Brian Cox and Gaia Wise Share Their Voice-Acting Stories from LotR: The War of the Rohirrim Anime Film

Actors Brian Cox and Gaia Wise lead the cast as Helm Hammerhand and Hera in the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim anime film. The War of the Rohirrim expands on a scant few pages from J. R. R. Tolkein's original work to bring the history of Rohan to the forefront. In our interview with the film's leads, Wise and Cox shared their personal connections with the franchise, the difference between voice acting and live-action performances, and their individual characters' interiority.

Gaia Wise: I was introduced to it when I was quite young. I read The Hobbit, and then I think of the first Lord of the Rings [book]. Once the first film came out, The Fellowship [of the Ring], I felt more able to then read the book and get a little bit more of the backstory. I was a teenager and then got this [opportunity] and was very overexcited.

Brian Cox: I had a mispent childhood, so I never read The Hobbit. I knew very little about it, I mean, apart from the movies I saw. And, no, it was a completely new experience for me.

What do you think about your character, and what do you want the audience to know about them going into the film?

COX: Well, I think that it's a very interesting way of doing stuff because, luckily enough, Gaia had somebody she could work with. I was on my own, and you're in the studio and creating a world. But I think what I realized is that a lot of it has to do with the voice and voice production, especially if you're playing somebody. And it's very Shakespearean in that sense. From a point of view, having done a lot of Shakespeare, I found that very much played into my strength as it was. So it was not a difficult thing for me to do. In fact, I think we did it rather quickly in the end.

WISE: I completely agree with Brian. I mean, it was written so beautifully that you could really understand the dynamics and sort of the way you had to base your character. And then what was kind of wonderful about it, for me at least as well, was the trial and error. I really got to work out where I wanted the voice to sit, how to portray her, and how, especially for Hera, the voice changes as her character arc develops. It was spectacular. As you know, the years went on, and we got some of the drawings behind it.

I always had Brian in my headphones so I could match the scenes to his voice as well, which was a joy.

So you said years going on. Did you start recording quite a while ago, and this is now just sort of coming together?

COX: It seems quite a while ago. I can't remember. I think it was somewhere in the beginning. Spring, I think. Around then.

WISE: I think the for this last patch. But we came in every, sort of what, five or 10 days for the last sort of three years.

COX: As you get older, a year seems like a month.

WISE: You're very busy as well.

I feel like post-COVID time doesn't really exist anymore anyway, and things sort of get into a blur.

COX: There's a strange thing that's happened to time, I think. Time. I don't think we realize it, but time has become very foreshortened. You know that it seems to me, mind you, it could be due to my age. But it does seem very quickly now. I didn't realize it was three years. Three years. Good God. I had no idea.

Brian, your character Helm, I mean, he's a father, but he's also a warrior king. What do you think of him as a character as far as balancing those two aspects of himself?

COX: The balancing, in what sense?

Oh, well, he's got this kingly role. I mean, he punches a guy out very early in the film, but he also has this very paternal aspect.

COX: I think the interesting thing is, of course, there's no divine right of kings or any of that Shakespearean nonsense. It's much more about their elected kings. That's what they were. He was already a warrior before he became a king. And again, having done a lot of Shakespeare, it helps when you're dealing with something with that kind of language and dynamic. I had to be very front-footed in the role, apart from the stuff with the children or what have you. But no, it sort of played right into what I've done in terms of classical theater, so it was almost very Shakespearean from that point of view. So, it wasn't in any way unfamiliar territory to me.

Gaia, one of the things that I think is really exciting about this film is that it is the first entry in The Lord of the Rings franchise that is a female-led story. Why do you feel that's important for this franchise and in general?

WISE: I think any sort of female-led stories are important. I think for the franchise, it's important because I think it's the first time that you see the arc of this young woman. You know, you have fully formed women in the other films. You have Éowyn, and Arwen. And in this, you see a growth in a female character that you haven't seen in any of the other films. And I think it just lends itself nicely to the continuation of the story. And I think it's also wonderful that you're getting a history and a backstory of the women of Rohan, who we already know and love. You can see the through line from Hera all the way up to the original films.

You said started on this rather early, but how did you get involved in the project originally? Was it something you auditioned for or were just contacted for because they felt you were a good fit?

