The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power executive producers J.D. Payne and Lindsey Weber responded to racist backlash over the show's casting.
As reported by Time, trolls took to social media to criticize the casting of Ismael Cruz Córdova as the Silvan Elf, Arondir, due to the character being played by a Black Puerto Rican actor. The show's producers were quick to shut down the hate, with Payne commenting that author J. R. R. Tolkien simply described elves as being "creatures of dull and lumpish nature that had no more language than beasts" without reference to skin color. Weber stated that while they were "up for criticism," they were "not up for racism."
Córdova noted that he has long since felt that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy lacked diversity, explaining that he dreamed of playing an elf on the big screen since he was a child. The fact that there was a lack of black elves in films made him all the more determined to get the part of Arondir. "I didn’t see myself represented. And when I said, 'I want to be an elf,' people said, 'Elves don’t look like you,'" Córdova explained. "When I heard about the character on the show, it felt like a mission."
Córdova's journey in landing the role was not easy. The actor revealed that he was rejected a number of times and auditioned again and again during a seven-month period before he finally received the good news. Overjoyed at his success, Cordova cheered in the streets of New York City when he got the call confirming his part.
Córdova was not the only one who experienced hate online over their casting. Morfydd Clark, who plays a younger version of Cate Blanchett's Galadriel in The Rings of Power, also received her fair share of internet vitriol as complaints were made that she was not "feminine" enough due to her armor. Clark reinforced the importance of good and layered representation in films to show young people that female characters can be just as compelling as their male counterparts.
"I didn’t read the books and think, 'I wish there were more female characters,' because I just took it as given that that was the way things were," she said. "I’m standing on the shoulders of women who spilt metaphorical blood to get to this point. I hope young people, should they watch this, will think, 'This is just the way things are.'"
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to debut on Prime Video on Sept. 2.
Source: Time