‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’: Andrew Richardson Introduces Anarion

You already know the tale of Isildur in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s legendarium. Now, his younger brother, Anarion, is part of a Tolkien screen adaptation for the first time ever. Andrew Richardson plays the second son of Elendil (Lloyd Owen) in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3. The Canadian-born British actor introduces his character in this exclusive first interview with TV Insider, part of our Rings of Power Season 3 preview from our visit to the set of Númenor in July 2025. As showrunner J.D. Payne describes Richardson’s Anarion, he is “someone who’s going to explode off the screen.”

The Rings of Power Season 3 premieres on Wednesday, November 11, with four (of eight) episodes. Two episodes come out weekly after that, with the final two releasing on November 25. The action-packed season is made to be binged, and each of the first four episodes gives an update on the different corners of Middle-earth five years into Sauron’s (Charlie Vickers) domination of the realm after the fall of Eregion.

Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) came to power on the island nation at the end of Season 2. He has enriched the island in the years since, but he’s not universally beloved by Númenóreans. A civil war brews between the Kingsmen, Pharazôn’s supporters, and the Faithful, the faction of Númenóreans who stayed friendly with the Elves and loyal to the Valar after they helped establish Númenor centuries prior.

The Faithful are led by ousted queen Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), whose military forces have grown on the other side of the island through the help of Elendil, Isildur (Maxim Baldry), and Anarion. Anarion has been mentioned, not seen, in previous seasons. He’s said to be living on the west coast of Númenor building up the Faithful’s numbers. Now, Season 3 will show his work with Elendil and Míriel while Isildur helps the resistance in his own way. Elendil’s daughter, Eärien (Ema Horvath), aligned herself with Pharazôn in Season 2 but has a major story this season that is the culmination of The Rings of Power‘s “long-term plan” for her, executive producer Patrick McKay told TV Insider.

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Pharazôn has no confirmation that Elendil is helping lead the Faithful, Payne told us on set, but “Elendil is whispered about as being ‘the Man With the White Flame,’ and so who exactly he is, there are things to be teased out.”

The White Flame is what Elendil calls his longsword, Narsil, given to him by Míriel last season. The weapon, forged in Middle-earth’s First Age, is already legendary in Númenor, but Tolkien fans know that it’s destined for infamy, as are Elendil and his children.

“Andrew Richardson, Anarion, this is someone who’s going to explode off the screen,” Payne shared. “We’re really excited for people to meet him. We auditioned a ton of different people. [This is] someone who needs to have leading man charisma, and that’s exactly what Andrew brings to it. And as our casting director, Theo Park, said, ‘Leading men don’t grow on trees,’ but Andrew comes in with a grin and a swagger a sense of danger about him.”

“He’s someone who is leading a contingent of Faithful that are in the west and are getting ready to potentially make war on Pharazôn’s throne to try to put Míriel back in power,” Payne continued. “He’s someone that when we meet him, he’s Faithful in name, but his tendency to leap before he looks and to want to destroy his enemies has maybe made him lose some of what makes the Faithful different from the Kingsmen.”

Learn all about Anarion from Richardson in the TV Insider exclusive interview below.

Ben Rothstein / Prime Video

Anarion has never been depicted on-screen before. What from the source material and previous seasons best helped you understand your character?

Andrew Richardson: In order to both honor the original books and stay flexible to how the character might come to life, I prioritized the historical/lore points of fact: For example, he is brother to Isildur, he is the son of a father who is revered as a god-like warrior-king. These facts alone greatly influence the type of man Anarion must be. He is walking side-by-side with truly great men and part of a great legendarium, and he is living through the most turbulent times of Númenor. Meanwhile, for a Númenórean, he is still young, learning who he is and who he wants to be.

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How is Anarion different from his siblings, and how is he similar?

I think when he was younger, he was more rebellious. He is a live-wire, he has always felt emotions, acted on them, then [thought] about his actions, in that order. Feel, act, think. Having to rise to the events and to the politics of Season 3, work with his father — all of this is forcing him to challenge that process.

Likewise, his siblings seem to have gone through, and are currently going through, a similar process, asking themselves, “Who are we independently of our father, who are we as Faithful, and when/how do we choose to act?”

Eärien aligned herself with Pharazôn, but things have changed in the five-year time jump. How did Eärien’s actions in Season 2 impact Anarion’s opinion of her, and how has that evolved since?

Anarion, above all else, is deeply and profoundly loyal to his family and his soldiers. He has tremendous love for his family, and I think a huge capacity for forgiveness for those he loves. I think he desperately wants to be reunited with Eärien, to tell her that he understands, and that he loves her. His greatest regret for leaving Númenor is missing so many years with his siblings.

Ben Rothstein / Prime Video

Describe Anarion’s relationship with his father. Is he more or less likely to follow Elendil’s orders if he feels there’s danger ahead?

This is a fantastic question and cuts right to the heart of Anarion’s journey in Season 3. As a youth, I believe he never followed his father’s orders on principle. But as he is handed responsibility of soldiers and the lives of the Faithful, he draws more and more on the wisdom of his father — though his greatest challenge is checking his own impulsivity and emotions, especially when attempting to follow his father’s lead.

Anarion was on the far side of the island in previous seasons but has since learned of what’s happened in Númenor. How has his opinion of Míriel changed in the last five years of the war?

Anarion’s opinion of Míriel is largely presented through his father. If his father says, “This is the leader we must follow,” then that’s who Anarion will follow. But this also alludes to a great flaw in Anarion: He is politically naive and is having to learn fast. He is a force of nature on a battlefield and has huge strength in his humor and love for his men, but when faced with orders he disagrees with, he must learn to see the greater picture and to listen.

Ben Rothstein / Prime Video

Elendil and his family are Aragorn’s ancestors. What similarities, if any, do you see between Anarion and Aragorn?

I would love to say Aragorn inherited Anarion’s rugged-good looks, but I have to admit he inherited my brother’s good looks. More seriously, Aragorn has a beautiful empathy and sensitivity to his fellow men; this feels fantastically similar to the way Anarion engages with his soldiers.

While Aragorn has a well-earned maturity and emotional wisdom that Anarion lacks, I’d like to think that as Anarion grows, he might reveal a glimpse of that utter selflessness when he finally tilts his sword to Sauron.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 3 Premiere (Four Episodes), Wednesday, November 11, Prime Video