Marcus Rutherford on playing Perrin in ‘The Wheel of Time’: It’s a journey that mirrors my own
New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) Actor Marcus Rutherford, who plays Perrin Aybara in Prime Video’s fantasy series “The Wheel of Time”, says it is a luxury to explore a character’s arc over multiple seasons.
Headlined by Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike, “The Wheel of Time” is based on Robert Jordan’s bestselling fantasy book series and follows a world where magic exists but can only be wielded by certain individuals.
It revolves around Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), a member of the Aes Sedai, who embarks on a journey with five young villagers—one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, a figure destined to either save or destroy the world.
The show recently returned with its third season on Prime Video.
“I think to get the opportunity to do and play with a character with that source material, but to get that time to explore a character who has an arc that might span over three seasons, I think that’s a real luxury in TV at the moment,” Rutherford told PTI in a virtual interview.
To build a character from season one and see it evolve over the next few seasons requires a great deal of effort and time, he added.
“All those moments and choices back in 2019-20, they’re kind of paying off now. So it really kind of dawned on me how fortunate we’ve been to play with these characters and have that amount of time to kind of see their arcs and journeys through,” Rutherford said.
The actor said as Perrin has grown in the series, he has noted a growth in his performance as well.
“I feel confident in what he’s doing and what I’m kind of doing with the character. I think that’s all kind of like mirroring one another through season one, two, and now three to get to a point where he’s kind speaking openly. He’s got people looking at him. There’s leadership.
“Back in like 2019 and 2020, that might have been quite a big task for me, maybe as an actor. But I think that kind of journey with the character and myself has been, interestingly, quite mirrored,” he added.
His co-star Donal Finn, who plays Mat Cauthon, a charismatic gambler with a complicated fate, echoed Rutherford and talked about his transition into the series and how it mirrored his character’s journey.
The actor, who joined the show from second season after replacing Barney Harris in the role, said, “My experience of coming in at season two felt pretty singular. By the end of that season, I felt pretty well integrated and connected to all of the cast here.”
“And then in season three, you see Matt, he’s got this confidence and he’s got this… He seems to be working happily, is kind of like the connective tissue between this group of people. I just felt more kind of at home in the role and in the cast.”
The third season of “The Wheel of Time” is primarily based on the fourth book of Jordan’s series “The Shadow Rising” and will take viewers to many new regions and cities across the fictional continent of the Westlands.
The show also stars Daniel Henney, Zoe Robins, Madeleine Madden, Josha Stradowski, Ceara Coveney and Sophie Okonedo. It is showrun by Rafe Judkins. It is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios.
