Ahead of the return of Amazon’s formerly-shot-in-New Zealand Rings of Power, Dominic Corry speaks to the cast about how much they miss us, really. 

For a country whose national identity is an inferiority complex, we are surprisingly overt in the pride we have for our prominent association with adaptations of the works of JRR Tolkien. That first Lord of the Rings trilogy gave us all a little boost on the world stage, then the Hobbit films kept the feeling alive. 

When Amazon Prime Video announced that they were mounting an ambitious live-action Lord of the Rings prequel series based on supplementary Tolkien material, it made sense to us that it would be made in New Zealand, even if Peter Jackson wasn’t involved and the production was more of an Auckland-based affair than the movies. 

So it’s safe to say we felt some kind of way when it was announced that the show was moving to the UK after the first season finished shooting here. We’ve never quite gotten a clear consensus over the reasons for the move (Amazon choosing to focus on their new production hub in the UK and enduring Covid-related travel problems were both in the mix), and some recriminations followed the announcement. 

“As a Kiwi, this is a bit of a bummer,” noted a Reddit user at the time, speaking on behalf of us all. “Everyone here knows someone who has worked on Lord of the Rings at some point or in some way. Will be a shame to see such a massive production shift.”

But another universal truth about New Zealanders is that we love hearing about how great our country is. I’m sure all visiting actors get sent an instructional video where Tem Morrison educates them on this critical aspect of working in New Zealand (“just keep using the word ‘beautiful.’ Feel free to mention the coffee,” he would hypothetically intone while strolling around Hobbiton). 

Recently at San Diego Comic Con, I got to test this theory out with pretty much the entire cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, who were presented in pairs in a cavernous boardroom. They were there to discuss the show’s second season, a much more Sauron-focused affair which sees the three Elven rings of power out in the world, and the impending forging of the seven dwarf rings and the nine rings for men. 

But all I wanted to know was one thing: how much did they miss New Zealand after the move? 

Welsh actor Morfydd Clark, who plays a young, slightly more impetuous Galadriel in the show, and who was known to have been spotted at Karangahape Road’s Bestie Cafe on occasion, seemed genuinely wistful about the shift. “It was a big transition,” Clark told me. “There’s this Welsh word – ‘hiraeth’ – that is a type of longing for home that can’t be satisfied. I felt that a lot when I was in New Zealand, and I didn’t realise that I’d be there long enough, and also be so loved and welcomed by the people there, that now that I’m back [in the UK], I have that for New Zealand.” 

Not bad. 

American actor Benjamin Walker (who plays Elven High King Gil-galad) remembered me from when I interviewed him for the first season, when he told me he misses the coffee and that his young son still had a Kiwi accent. He knew he had to give me something special this time, and he didn’t disappoint: “It’s like the way the elves long for Valinor [basically Elf heaven],” said Walker. “It was magical and we miss it. Also, because of the circumstances of what was happening around the world, to have been able to be there and be made to feel so at home.”

There’s one essential part of Kiwi life that Walker shouted out: “Walking down Ponsonby Road with your shoes off. You can’t do that in Windsor, let me tell you.” Not a lot of visitors celebrate our barefootedness. It’s often deemed the worst thing about us, so extra points to Walker for getting onboard with this local custom.

And yes, he means that Windsor. The show’s current home, Bray Studios, an hour or so outside London, where they used to shoot Hammer horror films in the 1960s, is just a few miles up the road from Windsor Castle. And Legoland. Not sure how we’re supposed to compete with that. We have no royal castles and no Hammer horrors were shot at Kumeu Studios. Although Disney’s Zombies 4 did recently lens there. 

When I spoke to him for season one, Puerto Rican actor Ismael Cruz Córdova (who plays Silvan elf Arondir) was proudly sporting a pounamu, so I wasn’t surprised when he told me he was “distraught” to leave us. “Aotearoa New Zealand gave us a home in a time that was so uncertain. I mean, we got quote unquote stuck there and we were embraced in such a wonderful way. But, going to England, it’s also great. Living in London is wonderful. It’s two different experiences really, but both lovely.”

Oh, OK. 

London-based Australian actor Charlie Vickers – whose character Halbrand initially presented as something of an Aragorn type then was revealed to actually be the Dark Lord Sauron at the end of season one – knew what I wanted to hear. “We were properly embraced by everyone in New Zealand,” Vickers told me. “I made friends, nothing to do with the show, that are now some of my closest friends in the world. So it was a really special time.”

