Not many get the chance to walk in the footsteps of one of their childhood heroes, so count The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark among the lucky ones.
On the new Prime Video series, premiering Sept. 2, Clark plays Elven warrior Galadriel, the same character portrayed by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
For Clark, it was a full circle moment.
"[Blanchett] has been such a huge part of my childhood as Galadriel. She literally feels like a mythical being to me," Clark exclusively told E! News. "I felt really obviously so lucky to be playing a character to be portrayed by her but also it's nice to know where your character is going."
Indeed, Clark was able to take solace in the fact that, not only does Galadriel grow up to become the most powerful of all the Elves in Middle-earth, but she also grows up to be Cate Blanchett!
"To kind of think who Galadriel is now, she has no idea who she is going to become," Clark said, "that she'll become the Queen of Lothlorien but also she'll become Cate Blanchett. That's cool."
When it came time to imbue Galadriel with her own flair, Clark was able to connect with her character on a personal level.
"She has a very strong sense of justice and is quite rigid with that, and I can be a little rigid at times," she revealed. "I think what's interesting about her is what drives her is kind of, is instinct. She can't even necessarily put into words or even know herself."
The fact that Clark felt a kinship to Galadriel is a relief, as The Rings of Power follows Galadriel as she builds her own fellowship. "My brother gave his life hunting the enemy," she says in the latest trailer, released Aug. 23. "His task is now mine."
The series features many other beloved characters from J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age, including Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Disa (Sophia Nomvete) and Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh).
Take a voyage to Middle-earth when the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere Sept. 2 on Prime Video.
-Reporting by Alli Rosenbloom