The Wheel of Time star Josha Stradowski, who plays Rand in the new fantasy TV series, has shared his view on the comparisons being made to Game of Thrones, saying that he takes them as a ‘compliment’.
Based on the beloved book series of the same name, The Wheel of Time stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, a woman with the magical ability to use the One Power who belongs to an organisation called the Aes Sedai.
Rand is one of five young people Moiraine takes under her wing, believing that one of them is a prophesied individual called the ‘Dragon Reborn’, who has the hidden power to either save or destroy the world.
At the London premiere of the Amazon Prime Video saga, Josha spoke to Metro.co.uk about Rand’s progression throughout the series, going from being a humble farm boy in a village called the Two Rivers to embarking on a dangerous quest with Moiraine and his friends.
While the actor has become an avid reader of The Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan – of which there are 14 – he isn’t as well-versed on Game of Thrones, which is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George RR Martin.
Nonetheless, when asked what he thinks of the comparisons being made, he said: ‘I guess I take it as a compliment. To be fair, I haven’t seen Game of Thrones, so there’s not much I can say about that.’
While The Wheel of Time pays close tribute to the books, given showrunner Rafe Judkins has been a passionate fan since childhood, there will of course be some deviations from the original source material.
Josha said that in his view, while they ‘want to do the books justice’, especially considering Rafe ‘knows the heart and soul of these characters’, his portrayal of Rand is definitely his own unique ‘interpretation’.
‘We do want to do the books justice, and especially Rafe who grew up with The Wheel of Time, he knows the heart and the soul of these characters so we talk about that and I’m reading the books myself so I hope that… it’s definitely my interpretation of Rand, of the bits and pieces of the scripts and also the books,’ he said.
During a recent interview with Metro.co.uk and other press, executive producer Mike Weber also addressed the way in which people have been comparing The Wheel of Time to Game of Thrones, saying that in his view, the new series will be more ‘relatable’ for audiences.
‘The Thrones comparison is just that that’s the only other giant fantasy series anyone can point to. We are certainly of the same scale and level of production quality as Game of Thrones, but I think that’s where the similarities end,’ he said.
Stating that The Wheel of Time has its ‘own themes’ and ‘own unique characters’, he added that he believes the ‘[characters] are much more relatable I think than a lot of the characters in Game of Thrones’.
‘I think audiences will be able to really see themselves in one if not many of the characters in our show versus something that felt a little more detached I think for Thrones,’ Mike said.
It’s worth noting that the first book in The Wheel of Time series was published in 1990, six years before A Game of Thrones came out in 1996.
Nonetheless, it is admittedly exciting to have another fantasy series of an epic magnitude back on our TV screens once more.
The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time premiere on Friday November 19 on Amazon Prime Video.
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