A stoic and regal queen, an unyielding and formidable gladiator, a courageous and disciplined physician, Cynthia Addai-Robinson has made it clear that she’s a fearless and unwavering powerhouse in the acting world.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Cynthia recently to discuss her role as Queen Míriel in the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, what the sequel to The Accountant has in store for us, and so much more.
Check out the interview below!
Gabrielle Bisaccia: Upon perusing your social media, it seems that you’re very close with your mom. Growing up with a single mom who I admire so much, that really resonated with me. Can you share one important lesson or perhaps particular words of wisdom from your mom that have really stuck with you over the years?
Cynthia Addai-Robinson: I am close with my mom! My mom has given me advice throughout my life. When I think about my upbringing, it’s about leading by example. I watched my mom as a single mother and the sacrifices that she made and the hard work that she always demonstrated, all while keeping a positive and optimistic outlook on things. All the things that I get to do and any success that I have, is really the personification of her dreams and of her work. I want to honor her in that way and to show her that everything she did was worth it to give me the life that I have. It’s just the way my mom went about her life; my mother was a businesswoman in addition to raising me and working for herself and setting the terms for herself of not being beholden to anyone, is definitely a streak that I have within myself. I have a life that takes me here, there, and everywhere and is a little unpredictable at times. In that sense, I have my own freedom of movement that independent streak is something that I definitely got from her.
GB: I also noticed that you wear a lot of hats in many of your posts. Being a fellow hat enthusiast, I’m always interested in hearing where you love of hats stemmed from and if you have a favorite hat?
CAR: It is absolutely true; I love a hat! Any excuse to wear a hat, I will take…the weirder the better! There is no rhyme or reason to my love, I just live in Southern California and I try to keep out of the sun when I can, and so I think that these days, that’s what largely motivates it. I have a hat that every time I wear it, gets compliments. I believe the hat maker is called Lorna Murray and it’s an Australian company. It’s just a great hat; it’s my travel hat, my beach hat, my running errands hat. It’s sort of a permanent fixture and it’s probably on my social media. I feel like it’s the topper to a look, especially if you need to throw a hat on to mask bad hair, which happens!
GB: You’ve played a queen, a government analyst, a rebel fighter, a physician, and a tyrannical villain, to name a few. What was your favorite character to play and why?
CAR: It’s hard for me to play favorites because the characters have come to me at very specific times in my life and they gave me an opportunity to channel certain thoughts and feelings at that particular life stage. I feel that it’s fated when I’ve been given the opportunities to play these characters. It’s funny to hear you give the list and the descriptions because it’s sort of like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s quite a broad range of different types of characters!’ But the through line for the characters, whether it’s a gladiator, a doctor, an analyst, or a queen, is that first and foremost, they are people. So, trying to tap into what makes them tick, what is relatable about them, and what they’re navigating internally, is the stuff that I am most interested in. The roles that they play in their particular stories and worlds is the external; it’s how people view them and understand them. Internally is where I can bring a little bit of myself, even though I’ve never been a gladiator, a doctor, an analyst, or a queen. I do know what it is to be afraid, angry, hopeful, and in love. Those are the things that I feel are my area to interpret, explore, and present in the most honest way that I know how. I love going from project to project, role to role, and having these vastly different characters to play. After I wrapped on season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, my next job was The Accountant 2. So, it was going from this big, epic fantasy with many costumes and crowns, to a government analyst in a drab office building. That’s what really feeds me and keeps me on my toes!
GB: Speaking of The Accountant 2, I’m excited to see more of Agent Medina and hopefully learn more of her backstory and growth in the sequel. How did you prepare for the role and what can you tell us about the character that we didn’t get to see in the first film?
