The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, opening in theaters nationwide on Friday, sets its action 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It explores the story of Helm Hammerhead, the legendary ruler of Rohan, as he and his family defends his kingdom against the Dunlendings. Loyal Rings fans will recognize the name “Helm” as it is later referenced in the trilogy, the Battle of Helm’s Deep.
So, naturally, the creative team of The War of the Rohirrim needed an actor that could bring key gravitas and power to the role. They found that presence in legendary Brian Cox (Succession).
Here, in an interview with The Contending, Cox talks about the inspirations he had in voicing the role of Helm in The War of the Rohirrim. He believes that his Shakespearean training not only inspired his understanding of the character, but it is also what got him the role. Beyond that, he explains his love for voice work as a creative outlet in addition to a practical necessity. Also, if by any chance someone from Hulu is reading this, they need to reach out to him as quickly as possible.
We’ll explain why later…
The Contending: I read that the producer wanted you for this role after seeing you play Titus Andronicus. I’m curious if you saw anything of Titus in this role?
Brian Cox: It’s funny that you ask that because I do see a lot of Titus in this role. I hadn’t realized that Philippa (Boyens) had seen Titus Andronicus. I personally think it’s my best classical performance ever. It was a long time ago but it’s a great role, and a play written by Shakespeare around the same time he did Richard III. But it’s also a play with so many ideas for other plays like Othello and Hamlet that are inside of it. What I loved about it is that it deals with the ludicrous element of power. How you serve something that then lets you down and then you have to find a way of justifying to yourself what you have given your life to. But it is also if you get it right it is also very funny because of the disaster of life. He is this soldier who is honored in Rome, coming back from fighting the Goths, and he has this huge speech about Rome and how wonderful it is. He brings out Tamora, the queen of the Goths, and within minutes she has seduced the emperor. So the whole thing goes quite crazy quickly. So it is nice to know that it was Titus Andronicus that got me the role because you always wonder why you were cast.
The Contending: You have done a lot of voice work in your career, and I’m curious what keeps you interested in it?
Brian Cox: Well, I love radio. My favorite media of all is audio because you don’t have a costume, you don’t have makeup, you don’t have to learn your lines, because it’s all in the script. One of the great advantages of the British tradition is radio. We’ve had great speakers like John Gielgud, Paul Scofield, Ralph Richardson, and Laurence Olivier, all who have done great radio roles and we still have that. There’s a thing called BBC Sounds, where you can get archives of these really great performances that are so much about the voice. I feel like today the voice is severely neglected. I have consciously gone to the movies partly because I’m a bit deaf and I can’t hear actors all the time and it seems like it’s shoddy. With Helm it is all about the voice; he’s got a big voice and he uses that voice to tremendous effect.
The Contending: In terms of Helm as a character, I’ve only got to see little clips of him, but what I found interesting from what I saw is he has this intense persona, and he’s not wrong to distrust Freca and his men, and later when Freca is killed Helm, truly did not mean to kill him. So how did you end up seeing him?
Brian Cox: I think the killing of Freca was the fatal flaw for him that precipitates in what is going to happen to him. I think that’s something in Tolkien in that there is no effect without consequences, if you do something or behave in a certain kind of way there is a consequence you have to pay. That’s the source of all great tragedies as well. If you think of the history plays of Shakespeare like King Lear, splitting up your kingdom between these two crazy girls and still wanting all your eggs in the same basket, you’re not going to be able to do that anymore. That is great drama and that is what’s in Helm.
The Contending: You’ve had an incredible career with all the Shakespeare work and of course recently Succession, a show I absolutely adored. What gets you interested in a role now?
Brian Cox: I have played all these power characters, which has been good and I’ve enjoyed it but I’m kind of interested in going in a different direction. For instance I’d like to do a lot more comedic work. I always thought of myself as a natural comedian. I was watching a documentary on Steve Martin and I really admired how he pursued his career comedically, and at the start how it was a total disaster and then eventually he’s playing to 7000 people. With him just modifying what his initial impulse was. That’s one of my frustrations, the fact that I haven’t done the comedic element. I’m also a great admirer of those great classical British comedic actors like Alastair Sim. If you’re ever seen Alastair Sim on the stage (and I have), he is an astonishing actor, brilliantly funny and wacky at the same time. If I had any other ambition at my age it would be to move into that territory.
The Contending: Well, and Steve Martin is still making great comedy right now in Only Murders in the Building.
Brian Cox: He is still making great comedy! I love that show. I have got my hands up saying, can you get me into an episode? I would love to do it.
The Contending: Do you have any personal connection to Tolkien, or was this just a role that fit for you?
Brian Cox: I did record a book of his that I found fascinating, but it was a long time ago. I never read The Hobbit, sadly. I did hear a great radio series that the BBC did long before anyone else, with Ian Holm playing Frodo, and Michael Hordern and a lot of other great British actors. It was a wonderful recording, I think over thirty years ago now. That was my main connection to his work.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.
