Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays Arondir in Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, explained a surprisingly delicious-sounding detail that brought a brutal battle to life onscreen.
In an interview with Variety, Córdova said that it was an uncomfortable experience, to say the least. Episode 6, titled "Udûn," saw the actor's heroic elf engaged in a devastating up-close fight with an oversized Orc warrior in which the creature's punctured eye was bleeding onto him; a concoction he revealed was created from chocolate, gelatin, and food coloring. "It was so sticky, he said, "so uncomfortable and so cold when we were shooting those night shoots. It all kept going into my breastplate. So I had this pool of sugary goo on me for the better part of two weeks."
The Rings of Power's Streaming Dominance
Arondir's scrap with the Orc -- and the lengthy, dynamic battle in which it occurred -- is indicative of the show finally ramping up the action as a whole. Potentially because of this, the show has seen positive streaming numbers as of late. It recently stacked up 1.25 billion minutes watched since it's Sept. 1 premiere, beating out the 781 million minutes of its competitor, HBO's House of the Dragon. It seems to represent quite a rebound for The Rings of Power, which didn't always seem destined for success. When it first came out, the show generally saw less than positive reviews from fans -- so much so, in fact, that Amazon had to put a hold on reviews in an effort to prevent review-bombing.
One of the show's most outspoken critics was none other than SpaceX's Elon Musk, who took to Twitter to write that the late Lord of the Rings author "[J. R. R] Tolkien is turning in his grave," adding, "Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice." The Sandman author Neil Gaiman quickly jumped to the show's defense, however, writing that "anyone grumbling is either racist or hasn't read their Tolkien. Your mileage may vary."
If the cast of The Rings of Power is to be trusted, then it's safe to assume the show will only continue to get more exciting as it heads into Season 1's final few episodes. Charlie Vickers, who plays Halbrand in the show, revealed that his favorite part of the series thus far is "the last episode, the eighth episode." He cautiously added, "I'm not going to say why, because I'm going to leave a few details unexplored." Other cast members agreed that their favorite episodes of the show were the final two.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power releases new episodes on Fridays on Prime Video, with Episode 7 premiering on Oct. 7, 2022.
Source: Variety