Sam Hazeldine is an actor with an orcish commitment to his craft. After inheriting the mantle of Adar from Joseph Mawle, the 52-year-old Englishman has landed a layered antagonistic role in Amazon’s colossal fantasy prequel series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In the highly-anticipated second season, Hazeldine not only supports Adar’s fierce determination, but also expands the story with a mix of paternal instinct and ruthless determination – a feat that proves once again that the line between good and evil is rarely clear. -cut in Middle Earth.
When I ask how he sees Adar, Sam is quick to dismiss the baseless label. “I don’t see him as a villain, really,” he said. “He’s just trying to make life, to give life to Uruk, really, which he succeeded in doing at the end of the first season by making Mordor, and he can live there, hopefully – we’ll see.”
It is “hopefully” that stands out. There is a sense of work not done, work half done. In Tolkien’s world, Adar occupies a fascinating gray space. “For Adar, it’s just one goal,” Sam said. “He must make sure that he keeps his promise to them, indeed, to protect and save them from the darkness of Sauron or from the elves who seem to want to wipe out the Uruk race once and for all.”
Sam Hazeldine as Adar in the movie from ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 | Photo Credit: X/ @TheRingsofPower
This singleness alone, as Sam put it, makes Adar a character that resists easy classification. He is not a mad tyrant or a power-hungry despot – he is more of a father figure, although one with a very large family, very dysfunctional (and often cannibals). The actor was quick to point out the parallels between Adar and the marginalized. “There’s a kind of right there,” he said, referring to the elves. “It’s a bit like a masters race.” Adar, on the other hand, is only looking for a home for his people. “They just want to be left alone.”
The Uruk, in Sam’s interpretation, are his children, and their cruelty comes not from malice but from a paternal instinct to protect and provide. “I think his cruelty is just about collateral damage,” he said. “He’s not trying to be cruel, he just has this role that he takes seriously.”
This focus, this singular purpose, is what sets Adar apart from Tolkien’s pantheon of villains. Saruman has a deeper lust for power, Azog blood revenge, but Adar’s motivations lie in a kind of dark altruism. Adar isn’t out to conquer the world – he’s just trying to carve out a little corner for himself. “There’s honor there,” Sam added thoughtfully. “It’s a responsibility that needs to be met and that needs to be respected.”
But just as Adar wanted to be a protector, there was the small matter of Sauron, a shadow that Adar thought had been cast. Season 2 sees Adar realize that Sauron is not as dead as he had hoped. “I thought Adar was over, really,” Sam mused. “Until Halbrand came to Mordor and spoke of this sorcerer coming back…Sauron was something he didn’t think would be a problem, because he had killed him.”
This dynamic between Adar and Sauron – both would-be rulers of Mordor, both believing they have a legitimate claim – makes for an interesting conflict for the second season, especially in the opening episode. Sam remembers the first scene he shot with Charlie Vickers, who played Sauron (under the guise of Halbrand). “It’s been a pleasure working with Charlie,” he said, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I really like our scene in the prison cell… Adar feels like he suspects he’s Sauron. He’s known him before, but doesn’t know where he’s from, just about him. But, you know, a feeling.”
Sam Hazeldine as Adar in the movie from ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 | Photo Credit: X/ @TheRingsofPower
The tension in the scene is palpable – Adar, the fallen elf who has stabbed Sauron in the back (literally), now faces the prospect of the dark lord’s return, perhaps stronger than ever. “It was unnerving,” Sam said of playing the scene. “You know, no matter how we defeat him, the human race will surely die with the amount of torture he’s been subjected to. But he’s still there, smiling slightly, which is unpleasant.
Mastering Black Speech, the harsh dialect of Mordor, was no small feat for Sam, who admitted to grappling with the complexities on set. “It’s just a sort of sound in the front of the mouth but it comes from here, guttural,” he explained, gesturing to his throat, his voice took on a gravelly sound as if to demonstrate. Sam recalls how the cue cards were initially considered a scene, a safety net that ended up not being needed, but highlights the challenges of doing so in a language that sounds more like cursed spells than dialogue.
But Sam is quick to point out that, while the material is heavy, there’s plenty of flexibility behind the scenes to balance it out. “Robert Strange, who plays Gluk, my ‘right-hand Uruk’ and all the orcs have this black stuff put in their mouths by the makeup or props department, and because they have big teeth, they don’t know. have control over their saliva.” Picture the orcs struggling with drool mid-scene as far from the doom and gloom of Mordor as you can get, and Hazeldine clearly relishes the absurdity of it. “It’s very confusing, and it’s hard not to laugh. But then you get used to it.”
It’s these passionate moments that keep Sam grounded, as he immerses himself in one of the most fantastical worlds ever created. As for the connection to that world, Sam is a bit of a latecomer, at least when it comes to Tolkien’s more epic tomes. “I’m a big fan The Hobbit When I was a kid, I must have read it 10 times,” he admitted. “But I have to admit, I didn’t read it Lord of the rings. I started, but kind of dense enough, obviously not The Silmarillion solid.” Still, walking into Adar’s shoes has given Sam a deep appreciation for Tolkien’s world and he seems excited about exploring this relationship in the upcoming season.
The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on Amazon Prime Video on August 29
