We must protect Owain Arthur at all costs.
As a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly confirmed, the Rings of Power star is utterly precious and continues to be one of the best parts of the show — both on-screen and off. It turns out that the Durin actor’s relationship with Elrond actor Robert Aramayo is likewise equally endearing in the real world, melting fans’ hearts and making Arthur fans of us all.
Arthur revealed, in the ET interview, that he and Aramayo quickly bonded on set, leading to a kind of “blurred line” between “Elrond and Rob.”
“We’re very close,” he said. “We worked well together, and we worked hard on creating this deep relationship between Durin and Elrond.”
Fans of Amazon Prime’s attempt to bring the Second Age to audiences quickly gravitated toward Durin and Elrond, after the duo proved themselves to be one of the show’s best aspects. Their enduring friendship, and the struggles they face as two very different people, served as the perfect antidote to some of Rings of Power‘s darker or denser storytelling moments. Their clear on-screen chemistry instantly drew audiences in, and the reveal that this friendship stretches far past the screen just cements them further as the first season’s MVPs.
Watching Elrond and Durin re-establish a relationship that’s been on pause for 20 years has been truly wonderful to watch, and fans are already looking forward to seeing their friendship grow over future seasons. Arthur’s glowing words seem to confirm that the pair have plenty more charm to give, despite the fact that the latest episode saw them part ways. That final scene was “intimate” to shoot, according to Arthur, despite the technically challenging aspects of shooting an elf and a dwarf in the same space.
Noting that he feels “blessed” to be part of a series like Rings of Power, Arthur gushed about the genuine chemistry between him and Aramayo. Apparently the two talk on the phone “regularly,” even when they’ve been apart for ages.
“I absolutely love him to bits,” Arthur said of Aramayo. “I’d do anything for him… I do consider him to be one of my very best friends.”
As if we needed more reasons to love him, Arthur also revealed that Aramayo is reportedly a well of niche Tolkien knowledge. His encyclopedic understanding of the source material was apparently vital to other members of the cast, who frequently leaned on his passion for the beloved author’s work to bolster their performances.
There’s no beating Elrond and Durin’s relationship, but it seems likely that fans have quite a while to wait before Arthur and Aramayo are reunited. The second season of Rings of Power is already under production, but fans aren’t expecting season two until at least 2024.