Photo: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
The actor will be the first Latino elf to grace theLord of the Ringssaga in Prime Video’s upcoming prequelThe Rings of Power. It’s a role he’s dreamed of playing since childhood.
“I didn’t see myself represented,” he toldTIMEof growing up in the mountains of Puerto Rico. “And when I said, ‘I want to be an elf,’ people said, ‘Elves don’t look like you.'”
He adds, “When I heard about the character on the show it felt like a mission.”
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
While auditioning during a top-secret casting process (including coded messages), the 35-year-old toldTIMEhe wasn’t sure which role he might eventually play. As he got closer to booking the role, Córdova was only told he’d be playing an “Aragorn-type man.”
Toward the end of the his auditions, he recalled, “They flew me out to New Zealand, and the night before my final read, they told me, ‘Actually, you’re playing an elf.’ It started to make sense because I was like, ‘Why does this man love trees so much?'”
While Córdova’s casting moves theLord of the Ringsfranchise forward in terms of inclusivity, his character is not the only one that will challenge the way thatJ.R.R. Tolkien’s books were originally written.
Rings of Powernotably added more diversity in both race and gender to the upcoming series, and there’s already been backlash fromLord of the Ringssuperfans who worry that the castings won’t represent the original characters.
Rings of Power producer Lindsey Weber shut that complaint down, tellingTIME: “We’re all up for criticism,” she said. “We’re not up for racism.”
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerpremieres Sept. 2 on Prime Video.
source: people.com
