The Rings Of Power's Jamie Campbell Bower Reveals Why Joining The Series Was So Meaningful
Jamie Campbell Bower seemingly manifested his journey to Middle-earth long before he joined The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The Stranger Things star will make his debut in yet another sci-fi supernatural universe as Celeborn, the Elf Lord and long-missing husband of Galadriel, in season 3. The series previously established that Celebron disappeared during the war against Morgtoh, leaving Galadriel to believe he died. His return will reunite them after centuries apart, creating a whole new major storyline for the Prime Video series.
In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan, Bower discussed his lifelong connection to The Lord of the Rings and the gratitude he felt after joining its world. Although the character's name was removed from his initial audition, Bower immediately knew he needed to be part of this mystery figure he could potentially play:
For me personally, I've just been so grateful since I started doing this, and that love and that gratitude was what brought me to the show in the first place. That's the thing that I felt when I first started reading the sides that I was sent with the character's name scrubbed out.
When I first started auditioning, he was called something completely different, and I remember I called somebody I worked with, and I was like, “Okay, you need to tell me who this person is immediately. I need to know.”
It's just been a beautiful, beautiful journey. I watched the films when I was 12. That's the time when you're discovering movies on your own. Obviously, I fell in love with the world, and like so many people, it became my comfort films, the place I would go back to often.
Bower then revealed the "nuts" confidence that came into him when he was reading scripts for The Rings of Power. It all came full circle for the star — years earlier, he had purchased a blanket of a map of Middle-earth while performing with his band at Germany's fantasy-focused Elbenwald Festival:
I’m getting the scripts through one day on my iPad, reading what’s coming up, and I look down, and I’m in the blanket reading these scripts. I’m like, “This is nuts.”
It’s just been incredible, and to join this incredible cast and this incredible crew, and be welcomed in by them with such love and such open arms, has been a blessing.
Bower's personal connection to Tolkien’s world brings a meaningful piece to his casting as Celeborn. Marton Csokas previously portrayed the Elf Lord in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, meaning Bower is inheriting an established character while exploring a much more emotionally vulnerable period in his life.
The actor described his interpretation of Celebron as romantic and emotionally driven, with the character finding his way through loss guiding his premorance. That approach makes more sense given Celebron's separation from Galadriel and the many, many questions surrounding what happened to him after his disappearance.
Bower also had a previous attachment to the production through Stranger Things prosthetic designer Barrie Gower, who helped him create the terrifyingly believable Vecna, who has worked across both franchises. Bower created a strong relationship with Gower by asking him about his experience on The Rings of Power.
After playing Vecna in Stranger Things, Bower is trading the Upside Down for one of fantasy’s most beloved worlds. His story really feels like a fitting full-circle and almost manifesting moment. Celeborn’s return could fundamentally reshape Galadriel’s journey when The Rings of Power season 3 premieres November 11 on Prime Video.