“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” star Ismael Cruz Córdova is the first person of color to play an elf in a screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s groundbreaking fantasy series — and as the actor himself tells it, the public reception to his casting hasn’t been all warm and fuzzy.
In a new interview with Esquire, Córdova says he’s been forced to contend with “pure and vicious hate speech” from a slew of real-life trolls in the two years since his part in the franchise was announced. But as he tells it, he was more than ready for — and even propelled by — the vitriol that eventually came his way.
“I fought so hard for this role for this very reason,” said Córdova. “I felt that I could carry that torch. I made sure that my elf was the most Elven, the most incredible, because I knew this was coming.”
In “Rings of Power” Córdova plays Arondir, an elf who falls in love with the human woman Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) while patrolling the southlands of Middle-earth.
“You can never use it as an excuse: ‘But elves don’t look like that,'” the actor continued. “They didn’t, but now they do.”
Córdova’s interview arrived the same week that Amazon announced it would be suspending user ratings for “Rings of Power” on its Prime Video platform for 72 hours due to a review-bombing campaign by racist trolls angered at the series’ diverse casting practices, which followed Peter Jackson‘s nearly all-white feature film adaptations. That ugly campaign can be seen in the series’ Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score, which currently stands at just 39% — offering a stark contrast with the show’s 84% average from critics (read The Playlist’s generally positive review of the series here).
Despite the controversy from what is very likely a vocal minority, Amazon is touting blockbuster premiere numbers for “Rings of Power,” claiming its global audience surpassed 25 million in the 24 hours following the debut of its first two episodes — a new record for the Prime Video service.
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