There is little doubt that the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power understood the importance of the Amazon Prime series and what it would mean for book readers. But Peter Mullan was completely unaware of the stories of Middle-earth because he had never read any of J.R.R. Tolkien's works.
Peter Mullan Says He Never Read The Lord of The Rings
Peter Mullan recently spoke to Collider about working on The Rings of Power. When asked if he was familiar with Tolkien's books, the King Durin III actor revealed that he didn't take an interest in the author's works.
"Oh, well, I would hope no fan would ever come up to me because I don't have a clue about Tolkien or his world," he said with a laugh. "It totally passed me by, and I've got mates that love it, know it inside-out."
Mullan added, "I wasn't a Lord of the Rings kind of guy. I would be more [Charles] Dickens and [William] Shakespeare in terms of the classic, and [Fyodor] Dostoevsky, I was more a Dostoevsky kind of guy!"
"Lord of the Rings? Never, no, I had no feelings one way or the other for it," he added.
Although Peter Mullan never read the books, he did admit that he enjoyed Peter Jackson's films, or at least just The Fellowship of the Ring.
"I liked the first film that Jackson did, other than that, I didn't watch any of the whole bits or the other ones," he said.
Mullan then admitted that although he wasn't familiar with Middle-earth, he was more than happy to travel to an exotic location for The Rings of Power.
"I didn't know anything about the world at all, but I liked the idea of doing– well, I loved the idea of going to New Zealand, and I loved the idea of just doing something that involved all that kind of silliness, you know?" he said.
Although Peter Mullan didn't have the knowledge from years of reading Tolkien's books, he still did an excellent job playing the tough but wise King Durin III. He is currently expected to reprise his role in the second season.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is currently in production and has not yet been given an official release date.
Related: The Rings of Power Star Weighs in on King Durin's Mithril Decision: 'Kill The Elves!'
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