'Rings Of Power' Actor Rose Above "Vicious Hate Speech" From Supposed Fans

An expositive interview from actor Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays Arondir in The Rings Of Power, reveals that he had to handle daily onslaughts of “pure and vicious hate speech” for his portrayal of the elf.

While the critical reception for the show has been cautiously optimistic, praising the sheer spectacle of the prequel and expressing reservations about the story's stamina, the audience response is divided. Following a severe bout of review bombing based on a range of criticisms, Amazon has elected to switch off reviews for the show on its own streaming service. Indeed, the legacy of Peter Jackson's trilogy looms large, but learning of Córdova's commitment to the fantasy world and all of its possibilities shows that there's a huge amount of potential still to be realised in The Rings Of Power.

Take a look at the trailer for the show right here:

We recommend you dive into the entire interview from Esquire as it is a very interesting read, describing Córdova's dedication to acting as a career and as an artistic calling, and how much he had to give in order to secure that "secret dream" of becoming a part of the universe of Middle-earth. Once he started auditioning for Amazon's unnamed Lord of the Rings project, he refused to let rejection deter him from the role that he had imagined all those years ago when he saw The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. He even wrote the showrunners a letter expressing how much an opportunity like this meant, and became "massively emotional" when he was informed that his audition was for an elven character - "characters like this, it’s like they find you. I just always knew that this was mine."

Naturally, we know that Córdova was cast as Arondir and he dove into preparation, taking on influences from Wushu, Kung Fu, and Capoeira to create a mesmeric quality to the warrior's movements and body language. It is astonishing, therefore, to learn that some "fans" would berate the actor with "pure and vicious hate speech" for the fact that he is a nonwhite individual in a genre which has historically been extremely white in its representation. “I fought so hard for this role for this very reason,” he explained. “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.”