The Rings Of Power: Ismael Cruz Córdova Struggled With His Mental Health After Backlash
"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has taken the concept of Middle-earth adaptations to all-new places. From its role as the first serialized television show set in J. R. R. Tolkien's world to its epic Second Age narrative, "The Rings of Power" is exploring Tolkien's creation like never before.
The show has also expanded the number of Middle-earth characters significantly — a necessity for a story set in an era that the author left largely under-developed. From Harfoots to Humans, Dwarves to Orcs, Elves to Angels, there is no shortage of new faces. Many of these new characters come to us as part of a casting process that prioritized diversity and inclusion — another groundbreaking development in Middle-earth. The Dwarven Princess Disa is brought to life by Sophia Nomvete; the wonderfully talented Cynthia Addai-Robinson portrays the Human royal Míriel; British comedy icon Lenny Henry inhabits the Harfoot leader Sadoc Burrows ... and Ismael Cruz Córdova fills the shoes of the stoic Elf-warden Arondir.
All of these actors have delivered wonderful performances in their roles so far. And yet, despite their expert skills, in an interview with Variety, Córdova pointed out that he and other members of the cast have faced their fair share of pushback as people of color acting in Middle-earth.
"It hurt," the Puerto Rican actor explained. "It had a psychological and mental health impact." Córdova, who has detailed various aspects of the experience in multiple interviews, went on to clarify why he's so vocal about the unpleasant aspects of his Middle-earth acting journey, "That's something that I'm very, very open about so that people understand that what they do and say online really hurts people, really has an impact on us."
Amazon hired an on-set therapist to help
In the same interview, Ismael Cruz Córdova went into more detail about the kind and degree of harassment that he's received while appearing on "The Rings of Power." It turns out that this went far beyond inappropriate comments in YouTube threads or hate-filled fan reviews. These were just the outer surface of a much more invasive racist backlash that took various forms.
Córdova provided a few examples, saying, "My phone got hacked. 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." On his Twitter feed, the actor made a specific request to fans not to tag him in negative threads, pointing out that they "weigh my spirit down. I'm an artist that creates from the heart & I need to protect it."
Despite the traumatizing experience, Córdova is still upbeat and remains positive about his role. "We're still here," he told the interviewer. He and his fellow actors have clearly developed a thick skin throughout the early promotion for the show and as Season 1 aired last autumn. Despite the tenacity, Córdova and the rest of the diverse cast came under so much pressure that the production hired an on-set therapist to help them as they processed and pushed through the backlash.
"You need support when this happens," Córdova said, "because the voices are so loud and they're coming at you from so many places." The actor added, "I loved seeing her [the therapist] there, even if we didn't speak ... I knew there was someone there seeing me completely. It wasn't just as an actor."
Córdova was enthusiastic about showcasing Elven diversity
Ismael Cruz Córdova's path to playing Arondir wasn't easy. The actor auditioned multiple times before he ended the months-long process of landing the role. Nevertheless, he showed a remarkable degree of grit and determination in becoming a part of the Middle-earth experience, much of which came from his own past trials.
The actor explained in his Variety interview that he grew up in a world of rejection, which he used to fuel him and drive him toward his ambitions. When it came to Middle-earth, in particular, Córdova knew that he had a role to play — and it wasn't as a Man. "I knew what it would do in the scope of fantasy," he told Variety, "I knew that I wanted to be part of something historic, especially with the elves. The elves have been historically portrayed as white and Aryan. I wanted to be an elf. I was a mountain boy [who grew up in Puerto Rico]. I was in love with nature, and I knew it would change things."
Whatever role Córdova lands next, fans can rest assured that he will go about his business with the same passion and commitment that he has brought to his Arondir character. While racist backlash is an unwelcome side effect of diversity and inclusion casting, it's always encouraging to see actors rise above the noise and seek to deliver a quality performance in the name of their craft. Knowing that they have the support and mental health resources available behind the scenes only makes it that much better.