Showrunner Rafe Judkins offered insight into the actors chosen to play the three young men from Emond's Field in Amazon's epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time.
In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Judkins first explained the approach to finding Rand al'Thor, the hesitant shepherd whose red hair makes him stand out in his village. "With Rand, we wanted to find an actor that really brought out not only the goodness of the character but also the complications, and really embodied this guy who was a shepherd in the mountains and never wanted this adventure that’s been thrust upon him," he said.
As for the other two boys -- the quiet blacksmith Perrin Aybara and Matrim Cauthon the cynic -- Judkins has hopes they will translate to the screen well thanks to their casting. "Mat and Perrin are so much more than sidekick characters," said the showrunner. "Sometimes people felt like they didn’t really fall in love with those characters until some of the later books when they really got to know them and got to see their POV on the world. Hopefully in the show, right from the beginning – Marcus and Barney give such strong performances –they are a part of the ensemble right up front."
The three characters have very different personalities and different destinies, but they all enter the story the same way, as friends whose shared age and location makes them of interest to Rosamund Pike's Aes Sedai character, Moiraine. Josha Stradowski will play Rand, Marcus Rutherford is Perrin and Barney Harris rounds out the three as Mat. The three young actors have all had roles on shorter series runs, small parts in features or short film work prior to their casting for this adaptation of the 14-novel fantasy series created by Robert Jordan.
Based on Judkin's comments on the cast in other interviews and the accelerated storytelling approach being taken, the boys from a small village, along with Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoe Robins), have an adventure ahead, and so do the actors who will be playing them.
The Wheel of Time will send Rand, Mat and Perrin on their journey on Nov. 19, premiering exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Den of Geek