Vickers further endears himself by pointing out that season two was less collegial, outside of work hours: “In New Zealand we would go to work together and then we’d all go out to dinner together because we only kind of knew each other. In England it’s fundamentally different because while the work is the same, you go home to your lives, I guess both have their positives.” 

I suppose he has a point. 

English actor Sophia Nomvete, who plays Dwarf Princess Disa, and who has spoken far and wide of her love for New Zealand, said it was bittersweet to leave. “New Zealand was a real journey for me, personally,” Nomvete told me. “It really held me up in a way that I never knew a country could. I’m like, currently designing Māori tattoos for myself. It hit me in a way that I’ve not experienced before. I have so, so much love for that country, as does my family. So I’m so grateful that we started [there], it just couldn’t have been anywhere else. I love it.” 

But again, like much of the English cast, she understandably couldn’t deny the benefits of working where she lives. “Of course it is lovely to be home as well. I feel quite blessed that we had that incredible time. That New Zealand fire is at the heart of this story and for me at this time in my life. I get to carry that home with family and friends. I just think it’s a win-win all around, we were really lucky to have both sides.”

England-born American actor Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Númenórean Queen Regent Míriel) had more New Zealand experience than more, reflected on working the two “life changing projects” she made on our shores. “The first time I was there was 10 years ago with Spartacus. At that time I thought, ‘Oh gosh, I’ll never get to work here again’. I had such an incredible time,” she said. “Then lo and behold, I get this second incredible experience with a lot of the same people, a lot of the same crew, familiar faces. So it was very bittersweet to transition.”

Welsh actor Trystan Gravelle, who plays Númenórean political player Pharazôn, felt very at home here. “New Zealand blew my mind when I was there. I found it very, very similar to the UK. Huge swathes of the country untouched and unspoiled and stuff. So it was like a home from home from home.” Because of that, he said leaving the country was quite poignant. “I just had such a lovely time in New Zealand, I thought well, when am I going to go there again?”

But English actor Charles Edwards (Elven smith Celebrimbor), who also co-starred with Rebecca Gibney in the Central Otago vineyard dramedy Under the Vines, appears to have had his fill of the antipodes for now. “I mean in terms of being closer to home, that’s always a plus,” he admitted. “With family to consider and all that, the practicalities of such a move were beneficial to those who live there.”

Perhaps sensing he has let me down, Edwards then added: “We miss New Zealand very much. Some of that obviously can’t compare anywhere in the world, the shots that they get, but once you get in a studio, you could be anywhere. The feeling of goodwill and fun in the crew both [in London] and in New Zealand is very similar.”

In perhaps the most measured take, London-based Welsh actor Lloyd Owen, who plays Númenórean seafarer Elendil, stressed that the unique circumstances of the season one shoot helped bring the cast together. “There was something very particular about New Zealand,” said Owen. “Obviously it was during the Covid pandemic, so we bonded hugely. Inevitably, once you get home, everyone just goes home to their own places. New Zealand really set us up well as a cast. That bond that we’ve created is because of that New Zealand experience and that will never go away.”

He’s right, there is something very particular about New Zealand. 

I also spoke to Rings of Power co-showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne in San Diego, and posed them the same question about the production leaving New Zealand for the UK. “Living in New Zealand when we did through Covid, making season one of this incredibly ambitious show was a crazy and amazing and challenging life experience in so many ways,” said McKay. “Speaking for myself, I made friends for life in New Zealand. My wife gave birth in New Zealand. We loved it there, but ultimately, [moving to England] was a decision above our pay grade.”

While McKay said the show has creatively benefitted from having different environments to explore, Payne quickly added that New Zealand’s time in this particular spotlight isn’t over yet. “We also shot dozens of hours of aerial photography in New Zealand,” he said. “So it’ll be a part of Middle Earth for many years to come.”

Damn right.

Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video.

Names are more than identifiers; they are complex links to heritage and identity.

There is a lot behind a name. Most of the time, the first thing we tell someone when we meet them is our name. It lets them know where we come from, what our background is and our whakapapa. Names can be used to immediately draw connections and link us to others. In te ao Māori, our whakapapa, the names of our ancestors, link us to the atua, our whenua, and our tribes.

