Corey Olsen, The Tolkien Professor

We chat with Maxim Baldry about Isildur in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, including diving into the text, a more in-depth look at the dynamics in Númenor, and seeing Isildur as the hero he is in the books.

We chat with Wayne Yip about his directing work on episodes 3, 4, & 5 on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Today, we chat with with Lloyd Owen about his character Elendil, the island realm of Númenor, and his deep dives into Tolkien's more obscure writings to inform the Elendil we meet in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!

The one and only John Rhys-Davies talks about his experience as Gimli and Sallah, his library, and reads a fan-favorite portion from the books - Gimli's description of the Glittering Caves.  This interview with the Lord of the Rings star was possible through the "It's Time to Shout James" fundraiser.  To donate to a great cause, visit: http://tinyurl.com/47j9wfxr   To get the full effect of my interview with John, check it out on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qNnPE0Hpry8

WETA Workshop Co-Founder and Creative Director Sir Richard Taylor joins us to talk about his time in Middle-earth!  We'll talk about Richard's first exposure to Tolkien and what it was like bringing some of the most iconic locations, weapons, and characters to life in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films trilogies! For the latest and greatest videos on The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth, visit youtube.com/NerdoftheRings

Carl Hostetter joins us to talk about the 25-year road to the publication of The Nature of Middle-earth, working with Christopher Tolkien, new discoveries for Tolkien fans, dancing bears, and more!   The Nature of Middle-earth is now available for purchase: US: https://amzn.to/3mXzYzI UK: https://amzn.to/3DGgoO5 (affiliate links)

Today, we chat with Dom & Billy as they launch their new podcast, The Friendship Onion!  We talk about the films, The Scouring of the Shire, which cast members were funny, Dom's immunity to hiccups, and more! For the video version of this interview, as well as all kinds of great Middle-earth videos, go to www.youtube.com/NerdoftheRings Also, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review The Friendship Onion - available on all podcast platforms and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM2SO69PhFRKKEYwGSV4sHQ

In this interview (recorded in Dec '20), we chat with actor Stephen Hunter, who portrayed Bombur in The Hobbit Trilogy!  We chat about all things The Hobbit - including how much his suit weighed and some amusing stories involving his dwarven castmates!

Today, we welcome the writer of one of my absolute favorite Tolkien adaptations - the 1981 BBC Radio Dramatization of The Lord of the Rings - Brian Sibley! We talk about the radio drama celebrating its 40th anniversary, Brian's experience writing about Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, the challenges of adapting for radio, why Tom Bombadil get's cut from adaptations, and much more! Visit youtube.com/NerdoftheRings for the video version of this interview, Middle-earth lore videos, theories, and more!

We talk about Peter Jackson and how the Middle-earth films came together with someone who spent time behind the scenes on both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. We hear his favorite stories from the set, what sets Peter Jackson apart from other directors, his idea for a future Lord of the Rings book, the upcoming Amazon show and more! Ian Nathan is a film author, who has written books on The Terminator, Fantastic Beasts, Ridley Scott, Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino and most notably, "Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-earth". Visit YouTube.com/NerdoftheRings for weekly Middle-earth videos, including Tolkien Explained, Complete Travels, Theories, and the video version of this episode.  To Support NOTR, visit Patreon.com/NerdoftheRings