Against the spread of arresting, wonderfully stylised pictures, I often wonder if people stop to read the feature. You can't fault glazing over the accompanying wall of text, nor expect scant passages to encapsulate a person. The task at hand is to get a stranger to wholly open up within minutes of acquainting across a screen; then craft a story that best represents them from that limited timeframe.
Amid conflicting schedules, I catch Jamie Campbell Bower on a call, pitting us 14 hours apart. Slow Internet speeds lead the coordinator to suggest turning our cameras off to alleviate bandwidth; another dimension of engagement lost. Thankfully, Bower is generous with both words and intonations.
The verbose 37-year-old doesn't leave much room for questions, but I'd gladly listen to his articulations. I notice a parallel as he expounds on his vocation. “There are some pretty scary things you have to do as an actor joining a show or movie. A big table read with everyone could be the first time you're meeting your colleagues,” Bower shares.
One could do the prep work, but it usually occurs at early stages in production; prior to costume fittings, when you're still formulating the character. Presenting that performance during the table read as your take on the role becomes the first impression you present in a room full of people. Bower likens it to first day of school jitters.
"But that fear only exists in your own mind, you know? Everybody was so kind to me," he says. The English actor goes on to gush about his counterpart. As a longtime admirer of her work since Saint Maud, Bower describes his enthusiasm to meet Morfydd Clark during their chemistry read together. He is also grateful that the initial encounters of their characters involve the physicality of dancing or sword fighting.
"I've always been a very sensitive person. I struggled throughout my youth feeling so much. Which is so bizarre because I'm an artist, and art was the safe space I felt most comfortable [sitting] in the heaviness of it. Outside of it was always very difficult."
The rehearsals of synchronising body movements not only cultivated connection, but fostered a sense of play. "I haven't danced, Joy, since I did dance at A-Levels at 18. Do you know what I mean? I don't even like dancing at parties," Bower admits emphatically. "So to be in a dance lesson was really embarrassing, but [there was a mutual determination that] we're gonna do this and it's gonna be great. It was really fun, and a beautiful thing that we got to do together."
Currently, Bower is in the pocket most actors find themselves within months after immersing in a project. As the whirlwind of press gradually subsides, he reflects on how meaningful it is to revisit it. "What I love about The Rings of Power is that it steps up a gear and becomes larger each season. It's amazing to take yourself out of it and just look at the world of The Lord of the Rings itself," he effuses. "I think we were all just overwhelmed; we're such a feely emotional bunch."
Where the cast would conventionally be in interview chairs during previews, Bower tells of how they all got off to sit on the floor and watch the trailer with the audience. In Hall H of San Diego Comic Con with a 7,000-strong crowd, it was magical for both the makers and viewers to witness everyone's hard work culminate.
A theme that imprinted on him after stepping off set was the contrast between embodying Vecna and Celeborn. "Coming from a character that was so rooted in resentment and let that darkness define him, it's cathartic stepping into the light of the character that has experienced suffering but hasn't chosen the path of I'm in pain, therefore, I'm going to make everyone else feel pain," he laughs at the dramatic sentiment.
"It's a really beautiful and totally opposite way of thinking and living. I will be honest with you, there was definitely a resistance within me towards this idea. I had to really spend a lot of time thinking about what joy means. I'm also so aware now that your name is Joy," he points out the fortuity.
It wasn't until he stumbled across what Nick Cave had to say about joy that struck a chord with him. As quoted from several interviews with Cave about his 2024 album, Wild God: Joy is the momentary leaps we take that lift us beyond our default position of loss and suffering. (For context, Wild God isn't exactly a happy record.)
It became a revelation that joy isn't happiness, nor laughter. It's the ability to hold space for anguish, yet still find the light within. Bower esteems it as an immensely important lesson as an actor, but also as a human being. After an extensive period rationalising an isolated individual who uses power as a means to escape a hard home, the newfound outlook naturally required some internal rewiring.
"What's really interesting about elves in general is that time means something so different to them, right? They live for thousands of years," he explains, citing how it's easy to automatically react to the script as an actor. The challenge comes in grasping and conveying the wisdom these beings have. "Regardless of Celeborn's immediate emotion, like jealousy, he gets to truly see that Galadriel has been deeply hurt by what Sauron did. That gives him a new perspective."
In tandem, there is a part of Bower that has always felt older than his years. Though not necessarily wiser, he quips. While he could relate to contemporary peers, he gravitated to the older kids. Whether or not it was because he wanted to be cool, you'd have to go back in time to question young Bower.
