between living a mortal or immortal life.
The series depicts the Dwarf realm of Khazad-dûm in its "full glory", compared to the ruins that are seen in the Lord of the Rings films. A key part of this is the discovery of the rare ore mithril in the mines of Khazad-dûm.
The people of the Southlands in Middle-earth are categorized as "Low Men". These include the villagers of Tirharad, who are descended from followers of the Dark Lord Morgoth.
The people of the island kingdom of Númenor are categorized as "High Men". They are descended from Elrond's brother Elros, and were originally in close contact with the Elves. Over time, many Númenóreans have turned away from the Elves and grown envious of their immortality. The people with this ideology become known as the "King's Men" while those who remain friendly with the Elves are known as "The Faithful".
The people who live in the land of Rhûn, in the east of Middle-earth, are known as "Easterlings". Rhûn is largely unexplored in Tolkien's works and previous adaptations.
The showrunners believed the series would not feel like Middle-earth without the diminutive Hobbits, who do not appear in Tolkien's history until the Third Age. They decided to explore precursors to the Hobbits called Harfoots who live in a nomadic, secretive society. In the second season, a tribe of Hobbit-like Stoors are introduced. Precursors to River-folk like Smeagol from The Lord of the Rings, the Stoors live in an arid canyon in Rhûn.
The armies of the Dark Lords include Orcs and Trolls. The series presents the origins of the Orcs as initially being corrupted Elves, as suggested by Tolkien in The Silmarillion (1977), and explores what this means for them as sentient beings rather than "monsters". This includes depicting female and child Orcs, and expanding on Orc culture. The showrunners wanted to use practical prosthetics for the Orcs where possible.
Maiar are angelic beings that can take on different forms. They serve the Valar, who are the equivalent of gods in Tolkien's mythology. The Maiar include the five Istari (Wizards) who appear as human men.