Perth ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Actor Drops Debut Single

Perth actor Tyroe Muhafidin, who releases music under his first name, plays Theo in the epic Amazon Prime series, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power. 

The Indonesian Australian performer has a pretty juicy role, but one that subverts expectation: when his character finds a piece of a weapon needed to resurrect the season's antagonist, Sauron, Theo does what all teenage characters on television never do - he tells a nearby good guy what's happening! In a refreshing change of pace, Theo doesn't hold on to a secret in angst for all ten episodes. And on his debut single, In Honesty (It's Cold Outside), Tyroe is remarkably honest.

Resting up in a London hotel room before preparing for a night shoot of a project he can't tell us about, Tyroe is open and talkative despite his rigorous schedule that would make anyone feel exhausted.

"I wrote In Honesty about a year ago. I was going through a rough patch with a girl and drew from that experience," he says. The Kid Laroi was also a significant influence; Tyroe bumped Stay a lot. "I'm really into pop music. And then, at the same time, I was like, Oh, but I want to write sad songs. So, I decided to find this middle ground with a mix of the two, which I really liked. I try to be a chameleon with my writing."

Tyroe has been making music for as long as he can remember. He's part of a tight-knit family whose opinions mean a lot and help guide him. "I had drum lessons when I was four years old. From there, I've always had some lessons. I taught myself how to play the guitar and had a few piano lessons. I did voice lessons later. Growing up, there was always music - I have four siblings, and every single one of them plays an instrument. My older brother Tobias writes and makes music.

"When I got my first computer, I was 13 and decided I wanted to be a producer," he continues. And so his creation of beats began. "I wasn't doing anything with them; I was just making them. When I was 14, I wanted to write, so I wrote my first song. And from there, I was writing songs and recording, and then I got my first microphone when I was 15. I think I'm now at the point where I'm ready to show the world."

At 17 years old, Tyroe is self-assured and knows what he wants to write; he defines his sound as a hybrid between Y2K pop-punk and hip-hop. Maybe a collaboration with Travis Barker is in his future? "I love heavy rock guitars. A lot of music incorporates rock guitars, and I love the pop-punk drums. So I wanted to infuse that with some of the things I do. But then also, with hip-hop, growing up, that's what my brothers listened to. I have a lot of respect for hip-hop lyricism; it's like poetry!" 

He also co-produced In Honesty (It's Cold Outside). Without production knowledge, Tyroe wouldn't be the artist he is today. "The big thing [about music production] for me was finding that there's more to it than what you see, there are always little instruments in the background that can be mixed down low, but they are essential. You can use them to bring out certain accents and highlights."

So, how did Tyroe score a role in The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power? The young artist has had an agent since he was nine years old. Before the opportunity arose, he had appeared in the television series, Caravan as Brody, the short films Dusk and Two Sands, several ads, and the Make Them Suffer music video for Ether.

"I received a self-taping for an Untitled Amazon project. I put down a tape but wasn't expecting anything from it because we all knew it was The Lord Of The Rings," he begins. Imagine his surprise when he got shortlisted for the project! "That in itself was an achievement for me. Then I did the callback, and the next thing I knew, I was in New Zealand doing a screen test. It all happened so fast. And then I moved to New Zealand and filmed the first season, which was a fantastic experience." He knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Theo was created for The Rings Of Power, a tricky character for Tyroe to play. "The great thing about playing Theo is that he is almost the complete opposite of who I am. He doesn't think things through; he's very impulsive," Tyroe laughs - he's a bit of an overthinker. "Theo allowed me to learn a lot about myself. And also, if you're playing a character very far from yourself, and you play that character well, that can be a testament to your acting.

"The sets were massive. We know that it's a big-budget show. But that didn't truly click until I was on the set for the first time, and there were just tents everywhere. There were cameras on cranes and lights that were imitating the sun. The scale was crazy," he says. Such a vast show could be overwhelming for a young actor, but Tyroe was looked after and learned plenty. "I had great cast members around me. I worked closely with Ismael Cruz Córdova [who plays Arondir] and Nazanin Boniadi [who plays his mother, Bronwyn], both seasoned actors. They were able to take me under their wing and guide me through the experience, and I'm really grateful for them," he says. 

Tyroe can separate music and acting, which he'll need to do as he blossoms in both fields. "When I'm acting, I'm telling someone else's story. Music is the opposite: my music tells my story and experiences. Music is a great opportunity to show who I am. When you're an actor, it's easy to get lost in other people," he explains. He has lots of music lined up for release in 2023, ranging through all genres. "I've got some pop-punk and hyper-pop coming out and some straight-up hip-hop. You're gonna hear a lot of different things."