'The Rings of Power's Tyroe Muhafidin Explains Theo's Darkest Season 3 Decision

Editor's note: The below interview contains major spoilers for The Rings of Power Season 3 Episode 4. With The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally returned for its third season, the first four episodes have established an even darker world than the one viewers remember. With the series now jumping five years ahead, Sauron's (Charlie Vickers) influence is slowly taking over Middle-earth, and the new rings of power that are up for grabs prove too tempting for certain characters to resist. One, in particular, has been grappling with the darkness since his arc began in Season 1, and it all comes to a head in Season 3's latest episode. "Gundabad" serves as an unexpected reunion for the young human Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and the Elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), who last parted ways in Season 2 from the weight of their shared grief over the loss of Theo's mother and Arondir's lover, Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). Yet the circumstances of their meeting in Season 3 are anything but happy; Theo has fallen sway to Sauron's manipulation, as well as the power of the ring he now wears, and aims to capture Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) for the Dark Lord. When Arondir tries to intervene, Sauron appears and orders Theo to kill the Elf, and this fatal blow seemingly cements the young man's corruption. Below, Muhafidin talks with Collider about Theo's biggest physical transformation after the series' five-year time jump, whether Theo fully trusts Sauron at this point in their relationship, why he's still holding onto guilt over his character's darkest decision yet, and more. COLLIDER: With Theo, that push and pull between the dark and the light has really been part of his journey since the beginning of the show. What were you looking forward to in terms of getting to explore even more of that darkness in Season 3? TYROE MUHAFIDIN: Just kind of fully getting to lean into it. There were so many little moments here and there throughout the first two seasons where Charlotte [Brändström] or Patrick [McKay] or whoever would say, “Maybe have a little smirk on your face while you kill this Orc.” Or maybe, “Kind of enjoy the darkness of it.” I always got a chance to kind of lean into it, so I kind of had an inkling that Theo was going to go in this direction, but I never really quite knew. But this season, it was definitely just getting to the pinnacle of his story. I think this is where it kind of all rounds off for him. It was fun to see how someone can be driven to that sort of point, to be able to do those sorts of things. I think that's the beautiful but very tragic story of Theo, his journey to becoming a Ring-servant. 'The Rings of Power's Tyroe Muhafidin Explains His Biggest Physical Transformation in Season 3 "He's tired and worn down, and he's not excited about anything." Image via Prime Video Season 3's time jump establishes where everybody is on the chessboard of Middle-earth, but it leads to pretty significant development for certain characters. How did you want to portray the passage of time for Theo in terms of his physical growth, and what's happened in those five years since we last saw him? MUHAFIDIN: It wasn't so much how much stronger he could be, but it was how much more worn down he could be — because he gets his chance to be strong later, which was also really fun to do. I did a lot of work with a movement coach before — I'd say two months of workshopping movement, because it's a five-year time jump, and I was 20 at the time. I was still youthful. When you see someone young, there's a specific kind of bounce, and I'm also quite bouncy and filled with a lot of excitement. But Theo is the complete opposite. He's tired and worn down, and he's not excited about anything. He has no hope for anything. I had to work on flipping my entire body language into what that looks like. It was something I'd never had to think about before because I was always just playing my own age, whereas Theo was an adult by that time, but I still felt like a kid. So, playing an adult was a challenge. Season 3 establishes that Sauron is putting out a summons about these rings of power that are up for grabs. The potential to be a Ringservant is being dangled in front of otherwise ordinary people, but these men are forced to fight each other to the death to claim one of these rings. How did you want to portray the way in which that desperation manifests for Theo? For him, does it feel like it's all or nothing in that moment? MUHAFIDIN: Exactly that. I think Theo this season is at a point where he has no hope for anything, and he can only see a life of pain and misery in front of him. He's at a point now where it's not worth living that life. I think he would genuinely rather die than keep living the life he's living. The fact that he gets even just an opportunity at something so grand, and something that he's had a taste of before, he’s drawn to it, more and more excited by it. Playing into that, I think he was at a point where he knew the darkness, and he was prepared, going there, to fight his friends. I think he was prepared for whatever Sauron was planning, because he knew how bad Sauron was, but he was ready. It kicks off a really interesting dynamic that we get to see you and Charlie [Vickers] play, because it very much feels like Theo has a childlike yearning to know more about his dad, and Sauron immediately senses that this is something he can exploit. As much as Theo is seeking his own answers, it also feels like he's personally gravitating towards Sauron as this strong mentor figure. MUHAFIDIN: Yeah. I would say Theo's biggest trajectory, what led to his downfall, is the effect that his role models and people who were supposed to guide him had on him. He had his mother, who was his biggest role model and biggest guidance, and he lost her. He feels betrayed by the fact that Arondir left him. He never had a father. So he never had a consistent role model to show him how to live life, who to be, and Sauron knows this, and knows that he can take on that role, and Theo is more than welcome to let him, because his whole life, he has just been searching for someone to show him the way, to look after him, to guide him, and he has just been let down constantly. Sauron gives the promise that he won't let him down. 