Courtesy of Matt Nalton

British actor Maxim Baldry (Years and Years) has signed on for a lead role in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings TV series, I have learned.

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Baldry was first linked to LOTR last fall but he didn’t have a deal for the show, which was why Baldry was not part of Amazon’s LOTR cast announcement in January that included 15 other actors.

“We still have a few key roles to cast,” Amazon Co-head of TV Vernon Sanders said at the time. Baldry is believed to be playing one of those key roles, and his deal has just closed, I hear.

He joins previously cast Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers and Daniel Weyman.

The sprawling adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels already has been renewed for a second season ahead of Season 1 production start in New Zealand.

Set in Middle-earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay; they are joined by filmmaker J.A. Bayona, who is directing the first two episodes and serving as executive producer, alongside his partner Belén Atienza; Lindsey Weber, Bruce Richmond, Gene Kelly, Sharon Tal Yguado, Gennifer Hutchison, Jason Cahill and Justin Doble also executive produce.

Baldry is coming off the BBC-HBO limited series Years and Years, in which he played standout Viktor. His credits also includes series Doctor Who and Strike Back and the recent Universal feature Last Christmas. He is repped by Kim Callahan at Industry Entertainment, Will Hollinshead at Independent Talent in UK and attorney Rick Genow.