While some kids spend part of their childhood using their imagination and pretending to be superheroes, world-famous athletes, or kings and queens who rule over their stuffed animals, actor Ismael Cruz Córdova imagined what it would be like to be an elf from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.
It wasn’t a role, however, that he thought he would ever get to play since the elves that he saw growing up in Puerto Rico didn’t look anything like him.
“I didn’t see myself represented,” Córdova told TIME magazine, which he graced the cover of with his co-stars from Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “And when I said, ‘I want to be an elf,’ people said, ‘Elves don’t look like you.’”
Now, Córdova is about to debut an elfin character on one of the biggest stages he could have imagined. On September 2, 2022, he will play Arondir, a bow-and-arrow-toting silvan elf in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The role will make Córdova the first person of color to play an elf onscreen in a Tolkien project and will premiere on Prime Video.
“When I heard about the character on the show, it felt like a mission,” Córdova said to TIME magazine.
Unfortunately, Córdova’s casting hasn’t happened without controversy. Some close-minded fans are actually upset that the series will feature characters who come in different and darker skin tones. Inclusivity was not something that was considered in the original The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.
The Rings of Power executives were quick to respond to negative comments made about the casting of Córdova or any other actors of color on the show. “We are open to criticism, but we are not open to racism,” said producer Lindsey Weber.
It looks like detractors will have to get used to the fact that there are now Latine characters living in Middle Earth — as there should be.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.
