Natasha O'Keeffe Explains Why Lanfear Is Wheel Of Time's Beyoncé - Exclusive
In the immortal words of Michael Scott, "I am Beyoncé. Always." The manager utters the phrase when arguing with a coworker, but it turns out that there are more fantastical and wide-sweeping applications for the comparison than petty office altercations. In an interview with Looper, Natasha O'Keeffe recently compared her own role as the complex villain Lanfear in "The Wheel of Time" to the singing sensation.
O'Keeffe explained, "[Lanfear's] goal in the whole realm of the world ... Beyoncé and Jay-Z. She wants to be the king and queen. What she wants is the Dragon and her to be together, have their kingdom, make some good choices. That's her main goal, and to shoo away anybody else that gets in the way of that."
Lanfear is an enemy that is out not to destroy but to seduce and ultimately rule alongside the show's primary protagonist, Rand al'Thor (who is the Dragon Reborn, a reincarnation of a legendary hero Lanfear once loved). In our conversation, we asked the British actress what Lanfear wants now that she's been introduced in Season 2 and will continue to be a factor in Season 3. Her decision to size the character up alongside the pop culture icon was perfect.
Lanfear isn't all bad — but she's not sunshine and roses, either
As Natasha O'Keeffe's words imply, her character isn't pure evil. On the contrary, she's a complicated villain with a tragic and heartbroken backstory. Nevertheless, her Beyoncé comparison only goes so far since her character is still definitively bad.
"As Natasha, the actress, I was excited to step into Lanfear, but she grew as well," O'Keeffe detailed. She added that Lanfear is admittedly intense by saying, "She did come off quite hot, didn't she, with the whole guy with the horse — she blew his head off ... That's not going easy, is it?"
Nevertheless, O'Keeffe made her case for Lanfear's ultimate goal of popstar-like power in Robert Jordan's fantasy world. "It's not just about the evil deeds," she said, "It's also about the politics. When you come into Season 3 — without giving anything away — it opens up the mind to this more vulnerable side of Lanfear and where she's coming from. The relationship with Rand — there are scenes in Series 2 [where] you get little glimpses and nuggets of that, that there is a vulnerability there, or more reasons rather than just being dark and evil."
Josha Stradowski is on the Lanfear-Rand love train, too
Of course, it takes two to tango, and it turns out that Josha Stradowski, who plays Lanfear's counterpart Rand in the show, is also on board with a superpowered romantic alliance between the two. "We rehearsed all the scenes and wanted to make sure that all the nuances were there," Stradowski told Looper in reference to the two characters starting off as an unidentified innkeeper (Lanfear) and a quiet young man (Rand in hiding).
Stradowski dug into those "nuances" a bit later, adding, "That is a very interesting area to explore because Lanfear is the Devil, and you can't love the Devil. It feels at times that Lanfear is the only one that really understands Rand, and because Rand is often very lonely in what he feels and sees, it seems like, at times, he can't express it to anyone else, and she's exactly what he needs — but she's the devil. That was very interesting for us to explore."
The Rand actor ended his insights with a bombshell, declaring with a smirk, "I secretly hope that Rand and Lanfear marry, but I don't think that will happen." The expression is justified, as it isn't an exaggeration to say that Rand and Lanfear have decidedly different goals in life. Nevertheless, O'Keeffe's comparison to Beyoncé and Jay-Z and Stradowski's similar approval of the connection between the two makes for a fun what-if in "The Wheel of Time" story.
All Season 2 episodes of "The Wheel of Time" are available to binge now on Prime Video.