Two years ago when Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power was released, Ismael Cruz Cordova, who plays prominent Silvan Elf and main protagonist Arondir in the show was met with plenty of vitriol and backlash over his casting on account of him being the first person of color to depict an elf in the series’ 70-year-history.
Cordova, who is a Puerto Rican of African descent, noted that as soon as it was announced he was cast in the role, he was met with “pure and vicious hate speech” in his DMs “nearly every day.” And it wasn’t just attacks on social media.
“My phone got hacked,” Córdova recalled on the “Just for Variety” podcast. “I had bank account attempts of being hacked. My PayPal got hacked. My friends got messages. I got death threats. I got things mailed to me. People found out my address. It was a lot of that.”
Despite this, Cordova used the hatred as an impetus to further persevere in his role and prove the haters wrong.
“I fought so hard for this role for this very reason,” Cordova said in an interview with Esquire. “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… You can never use it as an excuse: ‘But elves don’t look like that.’ They didn’t, but now they do.”
Cordova added that the racist backlash got so disgraceful that Amazon hired an on-set therapist to help handle the backlash.
“You need support when this happens because the voices are so loud and they’re coming at you from so many places,” Córdova said. “I loved seeing her there,” Cordova added of the therapist, “even if we didn’t speak. I knew there was someone there seeing me completely. It wasn’t just as an actor.”
Now that Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power is set to premiere in a month on August 29th on Amazon Prime, Cordova says he welcomes the discourse that comes from fans as a result of him being “the first elf that wasn’t white.”
Joining the Entertainment Weekly “Brave Warriors” panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Cordova stated, “My character is not in the lore of the Lord of the Rings, and that was an issue for some people.”
Cordova continued, “[It was] a big controversy of me being the first elf that wasn’t white. I loved the nerve that I pinched. I really do. I was so excited to create something new. A lot of people speaking on behalf of Tolkien, I don’t know if they understand the spirit of Tolkien. His work speaks of the times.
Cordova noted that the spirit of Tolkien’s work should include anyone being able to look and see themselves in the beautiful characters and high fantasy world that Tolkien has created.
“It is necessary to revise things and represent and exist,” Cordova added. “I think a lot of people look at us to affirm their own existence, so I’m happy people can look at that and look at any of us and see themselves in this beautiful world we all should belong in — fantasy.”
In addition to Cordova, Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power has included other actors of color in prominent roles in the show. Cynthia Addai-Robinson portrays Tar-Miriel, the queen regent of Numenor and Sophia Nomvete, who is of South African and Iranian descent portrays Princess Disa, a Dwarven princess of Khazad-dum, to name a few. Hopefully these casting choices will embolden similar casting in the future for not only Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, but other fantasy shows in the future as well.
What do you think of the thoughts shared by Ismael Cruz Cordova on being cast as the ‘first non-white elf’? Do you think that people who showed backlash against him being cast as a prominent elf show that they don’t know the true spirit of Tolkien? Let us know in the comments.
