Markella Kavenagh has spent years playing the tough, tomboyish female characters like Roslin Frey in Game of Thrones and Elanor Brandyfoot in The Lord of the Rings. Now she can add another role to her extensive resume. Kavenagh will be joining Peter Jackson’s new trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Introducing Elanor Brandyfoot: The Lord of the Rings’ Newest Adventurer
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Meet Nori
As a traveling adventurer, Harfoot is always on the lookout for adventure. The Rings of Power offers her that chance. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Markella Kavenagh, who plays Harfoot in The Lord of the Rings and we learned more about what it was like on set and a little bit about Harfoot’s adventures. If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, you’re likely familiar with the expansive world Tolkien created. But if not, let me tell you about Elanor Nori Brandyfoot–The Hobbit’s newest adventurer! She’s a Harfoot who doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a healer like most other Harfeet. Nori is bored with living out in the Shire, so she wants to go on adventures.
Why she wanted to join the Fellowship
Elanor is a Harfoot Hobbit with a yearning for adventure. She’s often the smartest member of the Fellowship, and is well known for her excellent cookery skills. Originally from Hobbiton, she met Frodo at the Party Tree on September 22nd and has been his closest companion ever since. Upon discovering Gandalf’s departure from Hobbiton, Elanor knew that she had to follow him and meet this strange wizard in order to be able to travel with him. As she made her way to the bridge of Rivendell, Saruman appeared before her, posing as an old man who just wanted to talk. As they talked, Saruman revealed that he was a traitor who would never betray the power and wealth he would gain by joining Sauron. He then attempted to kill Elanor by throwing the Ring of Power at her; luckily Pippin saved her life and took back the ring!
What she brings to an expedition
Nori is new to the world and feels a little out of place, so she brings an open mind, fierce determination, and lots of excitement. No challenge scares her away. The allure of adventure runs in her family, as Markella Kavenagh tells us Elanor’s great-grandfather was Dori! So who better to play this bubbly young woman with a longing for adventure than Markella herself? Nori’s one of my favorite characters in the book, says the actress. She reminds me a lot of myself because I too have a yearning for adventure.
Her role in any given quest
Nori proves to be an invaluable addition to the Fellowship of the Ring. Her kind-hearted nature and quick wit make her one of the group’s most important members. A Harfoot who loves to explore, Nori is always looking for adventure – though she can often provide useful insight when needed. When the Fellowship splits up at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, she takes a role as captain in charge of finding the remaining hobbits in order to save them from the Dark Riders.
What’s in store for Elanor?
Nori has always had a yearning for adventure and thus she sets out to discover the beauty that Arda has to offer. The Lords of the Rings is divided into many themes and The Fellowship tells the story of the One Ring and its effect on the war between good and evil, with emphasis on fellowship. In the first book of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, it is revealed that Sauron desires control over all the lands in Middle-earth. The dwarves from Moria are in search for someone to help them reclaim their mountain home and they find Gandalf the Grey who agrees to help them as long as they join forces with him.
How did she fit into Hobbiton?
Nori, or Markella Kavenagh, is best known for her part in the movies that is The Lord of the Rings as Elanor Nori Brandyfoot. She was a Harfoot with a yearning for adventure. She didn’t fit into Hobbiton, but became close friends with Sam and Frodo. When she’s not appearing onscreen and giving life to the lady from Michel Delving she resides in Iceland because it offers the perfect lifestyle for her.
What are her hobbies and interests?
Nori has a yearning for adventure, which is exactly what she got when she arrived in Middle Earth. Her fascination with exploring new places, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures led her to leave the land of the Harfoots for the world outside her country’s borders. As a girl, Nori explored caves and studied plants and animals as though she was planning her own personal map of exploration. She loved the feeling of finding something new and being the first person to see it. The prospect of having this kind of opportunity seemed too great not to take advantage of!
Nori doesn’t remember the day she found The One Ring; all she remembers is that at some point, it just seemed like her duty to protect this powerful object from anyone who would use it for their own ends.
How does she overcome issues that appear in her way?
Unlike the other members of her family, Elanor is not content to remain in the comfortable Harrowbottom. Her yearning for adventure means she often becomes restless and spends much time outside the village. One such occasion came when news reached the Harfoots that evil forces had made a move toward them. Fearing an invasion, everyone in Harrowbottom prepared for battle except young Nori.
Who will she meet on her travels?
Nori is introduced to Meriadoc the Stout (Merry) and Peregrin Took (Pippin) who, like her, are members of the Third Age. Merry and Pippin introduce Nori to King Theoden, Eowyn, Legolas, Aragorn and Gandalf; together they make up a Fellowship that will embark on a quest to destroy The One Ring.
Where will she go next, and why?
Nori has been invited to go on an adventure to rescue two Hobbits from Trolls, but she is reluctant. What she doesn’t know is that there are powerful forces pulling her away from her home and the man she loves. Nori has to make a choice – stay with those she knows or venture out into unknown lands in order to fulfill her destiny as one of the few pureblood Haredim left in Middle Earth.