"It's such a beautiful world in which you get to explore the nature of relationships, of existence. These characters are changed for the better because they are shown forgiveness and given an opportunity."
"I've always been a very sensitive person. I struggled throughout my youth feeling so much. Which is so bizarre because I'm an artist, and art was the safe space I felt most comfortable [sitting] in the heaviness of it. Outside of it was always very difficult," he discloses, "With time, I now find my greatest moments of clarity from allowing whatever is sitting inside of me to exist and pass through."
When confronting a painting, television show or piece of music, there is a raw honesty to the creator's own experience within it that inexplicably makes him feel seen. Inhabiting the skins of a variety of personas likewise has its effect, especially with a resume stacked with the otherworldly like his. Sweeney Todd, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises; to name the prominent few.
The actor recounts his stint in Will, a series reimagining pre-fame William Shakespeare. Playing the wild, self-destructive Christopher Marlowe, after finishing the first record with his band COUNTERFEIT, he was eclipsed by a season of significant upheaval, prompting an outlet to release an inner rage.
"I'm not a very good painter, at all. I'd love to be a fabulous painter. When I was at school, I was told not to bother with art. The teacher said, 'You're clearly not learning a lot, so maybe you take this period off.' I'm like, Cheers, thanks for your support," he continues lightheartedly, "But I like to throw stuff across a canvas using different mediums. I remember painting this picture of a huge fire then. I sent it to Craig Pearce [his co-star in Will], and he just replied: Are you ok?"
Henry Creel, the antagonist from Stranger Things, is no exception. "When you're working on something, it obviously can take up a lot of space in your brain," he notes, the influence it had on the music he was creating, and the stories he was drawn to. "I loved my time working on Stranger Things. I don't ever want that misconstrued. It has unequivocally changed my life. But harbouring that pain and sadness and hatred for so long, it's a lot."
While villains commonly come with an origin story to delve into the rationale behind their descent, what's concerning is the realisation that it can abide in us. "I do think we all have capacity for... the more, um, abrasive side of life. Because I have tapped into these dark characters and all of a sudden, it hits something inside of you, and you're like, whoa, I did not know that was there. It's a strange sensation. It really is," he says.
Any archetype or project that forces Bower to think critically is a crucial part of his psyche. The performer acknowledges how our consumption of media or literature impacts the way we interact with reality. It's the reason for his high regard for the realm that Tolkien created. "It's so... allegorical? No. A beautifully packaged—that's more awful—" he utters, nitpicking his words.
"It's such a beautiful world in which you get to explore the nature of relationships, of existence. These characters are changed for the better because they are shown forgiveness and given an opportunity." He returns to the voluntary vulnerability of Celeborn that he so relishes. The choices the lord makes despite being justified to have chosen otherwise, and how much it would have demanded from him.
Prevailing in the liminal glow between the dark night and shining star within him is what Bower believes crowns him as one of the wisest elves. "Sorry, I get really excited about this," he smiles (or at least it sounds like he does), "I suppose that's the undeniable thing of what it means to be human, and to try and express that."
How the thespian personally applies that is understanding the difference between the mind, the body and the spirit. "I can love the amazing tool that is my mind, but I can also [...] hate it. My mind can convince me of all sorts of crazy [stuff] at times. It's certain techniques not to quiet the mind or remove thought, or even to judge it. It's to become aware of it... from a stronger perspective."
Practices Bower incorporates are breathwork, meditation, surfing, surrounding himself with nature. As simple as a sauna or a cold plunge. "There is such truth to the saying: move a muscle, change a thought. That doesn't mean that I don't have days where I am not completely paralysed by my own brain and want to fall into my own pit of despair," he concedes.
But it is exactly the sort of moments that paint him as a fallible creature, but one who has a good helping of self-awareness.
"I do recognise them, and try to position myself where the world is such a beautiful place," Bower adds. "And it's only in my own mind that I... can choose to change."
Photography: Jared Kocka at 11TH HOUSE AGENCY
Creative Direction: Asri Jasman
Art Direction: Joan Tai
Styling: Julian Fetterman
Grooming: Kiki Heitkotter at THE WALL GROUP
Set Designer: Concrete Stem at ANOMALOUS AGENCY
Executive Producer: Alex T
Producers: Nicholette Hails and Klaudyna Astramowicz at KYNN PRODUCTIONS
1st Assistant: Victor Prieto
2nd Assistant: Steve Yang
Styling Assistants: Lucas Randall and Nathan Kottler
Studio and Equipment: Dust Studios LA
PR: The Oriel Company
