![\"RoydTolkien02\"](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/RoydTolkien02-197x300.jpg\")
Welcome to this months \u201cGetting to know you\u201d Q&A, this month we\u2019re talking to the wonderful Royd Tolkien.<\/p>\nWelcome to this months \u201cGetting to know you\u201d Q&A, this month we\u2019re talking to the wonderful Royd Tolkien.<\/p>\n
I received a lot of questions for Royd, which I have divided into three sections, reflecting peoples main areas of interest. \u00a0I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did conducting it. \u00a0Cheers Kel x<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tolkien related questions<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0Have you read all of your great-grandfather’s Middle-earth related works?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0Not everything, I\u2019ve not read Unfinished Tales or the History of Middle-earth and I haven\u2019t read The Silmarillion for ages so I\u2019ll be picking that up next.<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s got to be The Hobbit as it was my first journey into Middle-earth and takes me right back to my childhood. It\u2019s right up there though with LotR because while The Hobbit opened my eyes, Rings hooked me.<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0How do you feel when you walk into a book store and see Tolkien on the shelf? Does it make you smile seeing people picking up books from that shelf and enjoying your great-grandfather’s work?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0Totally, as well as when he\u2019s mentioned on TV or in an article. I smile and let out an internal whoop!<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0When you were growing up were you aware of your great-grandfather’s legacy? Did other kids ask you about the stories?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0When I was growing up he wasn\u2019t as film-famous as he is now. I can\u2019t recall anyone asking me about the stories, it was normally what football team you supported or who fancied who! As a family, we\u2019ve always been involved with The Tolkien Society and when I was a kid they used to come up to our small farm in Wales for Summer Moots. They\u2019d dress up as characters, camp in the field, sword flight, let off homemade fireworks and have huge campfires. The first awareness of the legacy came from those fun times.<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0How does it feel to be related to a legend?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0Fab, humbling, privileged and proud.<\/p>\n The Films<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0You said in an interview that you read and fell in love with LotR at 11. What is your opinion on the LotR movies overall and do you think that Peter Jackson and his team did your great-grandfather justice and honoured his literary legacy?<\/p>\n They\u2019ve had and have an incredibly tough task adapting the books into films but it works so well because Peter, Fran, Philippa, Richard Taylor and all the team are fans and are dedicated to the finite details. Also there are very unique circumstances that evolved to make the films work so well and making them as rich as they are – the New Zealand landscapes, the can-do NZ attitude, the geographic distance between NZ and Hollywood and many other tiny events that brought it to screen.<\/p>\n To see how such a colossal film is so intricately crafted and pieced together is an inspiration.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0How did you come to be an extra in ROTK; and did you get to choose your role?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0It was while I was over there for a couple of weeks visiting during pickups. Peter thought it would be fun to put me in the film and it took me a nanosecond to say yes!<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0How uncomfortable was it to wear Gondorian armour?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0I was a Gondorian Ranger so there was no armour but super comfortable leather and fabric.<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0What was it like wearing Viggo’s wig in The Return of the King?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0I had short hair then and it felt so good that I then grew my hair!<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0My favourite character from The Hobbit is Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans nails him perfectly) so I\u2019d be in the ranks of Lake-town.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0I think it\u2019s very brave of them to make three films. Of course it\u2019s only natural to think that the films would be diluted and stretched out with superfluous material, but not so. It doesn\u2019t dawdle and drag, it keeps you entertained throughout, especially when they add a brilliant character like Tauriel. Of course, there are areas of departure from the book but I don\u2019t get hung up on that. If I want to go back to the world in it\u2019s purest form, then I\u2019ll read the book.<\/p>\n Miscellaneous<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ve heard you have your own production company can you tell us about anything that you currently have in development?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m working on a couple of things now, the main one is called \u2018There\u2019s a Hole in my Bucket\u2019.<\/p>\n My younger brother, Mike, has unfortunately got Motor Neurone Disease (also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s Disease) which is an awful, aggressive, terminal condition that\u2019s taken away his ability to do everyday normal things we all take for granted. This is especially difficult for Mike as he was so active and a real adrenalin junkie\u2026 which is the complete opposite to me! Mike has always wanted to go to Queenstown (NZ) as it\u2019s the adrenalin capital of the world. He\u2019s in a wheelchair now and very frail, so he\u2019s challenged me to do his bucket list and face my fears as he\u2019s facing his.