Sometimes, people change their names. There are many reasons for this. For some, it can be simply because they like another name better. For others, it can be because of a marriage or divorce, a gender transition, a cultural or religious reason, to avoid confusion, or even professional reasons. Sometimes, it can be to avoid a negative past or reflect a new family dynamic, such as an adoption, or to honour a loved one.

Take for example Dominic Sinthupan, who is profiled in the new season of Takeout Kids. Dom’s mother legally changed his surname from his father’s to hers after being constantly asked to do so by the 13-year-old. While Dom’s reasoning for the name change was to have a surname that is easier to pronounce, it appears there is also a desire to no longer have the surname of his father, who was not a major part of Dom’s life growing up.

Legally, my name is Liam Ratana. I only started using a macron about five years ago, after meeting Donn Rātana, senior lecturer at the University of Waikato. Donn insisted I use a macron on the first a in his surname, which led to me doing some research and realising I should have been using a macron the whole time. Now, I want to change my surname entirely. Rātana isn’t my original whānau name. My paternal grandfather, Eruera Hapakuku, had attempted to enlist in the 28th Māori Battalion but was turned away due to being under age. Still keen to head to war and fight alongside his whānau, granddad later returned and enlisted under a different identity, Edward Rātana. His grandfather had earned the nickname Rātana due to being a staunch member of the Rātana Church, so he adopted that as his surname and it stuck.

Having the surname Rātana has led to me often being asked if I come from Taranaki or Manawatū-Whanganui, where Rātana Pā is. I always respond by telling people that I’m from the Far North and am not related to the founder of the Rātana Church, Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana. If I can be bothered, I will go on to explain the story of how my whānau came to have the name. While it’s a cool story to share and makes me proud of my great-great-grandfather’s commitment to the church and my grandfather’s bravery in joining the battalion, it can become a bit tiring at times. Besides, my actual surname has a lot of mana and some pretty powerful kōrero behind it too.

I remember attending a wānanga in 2005 at Te Hiku O Te Ika Marae in Te Hāpua, hosted by Ngāti Kurī. My father had begun researching our whakapapa and didn’t have much to go on, besides our original family name. One night, Dad stood up in the whare and asked if anyone knew about the name Hapakuku. An old lady at the back of the whare suddenly raised up and let out a surprised exclamation: ”Ooooh! That’s an old name, boy. I can’t tell you about it but I know someone that can,” she said.

That someone was Ross Gregory, a renowned kaumatua of Te Hiku o Te Ika and schooled by his elders in the teachings of Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa. It was through my father’s conversations with Ross that we learnt about the vast history associated with the name Hapakuku. It led to Dad learning more about our whakapapa and eventually lodging a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal alongside my uncle Mike Wikitera, seeking official acknowledgment of the mana of our people. If it wasn’t for knowing the Hapakuku name, we might not have ever rediscovered our whakapapa and our identity.

In his later years and as a result of his research into our whakapapa, my father began referring to himself as Hohepa Hapakuku. He would sometimes bring up the fact that he wished I had a Māori name, instead of the Pākehā one bestowed upon me by my mother. Dad wasn’t sure why she chose Liam but he thought it was purely because she liked the sound of it.

One of my cousins has legally reclaimed the Hapakuku surname and inspired me to follow in their lead. My son has Hapakuku as part of his surname and a Māori first name that describes his birth journey, as well as a middle name that honours his adoptive grandfather. For me, using the Hapakuku name is about reclaiming our identity, connecting us to our wider whānau and being proud of our rich whakapapa.

While I can be proud of my surname, despite it not being my original family name, some people are born with names that can serve as unwanted reminders of a hurtful past. Indigenous people around the world, even here in Aotearoa, have been given colonial names that their parents thought would make their lives easier. There are many examples of people with indigenous names struggling to get job interviews, their names being embarrassingly mispronounced, or being bastardised. While it was a consideration when naming my son, his mother and I decided that our boy deserved a name reflective of his cultural heritage and story, despite the perceived difficulties that come with having an indigenous name.

In Aotearoa, changing your or your child’s name is straightforward. Children under 18 need guardian consent, while those 18 or older can apply independently. The process involves completing a form, providing certified ID, signing a statutory declaration, and paying $170. Applications can be submitted by post or in person, and a new birth certificate can be ordered after the name change. For some, it’s a small price to pay.

The second season of Takeout Kids is out now, with new episodes released every Tuesday. Watch them all here. Takeout Kids is made with the support of NZ On Air.