Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power casts Game of Thrones actor months after losing one

From one high-profile fantasy series to another

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has cast an ex-Game of Thrones star, months after another big GoT name dropped out.

It was announced on Monday (20 March) that three new actors will appear in the forthcoming season.

These include Rory Kinnear, Tanya Moodie and Irish actor Ciarán Hinds, who appeared in HBO series Thrones as Mance Rayder as well as the cable channel’s Rome, playing Julius Caesar.

His casting comes after Joseph Mawle, who played Benjen Stark in Thrones, quit the role of Adar following the conclusion of season one.

Mawle made his debut as the orc leader when the show, based on the work of JRR Tolkien, was released on Prime Video in September.

He took centre stage as the series progressed, and by the end of the season, is shown to become “king of the Southlands” before changing the location’s name to Mordor in a reveal that was criticised by fans.

However, Mawle revealed that, while Adar will return in season two, he will not be playing him. Instead, he will be replaced by Sam Hazeldine.

It is currently unknown who Hinds, Kinnear or Moodie will play in the series, but their roles have been described as recurring.

In a recent interview with The Independent, Belfast actor Hinds, who can currently be seen in ITVX drama The Dry, said he “was put off by the amount of sexuality that was going on in Game of Thrones”.

Read the full interview with Hinds here.

Ciarán Hinds in ‘Game of Thrones’ (HBO)

Also appearing in season two of The Rings of Power will be Oliver Alvin-Wilson,Ben Daniels, Amelia Kenworthy, Kevin Eldon and His Dark Materials actor Will Keen.

Stuart Bowman, Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Selina Lo, Calam Lynch, Gabriel Akuwudike, Yasen “Zates” Atour, Nia Towle and Nicholas Woodeson round out the new additions.