Posted by The Millennial Press on May 28, 2023 3:05 pm
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Actor claims need for on-set therapist over racist backlash to ‘Rings of Power’

Jenny Goldsberry May 28, 02:40 PMMay 28, 02:40 PM Video Embed

Actor Ismael Cruz Córdova revealed that a therapist has been hired on the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for his benefit.

Córdova talked about the hire at length during a podcast interview with Variety.

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The therapist is slated to help the actor deal with an onslaught of racist backlash since he was cast on the Amazon Prime series. At times, Córdova doesn’t need to speak to this therapist to feel her benefit because her presence alone reminds him “there was someone there seeing [him] completely.”

“You need support when this happens because the voices are so loud, and they’re coming at you from so many places,” Córdova said.

As a result of Córdova being the first person of color to play an elf, starring as Arondir, he has received death threats and unwanted mail along with attempted hacks into his phone, PayPal, and bank accounts. Subsequently, Córdova has experienced “a psychological and mental health impact.”

“I grew up with that rejection all around me. And that’s something that’s driven me,” Córdova shared. “I was not going to take a ‘no’ for an answer because I knew what this role would entail. I knew what it would do in the scope of fantasy. 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.”

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LOTR star Elijah Wood gave Córdova his support last year when he tweeted a photo of himself wearing a shirt with elf ears of all different skin colors. It was captioned “You Are All Welcome Here.”

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