Why Celebrimbor From Amazon's Rings Of Power Looks So Familiar

Amazon Prime's highly anticipated "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is set to be the streamer's biggest original series debut ever, and like Peter Jackson's classic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the undertaking has been both costly and time-consuming (via The Hollywood Reporter). J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved franchise has long inspired feelings of intimidation among filmmakers thanks to the sheer volume of its stories. But thanks to evolving breakthroughs in special effects technology (and hundreds of millions of dollars), a small-screen adaptation is finally arriving.

The Tolkien estate knows full well the value of the author's vision, which can help explain the whopping licensing deal sum Amazon Prime paid back in 2017. The anticipation from fans of both the books and Jackson's films is at a fever pitch, especially in light of the mixed reaction to the "Hobbit" movies in the early 2010s.

Setting the story of the new series thousands of years before both "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" has allowed Amazon Prime the opportunity to explore new territory and new characters, and the large cast of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" will help bring a fresh approach to the material.

The actor playing the role of Celebrimbor, who forged the Rings of Power, may be familiar to viewers. Here is where you may have seen the performer before.

British actor Charles Edwards' breakthrough came in Seasons 3 and 4 of "Downton Abbey," on which he had a supporting role as Michael Gregson, a London magazine editor who begins a relationship with Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael). Unfortunately, Gregson is unable to legally divorce his wife, Lizzy, even though she has been in an asylum for many years, meaning his and Edith's love affair is doomed from the start.

Their relationship ends in tragedy when Gregson goes missing in Germany for years until he is finally confirmed dead — but not before giving Edith a child, making him one of her most memorable romances. When asked about his most recognizable role in a 2017 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Edwards replied, "Without a doubt Downton Abbey, just because it's so universally watched. And even though it's finished ... it's the thing people still love."

After his seven-episode-long role on "Downton Abbey," Charles Edwards went on to play two very different characters in two different ITV programs that both revolve around the character Sherlock Holmes. First up was 2015's "Arthur & George," a three-part miniseries based on the book of the same name by Julian Barnes that tells the real-life story of the Great Wyrley Outrages, a series of animal mutilations in 1903 that piqued the interest of Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of "Sherlock Holmes" (via British Heritage Travel). Edwards starred as Alfred Wood, Doyle's (Martin Clunes) personal secretary.

In 2017, Edwards had a guest-starring role on "Sherlock" as David Welsborough, the father of a man whose mysterious death leads Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) to larger clues of a bigger mystery. The world of "Sherlock Holmes" certainly seems to be a recurring theme in the actor's body of work.

In 2019 and 2020, Charles Edwards gave what is perhaps his most memorable performance, as private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) Martin Charteris on Seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix's "The Crown." In actuality, Charteris was in this position from 1972 to 1977, but the series took creative license to extend his role through the late 1980s during Season 4. Harry Hadden-Paton played a younger version of the character in Seasons 1 and 2, when Charteris was the queen's assistant private secretary.

In a radio interview with "The Stage and Screen Show," the actor confessed that his performance brought an understanding of and respect for the royal family, commenting, "I think particularly the queen. I mean, whatever you think of the queen, it's just that all the stuff that 'The Crown' plays heavily on, all the duty, it's actually quite moving."

Before starring as Celebrimbor on "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," Charles Edwards played Louis Oakley on Acorn TV's "Under the Vines" in a performance that was against the type of the more refined and tight-lipped characters he normally plays in period pieces. Oakley is a stuffy and bottled-up London attorney who receives news that his uncle has died and left his New Zealand wine vineyard to him and his uncle's stepdaughter Daisy (Rebecca Gibney).

"Under the Vines" is a fish-out-of-water story in which Louis and Daisy are stereotypical city people who find themselves in the countryside trying to adapt to their new environment and the customs of the locals. As you wait for Season 2, you can tune in to Amazon Prime for the series premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" to watch Charles Edwards bring the character of Celebrimbor to life.