'The Rings of Power's Tyroe Muhafidin Explains Theo's Biggest Doubt About Sauron "Maybe if Sauron hadn't opened that ring box, who knows?" Even the scene where Sauron supposedly summons Theo's father from the beyond, so to speak, I’m interested in how you wanted to play it from Theo's perspective. Is he so willing to believe Sauron that even if some of the details seem a little fishy, he'd push that doubt aside? MUHAFIDIN: At first, it definitely is all real to him, and he believes it, because I think this is the moment he's been waiting for his entire life. This is so huge. There's just so much adrenaline and all that discovery and all this, and there's so much weight to it all that, at first, he doesn't quite process it. There is a moment we played when Theo becomes so entranced by Sauron and the whole situation, but then he steps away. He gets lost in it and believes it all, but he snaps out of it — and it's the moment when Sauron says that his mom killed his dad. That was the moment when the doubt started to seep in. Maybe if Sauron hadn't opened that ring box, who knows? Maybe Theo would have walked out of there. Though I guess if he tried to walk out, he probably would have died. Previously, I spoke with Zubin [Varla], who plays an incredible Ringservant this season, and he mentioned his experience of wearing that armor. We've been talking about physicality already, but how does a costume that's arguably different than anything you've really worn on the show impact how you carry yourself as the character? MUHAFIDIN: The costume was the biggest source of inspiration on the day for me. Every single time. The big thing for me was the gauntlets. As soon as the gloves go on, and you look at your hands, especially if there's a ring on it... there's something about looking at your hands and seeing something scary that you just feel scary automatically, you know? That costume, immediately, every single time, made me feel terrifying and powerful. It was the biggest blessing to be able to have that, because it was the best tool as an actor: to use what's around you. So, yeah, that costume was awesome. I mean, it was hot. It was a little uncomfortable, but every single time I got a glimpse of myself in any kind of mirror, I was like, “I look so cool!” Especially when I had the sword in, as well, and the mask and crown. That was incredible. Being behind a mask and walking around in that kind of way, you just feel powerful. There's no other way to describe it. 'The Rings of Power's Tyroe Muhafidin Breaks Down His Emotional Final Scene With Ismael Cruz Córdova "... I couldn't help but feel like it was my fault, even though it wasn’t." Image via Prime Video I hate to bring up Arondir now, but I have to. How did you prepare to get into the headspace of such an emotionally heavy scene, knowing that everybody was going to be saying goodbye to Ismael [Cruz Córdova], as well? MUHAFIDIN: The whole sequence was shot over two weeks, but I was only in for a few days around there, and we didn't shoot any of the close-up stuff until the last day. We had been doing all the wides, so we'd been doing this action over and over again over a few days, and when I was doing it, the feeling of it all wasn't really there yet. Ismael and I, we're good mates, so it was just a bunch of fun on set. But the day when the close-ups were shot, there was this cold in the air. It was so intense because, obviously, it was so big for Ismael, and I'm trying to be there for him and be a good castmate, and he was there for me, too. But it was crazy because, like you said, everyone was saying goodbye to Ismael, and everyone was giving him hugs and showing that love because it was his last day on set, but I couldn't help but feel like it was my fault, even though it wasn’t. As soon as we finished, I felt that guilt, and the feeling has never left — that feeling of, “What have I done?” It was immediate, and it was real. For the next six months, I was so wracked with actual, genuine guilt over it. For months and months, I would see his face and get panic attacks sometimes, like at that exact moment, because it was so huge and such a scary moment. At the end of each day, Is and I would be able to have a sit-down chat and hug it out and have a heart-to-heart, and it was really beautiful. It was this real fine line of us trying to have fun and be bro-y and whatever, but we had to make sure that we were really there for each other. All the emotions in the scene in general are a lot, and we had to stay in that kind of headspace for days and days and days. So, it was draining, but we were all there for each other. It was a really beautiful time. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, what can you tease about where Theo's arc is heading now that he's crossed this pretty impactful and emotional line? MUHAFIDIN: His journey from here on is emotional, and I think it's a real moment of self-discovery and self-reflection. There's also more questions. There's more questions raised about what he's destined to do. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes releasing Wednesdays.