Cynthia Addai Robinson
Photographs by Victoria Will
It’s three days after the Los Angeles premiere of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Energy” and Cynthia Addai-Robinson continues to be beaming, far-off from the flashing lights and star wattage of the lavish bash held at Culver Studios. She’s even gushing about the truth that she by some means managed to overlook seeing one A-list attendee.
“The day after, you see a number of the photographs from the carpet, and I used to be like, ‘How did I miss Michael B. Jordan? The place was I?’” says the 37-year-old actress, who stars as Queen Regent Míriel within the much-anticipated sequence that simply debuted on Amazon Prime (and which our critic known as “a triumph”). “I should have had my head turned the opposite method.”
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However Addai-Robinson can be giddy with reduction about not having to maintain “The Rings of Energy” particulars hush-hush from her household, associates and followers anymore. “We wrapped filming over a yr in the past, so we’ve needed to maintain onto this large secret for longer than a yr,” she says. “Now that it’s lastly out on the earth, and persons are seeing it and reacting to it, it’s only a very nice end result of a really very long time of secret-keeping.”
Actually, although, all of the high-security, high-stakes dealings behind the prequel sequence to the beloved “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy go a lot additional again — to a pre-pandemic world that generally feels as distant as Center-earth. Addai-Robinson (who beforehand starred within the CW’s “Arrow,” USA Community’s “Shooter” and the Starz sequence “Spartacus”) first auditioned in June 2019 for a distinct position — one she prefers to not reveal. “I’ll hold it to myself,” she says, clearly having gotten the tight-lipped factor down.
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However inhabiting the fantasy land of elves, dwarves and hobbits didn’t appear to be her future. “I went via a course of with the primary position, obtained far sufficient alongside, after which I didn’t get the job,” the actress tells Alexa. “So I type of had that interval of mourning the place it was like, ‘Oh man, I actually needed to be a part of that, and I suppose it wasn’t meant to be.’ I mentally moved on as you do if you’re an actor, since you hear ‘no’ greater than you hear ‘sure.’”
Destiny, nonetheless, intervened to maintain her “LOTR” goals alive. “They requested me to do a tape [to audition] for a distinct position, actually, proper earlier than the pandemic,” says Addai-Robinson. “I did it, then the lockdown occurred, and it was the furthest factor from my thoughts as a result of the entire world was simply attempting to form of navigate daily.”
14-k yellow-gold ring with green amethyst and diamonds, $2,850 at MateoNewYork.com" class="wp-image-23841041"/>However later in 2020, she received the position of Queen Regent Míriel, and was whisked to New Zealand together with her husband, Irish filmmaker Thomas Hefferon. Capturing in a spot the place coronavirus instances have been low in the course of the worst stage of the US pandemic was one other fortuitous flip of occasions.
“It goes with out saying that it was a really distressing time for many of 2020. So, to get this chance — not only for the work and the position however for our lives — to type of have this successful lottery ticket that actually plucked us up and positioned us gently into one of many nations that had stored COVID at bay, I genuinely couldn't imagine my good luck.”
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Nonetheless, it wasn’t straightforward leaving family and friends behind throughout such a turbulent time, particularly below the cloak of secrecy. “I had signed all these NDAs; I wasn’t allowed to say what I used to be engaged on, what the position was,” she explains. “We simply needed to inform our associates, ‘Look, we’re leaving for a undertaking, can’t let you know what, can’t let you know the place. As quickly as we're ready, we'll say extra.’ So we type of left on this very unusual method.”
However the actress — who additionally had some New Zealand associates from working there on “Spartacus” — was capable of finding “a brand new type of household” within the massive ensemble forged of “The Rings of Energy.” “That we had this very, like, galvanizing expertise, it made us very, very shut as a forged,” she says. “And we actually needed to lean on one another. We celebrated holidays and birthdays, and we helped one another when folks have been struggling. It was a full vary of feelings and experiences, and I believe all of that interprets into the work itself. You see all of that mirrored in these characters and type of embedded within the story.”
Serving to Addai-Robinson get into character have been the flowery costumes that made her match to be Queen. “The costumes are unbelievable and one of many parts that undoubtedly helped rework me,” she says. “You present up in your sweatpants and your T-shirt, and then you definately begin placing on these layers, and actually your posture begins to vary. You could have your costume on, and folks deal with you in another way if you step exterior of the trailer … I felt like a queen in all of these clothes.”
The LA-based star — who was born in London however naturally sounds all-American, having moved to the US at an early age — additionally adopted a British accent for the position.
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“Mainly, after I would get into the automobile to go to work, the accent was on,” says Addai-Robinson, who would keep in voice for her character on set even when cameras weren’t rolling. “And after I would get into the automobile to go dwelling, I'd change off. There have been most likely some crew members that by no means heard me as I really sound.”
Addai-Robinson — who, after catching the performing bug to assist overcome her shyness as a child, went to New York College’s Tisch Faculty of the Arts — may also go British when she co-stars with Allison Janney, Kristen Bell and Ben Platt within the upcoming romantic comedy “The Folks We Hate on the Wedding ceremony,” due on Amazon Prime in November. “Proper after ‘Rings of Energy,’ I instantly went on to ‘The Folks We Hate on the Wedding ceremony,’” she says. “And so I went from New Zealand to London. I used to be excited to get to do one thing like this as a result of it was a whole 180 from ‘Lord of the Rings’ … one thing that was modern and enjoyable, but additionally nonetheless has some dramatic parts.”
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However there have been no altar-cations for Addai-Robinson when she married Hefferon in 2020. “Effectively, I’m actually fortunate … my very own marriage ceremony was drama-free as a result of I eloped,” she says. “If you'd like a low-drama, no-drama marriage ceremony, you go that route.”
For now, although, Addai-Robinson is embracing her interior queen — and the importance that her “Rings of Energy” character has in a fantasy style that has not at all times employed actors of shade in such regal roles. “I imply, to me, inclusivity, variety in style is the one method ahead,” she says. “I actually can't think about it every other method. And as any individual who can be not only a performer however a fan and viewers member, it’s what I'd anticipate to see. It’s what I need to see.”
Photograph by Victoria Will.
Photograph by Victoria Will.
Photograph by Victoria Will.
Photograph by Victoria Will.
Little doubt, Addai-Robinson — who calls her Ghanaian mom “the No. 1 queen in my life” — is proud to be part of the change that she needs to see with “Rings of Energy.”
“I simply suppose loads about after I was a child … completely desirous to type of make a model of this for that youngster model of myself,” she says. “And for all the youngsters that I've in my life — my nieces, my nephews, the youngsters of my associates — in order that this sparks one thing for them. The entire thing was actually a lot larger than myself.”
Photographer: Victoria Will; Editor: Serena French; Stylist: Anahita Moussavian; Photograph Editor: Jessica Hober; Style Assistants: Madeleine Shepherd, Gillian Hormel; Hair: Ryan Taniguchi at TMG-LA.com; Make-up: Nichole Servin at 3Plus Administration utilizing Milk Make-up; Lighting Director: Timothy Younger; Digital Tech: Colin Gerse; Stills Producer: Savannah Shipman; Lighting Assistant: Thomas Patton; Assistant: Brendan Anderson
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