'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power': Who is Owain Arthur's Prince Durin IV?
Prime Video's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. The series will be set in Middle-earth's Second Age, a time of relative peace throughout the world, and in which Khazad-dûm is enjoying its golden era.
'The Rings of Power' will focus on how the characters will tackle Sauron's ascension to power as well as the forging of the Rings of Power, which the Dark Lord gifted to humans, elves, and dwarves and secretly controlled with his master ring. Two of The Rings of Power's central characters are set to be Durin IV (Owain Arthur), the prince of the city of Khazad-dûm, and his sister Disa (Sophia Nomvete).
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Durin IV was the descendant of the previous three kings to be named Durin, and like them was considered by many to be the reincarnation of Durin I, resembling him greatly in manner and appearance. He bore the ring of power given to his ancestor Durin III and may have been ruling as king during the War of the Last Alliance. He was the prince of the bustling subterranean realm of Khazad-dûm.
According to a report by Screenrant, "Their father is Durin III, the ruler of Khazad-dûm, and one of the original holders of the Dwarven Rings of Power. These Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, or Moria as it is later known, contribute heavily to several key conflicts across JRR Tolkien's Second Age that The Rings of Power is likely to portray, including the fall of the Dark Lord Sauron at the end of the Second Age."
In an interview with the Times during the SDCC executive producer Lindsey Weber, confessed that one of the difficult scenes to shoot was one in which Elrond competes in a rock-breaking competition with the dwarf Prince Durin IV as Durin’s subjects look on. “It is probably the single most complex and technical thing we shot, which you wouldn’t think because it’s a bunch of guys walking around the room,” she says. “But most of them are meant to be one size and one is meant to be another, and that is a very complicated math problem.” She adds: “As the actors decide to move and touch each other and pick things up and put things down, every single one of those movements requires a magic trick.”
Having said that, in another interview at the SDCC with the TV Insider, the cast was seen speaking. In that interview, we Arthur said: “There’s history between us, and there’s been some time since we’ve seen each other,” Arthur added. “It’s interesting to see how each character reacts to that time apart. Dwarf wearing his heart on his sleeve. I’m not hiding anything. I speak what I think. And it’s interesting seeing how an elf deals with that too.”
Who is playing Prince Durin IV in 'The Rings of Power'?
Owain Arthur, who plays Prince Durin IV is a Welsh actor, who rose to fame playing Francis Henshall in The National Theatre's production of 'One Man, Two Guvnors' at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. His early years were spent in Bangor, Wales, filming the S4C series 'Rownd a Rownd,' whilst attending the performing arts school, Ysgol Glanaethwy. Arthur then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In an interview at Comic-Con 2022 Arthur said about his role in the series, "It was one of those things that when I got cast as Durin and I got to play a dwarf, it was like, ‘Yes! I get to wear prosthetics. I get to wear a wig and carry a beard and put all these glorious costumes on.’ And the majority of the time I have to say I’ve been quite negative of it. I loved it, I’ve absolutely loved it, and it was an honor really to be able to put it on – as painful and tiring as it was.”