‘The Rings Of Power’ star Daniel Weyman thinks everyone should be more Gandalf

In the Lord Of The Rings films, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf meme-ably declares that “a wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.” But that isn’t true. On the bright September afternoon that NME meets actor Daniel Weyman, who plays the iconic mage in megabucks TV prequel The Rings Of Power, he’s been waiting for 10 minutes. Read more: ‘The Rings Of Power’ star Morfydd Clark: “I don’t think I’m made for Hollywood” “Oh, it’s no trouble,” he says serenely, acknowledging our tardiness before gesturing to the green and pleasant surroundings. “I’ve been enjoying the gardens.” Postman’s Park, the central London oasis in which we’re convening, is Weyman’s go-to spot for quiet contemplation. “It’s really ethereal,” he continues. Tall office buildings on all sides shut out nearby traffic noise and water trickles soothingly from a moss-covered fountain. In the corner of the courtyard, there’s a memorial to “heroic self-sacrifice”. Each ceramic tile tells the story of somebody who has given their life to save somebody else. There’s Mary Jarman, who made three attempts to climb a burning staircase to rescue her aged mother; Soloman Galaman, killed trying to save his little brother from being run over; and many others. “It makes me think of Gandalf,” says Weyman. He’s right to draw the comparison. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved books and Peter Jackson’s equally adored movies, the beardy warlock repeatedly puts his ancient body on the line between friends and great evil – most memorably during trilogy-opener The Fellowship Of The Ring. Plunged into a deep chasm by the flame-wreathed, demonic Balrog, Gandalf is believed dead for a number of chapters (or hours, in celluloid) – only to rise again, mightier than ever. “We all love that kind of character,” says Weyman, “that person who, no matter how much awfulness is going on, centres us and gives us some solidity.” Daniel Weyman as Gandalf in ‘The Rings Of Power’. CREDIT: Amazon Studios For the majority of Rings Of Power’s first two seasons, set millennia before Frodo Baggins gets his hairy hands on ultimate baddie Sauron’s titular golden trinket, Gandalf was credited only as The Stranger. We watched him crash-land as a fiery meteor in episode one – naked, mute and desperately weak. We watched him recover his strength, then slowly learn to talk. And we watched as he discovered his magical abilities. In the upcoming third season, the pipe-smoking conjurer is finally going by his true name, too. He’s more like the force fans will recognise. “That’s what has been so freeing,” Weyman admits. “I can now inhabit that place and find myself in it.” We’ve seen nearly all of the new episodes and – spoilers aside – they’re some of the best yet. Several key storylines have been paused – the country bumpkin Harfoots being the biggest casualties – and that means we spend more time elsewhere. A violent civil war embroils the combative kingdom of men in Númenor; creepy, cloaked Nazgnagôl stalk their unsuspecting prey through the woods; and elven warrior Galadriel reunites with long-lost husband Celeborn, played by handsome Stranger Things veteran Jamie Campbell-Bower. Elsewhere, Gandalf attempts to convince a former ally to team up against the enemy. Oh, and he wears a pointy hat. “It’s like a completion of the journey so far,” Weyman says excitedly. “The hat is one of the different parts of, what I like to think is, Gandalf’s armour – his robe, his staff and now his hat. So he’s protected, in a way. Not with strong bits of metal and darkness, but with felt and softness.” “I had no idea what character I was up for” Born in Newcastle during the late 1970s, but raised largely in the suburbs of York, Weyman’s upbringing was worlds away from Hollywood. His dad worked for Rowntree’s, the British confectioners – and would come home with pocketses full of sweets and chocolate for the family. There was no teenage rebellious phase, unless you count a short-lived Bon Jovi covers band (and Weyman doesn’t). Instead, the reserved youngster played a “huge amount of sport” (from football and tennis to cricket and badminton) and showed an aptitude for maths along with other “logical things”. For a long while, he seemed destined to do a normal job. He studied Chemistry at Nottingham University, graduating in 2000, and even had an interview to join very-corporate, boring consumer goods company Unilever (they produce everything from Marmite to Pot Noodle and Persil washing tabs). Something stopped him though. “It was just a stable thing to give me a life… but I had always loved make-believe and using my imagination.”Recommended That imagination led him to the student drama society. “I went along to an open audition,” he remembers. “The next day, they rang the corridor phone in my halls: ‘Is this Andrew Weymouth?’ I replied: ‘No, I’m Daniel Weyman.’ And they said: ‘So glad we found you, we couldn’t remember your name!’” The next two and a half decades whizzed by in a whirlwind of acting school (“worth a try”), increasingly prestigious plays (“I’ve been very lucky”) and supporting bits on film and TV (“the size of the role doesn’t matter to me”). Weyman became one of the UK’s most respected theatre actors – or, as he puts it: “famous for not being famous.” Then, in 2019, his agent called about a mysterious opportunity… “I had no idea what character I was up for,” says Weyman of his initial self-tape for The Rings Of Power. The script was “Tolkien-esque”, all “wind blowing from the west” and a general sense of foreboding. Every recognisable person had a pseudonym, meaning “there was nothing to read into.” The process ended up lasting six months but the key moment for Weyman, when he knew this was the part for him, came in a drab casting director’s office. Daniel Weyman: CREDIT: David Reiss “I had this wonderful moment with a very well-known actor who I won’t name – but suffice it to say, he’s a national treasure.” says Weyman. “We were both waiting in the lobby for our auditions – and I thought, ‘Oh, OK, I’m out of my league here.’ Anyway, we’re chatting – and then, just before he was called in, he turns to me and says: ‘I think you’d be very good in this, actually. You’ve got something about you.’ And what a gift he gave me. I went in really feeling like I could do the job. I hope somewhere he knows how thankful I am for that.” Today, sat on a worn, wooden bench, pigeons clustered about his feet and sporting a simple jumper, jeans and smart trainers, Weyman looks less the supreme sorcerer and more like a history teacher on his lunch hour. He doesn’t fuss when we pour him some “tepid tea” from a thermos, gulping it down happily. It’s hard to imagine anything rustling his feathers at all, really, but the long road through Middle-Earth has been no hobbit walking party, as he explains. Particularly early on, inhabiting The Stranger was quite isolating. Weyman touched down in New Zealand for principal photography in February 2020, just as COVID swept the globe. “I knew nothing and nobody,” he says. “I didn’t have my family or friends. Even the way of working was different.” And though Weyman and his castmates did, of course, hang out, social distancing restrictions meant they were unable to replicate the legendary sky-diving and surfing adventures of Jackson movie lore. Weyman also struggled to disassociate from the disturbed, wandering vagabond he was portraying. Daniel Weyman: CREDIT: David Reiss “We were in New Zealand for well over a year and a half – and it wasn’t easy to shift the make-up from my fingernails or to get rid of the sadness from his eyes,” he says. The Stranger’s maniacally bushy beard, which Weyman grew especially, made him appear unhinged if he went out in the street. “I was wizened – an odd-looking old guy, right? When you look in a mirror every day for that long and the only face you see staring back at you is… well…” He trails off. Weyman is at pains to express how fulfilling the experience has been overall, but it clearly cost him something. We’re reminded of the viral clip featuring McKellen, who after weeks of performing alone on a specialised green-screen set for The Hobbit, burst into tears. Mordor, clearly, is not for the faint-hearted. Weyman’s task has grown arguably more difficult since those months Down Under. Then, he signed on to play a completely novel figure in the franchise that no one had ever heard of. Now, he finds himself stepping into the considerably larger shoes of a beloved public figure who is still actively employed in the role (McKellen returns as Gandalf for spin-off The Hunt For Gollum next Christmas). He hasn’t met McKellen, but hopes at some point their paths will cross. “Had [the showrunners] said the character was Gandalf from the beginning, undoubtedly the pressure would have been way bigger,” he says. “Would I still have said yes to it? Absolutely. I back myself. If people give you a role, it’s because they’ve seen something in you.” “If people give you a role, it’s because they’ve seen something in you” This confidence is on full display a month later, when NME attends a swanky press event in the Oxfordshire countryside. Usually earmarked out-of-town businessmen wearing gilets, Soho Farmhouse has been transformed into a stunning Rings Of Power exhibition space filled with sparkling weaponry, hand-stitched royal gowns and grotesque, pus-dribbling goblin masks. Weyman immediately makes a beeline for Gandalf’s staff, captivating a gaggle of wide-eyed influencers as he demonstrates the correct way to wield the ornately-crafted wooden rod. If it took him a while to get to grips with Tolkien’s crafty creation, Weyman’s clearly mastered it now. Back in Postman’s Park, talk turns to the future. Season three premieres on November 11 – and the plan is for two more after that. We know Gandalf’s fate from the books – and yet it feels like he’s headed towards some kind of fresh climactic reckoning in the show. Weyman won’t be drawn on that possibility. “I know [showrunners] JD Payne and Patrick McKay are writing stuff, but I don’t think anything’s been green-lit yet,” he says. “Where they take my character is up to them.” He’s less dismissive about what Gandalf has taught him over the past seven years, though. “There’s a lovely quote [in the new season] about not being able to hold back the tides,” he says. “His job is not to solve all things. It’s to support others, to be present and to be the best version of himself. That’s enough for anyone, including me.” ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ season three premieres on Prime Video on November 11 CREDITS: Photography: David Reiss Grooming: Charlie Cullen Styling: Tom O’Dell