WISE: I mean, I auditioned for it and did, I think, two or three [reads] if I remember correctly. First, I was just recording my voice, which was, again, not something I'm used to. It all comes from within, I suppose. And then I got the part, and I've told this before, but screamed so loudly that my neighbors called the police, thinking something had happened to me.

Oh, no.

WISE: And I couldn't really explain to them what had happened.

COX: So you did the audition from home?

WISE: Yeah, I did the audition from home. And then I got a very lovely, you know, bobby from the street going, "Is everything okay in here?" I had to say, "I have a job," which sounded a little bit silly. And then, [at] round three, they told me I got [the role].

COX: Well, you know, I didn't audition. I was offered the role, and I've flirted with The Lord of the Rings for a few years. But there was at one point when a certain director was going to do the one about the dwarves, and they were flirting with me, and then it didn't work out. You know, I never dwell on anything. I just move on. And then [The War of the Rohirrim] came up, and they asked me to do it, and I thought, it's a perfect fit.

This is more of a fantastical question, I suppose, but if you were transported into The Lord of the Rings world, what would you be like? Where do you think you would fit in personally?

WISE: Ooh, I feel like you'd be like Helm. I like to think I'd be like Hera. I like to think I've got some of her qualities and characteristics. I try to be as much like her as possible.

COX: I think I'm inwardly quite savage. I think it appeals to my inner savage, and I think that was released playing [Helm] because where I come from in a fairly rough background. I've witnessed that kind of savagery and, you know, people of my generation when I was younger, so it was a natural fit. But it was also something I've always carefully avoided, you know, in reality, but theatrically, of course, you use it.

Brian, I wanted to ask, you know, as far as I know, this may be your first foray into voice acting.

COX: I've done a lot of voice acting. Voice is something that I feel is rather lacking these days in terms of voice production. And when I was trained, I was trained by Kristin Linklater, who was the greatest voice teacher of all time and, sadly, is no longer with us. When I was a kid at Dundee Rep, my first job was when I was 15. I used to mop the stage at Dundee Rep, and then eventually, they gave me little parts to play. So I started acting when I was 15, straight away. But then I remember that the guy who plays The Smoking Man in the X-Files series, Bill Davis, was the director of theater at that time. I'm talking about 1960, 61, 62.

And he invited me to a voice class, and I was completely pig-ignorant. I never knew what a voice class was. And then he said, there's this young woman who was a student of an amazing voice teacher called Iris Warren who died far too young, and [that] was Kristin Linklater. So I went to this [class] not knowing what it was, and it transformed me because I thought, "Wow, I want to go where she is." She was at LAMDA, the London Academy of Dramatic Art. I auditioned, I got in, and it helped. But I was working with a lot of ex-LAMDA actors at the Rep, so I had quite a strong introduction. And I joined LAMDA. Six weeks after I joined, she left and went to America for a number of years. But her influence was very strong.

If you both have the time, what do you think is your favorite voice line that you got to perform during the film? Is there one that stuck with you? Whether it's for emotional reasons or because it was just very fun to perform.

COX: Listen, I can't remember what I had for breakfast. I don't know if could remember what my favorite voice line was. I couldn't possibly tell you. Gaia's a lot younger, so she could.

Laughs

WISE: I think one of my favorite lines in it really is right at the end, you know, when he says, "You think I'm afraid of you?" And I get to say, "You should," because it's at that point where something's about to go down. I think it's a final sort of push before the final battle. So that would probably be mine.

This is an anime film as well. Do either of you have a favorite one? Whether just watching anime, have a particular film or series that you're familiar with and really enjoyed, or is this your first entry?

WISE: Miyazaki was my entry when I was a child, and I think I look at Hera and Nausicaä as being very similar. So I would say the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind for me, because that's one of my favorite anime.

COX: Disney's Peter Pan, I remember as a child, the classic ones, like Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, all the Disney animation, which was what I was raised with. Of course, subsequently, these amazing Japanese animators who are doing the most extraordinary things have taken it to a whole different level now. I haven't seen the film yet, so I imagine it's pretty amazing.

Thank you both so much for your time, and I'm looking forward to seeing the film when it opens in December.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters and IMAX in the U.S. on December 13.