Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Amazon Prime
Rest easy, Lord of the Rings fans, because our long, hair-raising nightmare is over: After months of uncertainty, everyone can now watch Amazon Prime’s Rings of Power and confirm that the first female dwarf ever seen on screen does, in fact, have a beard.
Ahead of the premiere, The Daily Beast spoke with actress Sophia Nomvete, who plays Princess Disa—the first dwarven woman ever depicted on screen in a Tolkein adaptation. Although the career-changing role presented many opportunities, Nomvete’s enthusiasm burst to the surface when I asked about the beard. “I was so excited,” the actress said, with undeniable verve. “I knew that I wanted it. Everyone knew that we wanted it.”
Much like everything else about Amazon’s meticulously produced, obscenely expensive new TV series, Nomvete says a great deal of care went into selecting Disa’s facial hairstyle—applied “hair by hair.”