<\/p>\n It\u2019s given me a rock solid resolve to do anything to take his mind off his situation and to enjoy as many new experiences, gather new memories and, most importantly, do whatever I can to make him smile during our time together. I would run down the street naked, tattoo a sailor on my chest and shave my hair off, anything for that smile. Unfortunately for me, he knows this and will be taking full advantage of the situation, as I would!<\/p>\n As his big brother I have a duty to look after and protect him and being told you\u2019re absolutely powerless to help as your brother becomes very ill, very quickly has been hard to come to terms with and difficult to accept. But however difficult it is for me, it\u2019s nothing compared to what Mike is dealing with daily.<\/p>\n The illness has gripped him tight, and we know that it won\u2019t let him go, but it will not pull him away from me without a fight, so we\u2019re linking arms and pulling back as hard as we can and facing this head on together. \u00a0It will also importantly raise awareness of a seriously under funded disease.<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0What is your favourite genre of literature and why? And which book could you not live without?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ve got a mixed bag of taste really, the last book I read was The Princess Bride which is one of my favourite films, I\u2019d also recommend anything by Neil Gaiman, particularly Neverwhere or The Graveyard Book. I\u2019ve also got a stack of wild food\/foraging books that I\u2019m always picking up. I guess if I had to choose it would be one of my foraging books.<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0What kind of music do you like to listen to the most?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/b>\u00a0I didn\u2019t know but I\u2019ve just checked on my iTunes most played and it\u2019s Ben Howard, Lorde and Ice-T!<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0Where all in the world have you visited, and do you have a most favourite\/least favourite place?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0Wales is a glorious place to visit but as I live here I won\u2019t choose that! Joint first would have to go to New Zealand and Norway. I go camping with a group of friends every year in Norway and can\u2019t get enough of it and NZ is so dreamy and perfect.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t been anywhere that I didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0If you were to take people out to dinner, where would you go, and what would you be most likely to order?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0The first thing that came to mind is a pub near me called The Druid. They do a ridiculous Sunday roast.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the Chocolate Fish Caf\u00e9, in Shelly Bay, 10 minutes out of Wellington. It\u2019s a superb fish barbeque caf\u00e9 in NZ. It\u2019s the first place I visit to get a fix!<\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0You have been so great to join us for our conventions and parties in the past. You always made them so much fun! This year marks TORn’s 15th Anniversary in April. Would you like to come join us for our online celebration on the Message Boards? And maybe again for our 20th?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0Sure would \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n And one just for fun (somehow I think MrCere will be very interested in this one \ud83d\ude09 )<\/em><\/p>\n Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0Who would win in a fight – the talking purse or the thinking fox?<\/p>\n Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0Is this a question like Mornington Crescent is a game?! Righto, you\u2019d think a talking purse is going to be mostly useless but if a purse can talk that\u2019s nothing to be sniffed at. It\u2019s a purse. It can talk. So it would surely kick the arse of a fox that just thinks!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Hobbit](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Hobbit-Book-Art-300x300.jpg\")
Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0Which of your great-grandfather’s Middle-earth-related works is your favourite?<\/p>\n![\"imagesLOTR_SKU_copy\"](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/imagesLOTR_SKU_copy-254x300.jpg\")
Royd:<\/strong>\u00a0When I first heard it was going to be done I thought it was an impossible mountain to climb, also because they were going to create an interpretation of a world so deeply and vehemently loved and cherished by so many people, which could be miles off the mark.<\/p>\n![\"Royd](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/movies_return_of_the_king-300x199.jpg\")
![\"Bard](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Bard-the-Bowman-300x186.jpg\")
Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0If you could join any of the five armies in Bo5A which would it be?<\/p>\n![\"Tauriel](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Tauriel-TV-Spot-300x300.jpg\")
Kelvarhin:<\/strong>\u00a0Assuming that you’ve seen The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, what do you think of Peter Jackson’s treatment of the story so far, and especially, how do you feel about the newly introduced character of Tauriel?<\/p>\n
![\"winking](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/1544990-Tiger-temple-0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n