“It Was So Secret”: ‘The Rings of Power’ Star Reveals How He Ended Up Playing Sauron for One Scene

Villains can be a pain to deal with and when they happen to be shapeshifters, it makes it even harder to put them down. In The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, the chief foe is none other than Sauron, portrayed by Charlie Vickers. A formidable and difficult foe to corner, the Dark Lord met a brutal end at the hands of one of his lieutenants, Adar (Joseph Mawle). While he might have “split him open,” Adar did not destroy Sauron. Adar’s betrayal was captured in a flashback scene in the beginning of Season 2 and this time, Jack Lowden, not Vickers, plays Sauron. Lowden’s appearance as Sauron was a secret kept as tightly hidden as the treasures and artifacts in Barad-dûr.

In an interview with ComicBook, Lowden reveals that his stint in Middle-earth was short-lived, and he did not meet his other half during the process. “No, I never met [Charlie Vickers]. They just asked me to come do it,” he explained. “I think it was a day, or was it two days? I think it was two days. I was just in, out. I didn’t meet anybody. They just said, ‘We’d love you to play a version of Sauron in front of a whole bunch of orcs.’” When Adar’s dagger and that of other orcs pierced Sauron through Julius Ceaser style, his spirit was able to sneak away and survive, and over time reconstruct a new form for itself and emerging as Vickers. While it may have been short-lived, Lowden was grateful to be a part of Middle-earth, saying:

“They’re amongst my favorite films ever made, Lord of the Rings. So I was just like, ‘Yes, whatever you need me to do.’ To just be stood there with some seasoned orcs that had been in all three films, to just be stood there watching these guys, it’s just incredible. The makeup and these guys, the way they would move. I was just there. It was just mad. But no, I was kept away from everybody. It was so secret that I was amazed that I wasn’t driven to set with a bag over my head, to be honest.”

Was Sauron Always Bad Before ‘The Rings of Power’?

By the time we meet Sauron in The Rings of Power, he had become a menace and a scourge to Middle-earth. Having succeeded Morgoth in rebelling directly against Eru Illúvatar, Sauron possessed great wisdom and power, highly skilled in the art of deception and manipulation. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) posed the greatest threat to him in earlier episodes, but by the time Season 2 was done, Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and the all of Elvendom and Middle-earth had rekindled their opposition of him. But, was Sauron always evil? The short answer is no. Nothing is ever evil in the beginning, it is said. Not Morgoth, not Sauron. While Morgoth was part of the Valar at the beginning, Sauron was a spirit in servitude to the Valar smith Aulë, and was named Mairon. He always sought perfection in all his dealings, a trait he’d pursue even in a twisted form as the Dark Lord.

When Season 3 of The Rings of Power arrives, Middle-earth will be on a war footing as Sauron comes to power and the others resist. Allied to Middle-earth will be Daniel Weyman’s Stranger, fondly known as Gandalf. Weyman and Vickers discussed what could happen in the new season, but for Sauron, his purpose and plans are singular. Vickers teased:

“I mean, he has made nearly all the rings now, but there’s one more that he [needs] to finish the collection, which he’s determined and has had in his mind for centuries. So, I’m super excited to see him go on the journey and hopefully take over Middle-earth…I’m sure everything will be great for everyone else.”

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on The Rings of Power. The first two seasons are available now on Prime Video.