Andrew Richardson (Ponies) has been cast as a series regular and Zubin Varla (Andor) and Adam Young (Masters of the Air) as recurring in the upcoming third season of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which recently began filming at the Amazon MGM Studios series’ new U.K. production home, Shepperton Studios.
British actors Richardson, Varla and Young — who all have extensive theater background — join previously announced new Season 3 cast additions, Stranger Things‘ Jamie Campbell Bower, who will be a series regular, and Eddie Marsan, who will recur.
As usual, no information on the characters is provided. There had been speculative casting information about a new Season 3 series regular role of a sea captain in his 20s that could be who Richardson will portray.
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Varla is not an entirely new cast addition to The Rings of Power — he provided voice work on three episodes in Season 2, which fans may try to dissect for clues as to who he may be playing — if there is any correlation.
As Deadline reported in February, Bower’s character is described as a handsome high-born knight, while Marsan’s character is characterized as boisterous and boorish. The latter also has a Scottish accent and a brother, so he could potentially be Durin’s (Owain Arthur) brother who was referenced at the end of Season 2.
J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay are the series’ executive producers and showrunners. Lindsey Weber, writer Justin Doble, Kate Hazell, and director Charlotte Brändström also executive produce. In addition to Brändström, Season 3 directors include Sanaa Hamri and Stefan Schwartz.
Shepperton Studios marks a third location in as many seasons for The Rings of Power, which filmed its original installment in New Zealand before moving to the U.S. for Season 2, shot at the Amazon-owned Bray Film Studios.
Canadian-born Richardson, a 2025 Ian Charleson Award nominee for his roles in Uncle Vanya at The Orange Tree Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Barbican, will next be seen recurring on the Peacock series Ponies, which stars Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson.
Actor and singer Varla is a 2023 Best Actor in a Supporting Role in A Musical Olivier Award winner for his portrayal of Jerry Falwell in Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre. On screen, he recurred on Disney+’s Andor and BBC’s Holby City. He is filming a TV project for the BBC and will soon be seen in the Netflix series Hostage.
Young did arcs on Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air and the long-running BBC series EastEnders.
