Círdan, most often known as Círdan the Shipwright, is the Master of the Grey Havens. He’s also one of the eldest of the elves. Skilled at building ships and ports, knowledge he shares with the Númenóreans, Círdan is a sort of intermediary between Middle-earth and Valinor. Eventually he goes on to inherit one of the Elvish Rings of Power. The elf will make his first appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. While visiting the set, Nerdist learned from showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne that Ben Daniels (Interview with the Vampire) will be playing Círdan the Shipwright. We have your first look at Daniels in character as Círdan.
McKay said of Daniels, “He’s a wonderfully classically trained British actor, and brings a lot of wisdom and gravitas to the role, and humor and warmth. We really fell in love with him in The Crown and wanted to work with him.”
Here’s Prime Video’s official description of the character:
Círdan the Shipwright is Master of the Grey Havens and a font of wisdom even among the High Elves. An expert ship-builder, Círdan is also the original bearer of Narya, one of the three Elven Rings of Power designed by Celebrimbor. In Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, he also serves as a mentor to Elrond.
During the set visit, we also learned from supervising art director Martin Foley that they built Círdan’s boathouse as one of their first sets. A miniature model of the boathouse was delicate and swooping. Foley said ancient Japanese craftmanship and artisans inspired the design. “We had an interior set on a stage, which was huge and beautiful. Then we had an exterior set on the back lot where, you can see on the model there, we had part of a bridge which linked it to other islands in the Grey Havens setting. Then we have a tower, a lighthouse tower with a huge bonsai tree wrapping around it. It’s nature coming into the architecture, because the Elves are all about the nature,” Foley said.
We look forward to visiting the Grey Havens and meeting Círdan. He’s a somewhat enigmatic figure in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings, so we’re eager to learn more. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two premieres on Prime Video on August 29.