CAR: What’s interesting is that I did the first movie eight years ago. On the one hand, it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, but in many ways, it’s a lifetime. A lot has happened in eight years, so for myself as an actor and a person, I thought about how I’ve evolved in eight years’ time. It stands to reason that Agent Marybeth Medina has also evolved, and that was exciting for me because this is the first time I’ve gotten to revisit a character years later, but still in the same world. I was excited to play Marybeth in a different scenario because in the first film she’s a bit more naïve and just trying to keep her head down as an analyst, not looking to get a big promotion or stand out. So, when Ray King picks her out, it’s almost this surprise of even being noticed and that changes the course of her life. I love that in the sequel, the events of the first movie have put her on this certain path. When we find her in the beginning of the sequel, we understand where that path has led her.
GB: Let’s talk about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. How did you get involved in this project?
CAR: I just had an audition, and it was sort of the standard practice of getting an audition, auditioning, and then seeing where it led. For me specifically, I auditioned for a different role and got pretty far along, but then I didn’t end up getting it. I had this surreal experience of being close to getting it, not getting it, mourning the loss of not getting it, and then having it circle back around for a different role. I’m a big believer in things happening for a certain reason and in the timing in which they happen. It felt destined that I was going to not only be a part of the project, but play the specific role I’m playing because I think it was really an opportunity for me to put a lot of my thoughts and feelings into a character in the specific time I was portraying her. My journey with The Lord of the Rings started in 2019 with my first audition, but I didn’t go to New Zealand to get started until December 2020, which was at the height of lockdown. As you can imagine, that was a very intense time to fly to the other side of the world and work on something like this. I will always have a memory of the early days of joining this group and being thrust into a really exciting situation at a very strange time. I also viewed it as a gift to get to go to a country that I held a lot of connection to because I had worked ten years prior on Spartacus in New Zealand. Somehow, I spent significant time working and living in New Zealand and it’s been one of the most cherished things of my life to spend time in a place that I have so much love for. It’s a beautiful country and the people are amazing. The film crews there are a tightknit group so the people I worked with on Spartacus, were also working on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power when I arrived. It was sort of a full circle moment for me because it was ten years later, and I saw so many familiar faces, so it put me at ease very quickly to know that I was in really good hands. It’s been this beautiful journey and I’m still on it; this whole experience has been four years of my life. It takes us a while because it’s such a big series, so it’s a big undertaking to make something like this and put something like this out. Now that we’re getting ready to finally premiere it on August 29th, it really feels like a long time coming. We all know what we worked on, but even then, we have such an incredible post-production and visual effects department that when we see the series, it’s even new for us! When it is finally available and out there in the world, we’re going to be watching alongside the audience. I’m very excited to just watch the show myself as an audience member because there is a lot of things that I haven’t seen yet. I’m very proud to be a part of this group and we are very much working towards getting the global launch and global press tour underway!
GB: Queen Míriel is both regal and stoic. Did you base your character on anyone either fictional or real?
CAR: There wasn’t any one specific individual, but I did think a lot about world leaders and people in those very isolated positions of power because when you are the leader of either a company or a country, it’s lonely at the top. There are very few people that you can trust and who can truly understand the responsibility that you hold. Sometimes that can be in a negative way, that sort of authoritative, singular power. But I thought about it more as somebody who is aware of their responsibility as a leader and has a moral compass that is really guiding them to make the best decisions for the collective. Again, I did think about world leaders specifically, but it was less about basing it off anyone individually, but more about the mindset and the mentality of those who are trying to lead the right way. At the end of the day, whether you’re a queen, a president, or a prime minister, once you leave your professional duties and you’re in your room alone at night, you’re just a person going to sleep with all your thoughts and feelings. That was interesting to me; the sort of public-facing leader versus the private, internal leader, and what that might look like.
GB: What’s next for you?
CAR: Nothing that I can share just yet. What I’m most excited about is that we are doing a global press tour for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and I’m excited about being in different countries, different cities, meeting fans, and really recognizing the reach that this has. Doing a series that’s presented in different languages, that is known the world over, is something you really don’t get to be part of very often, if ever. I recognize the unique opportunity in that and I’m excited. I leave for the press tour tomorrow, so I’m packing my bags as we speak!
