The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has seen its share of backlash online over its diverse casting, something that had manifested before the series was even released on Prime Video. While the complaints seem to come from a vocal but small section of the audience, some of them take things much further than merely criticizing the show’s casting on social media. One of the stars of The Rings of Power, Ismael Cruz Cordova, recently explained on the Just for Variety podcast how there were people who’d been harassing him personally, from hacking his phone to sending death threats. As Cordova explains:

“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. [But] we’re still here.”

One complaint the trolls have had is that elves shouldn’t be Black. Concerning his casting in the show, Cordova explained how he thrives on rejection, and that played a part in why he wanted to play a Black elf so much in The Rings of Power. Traditionally, elves have most often been depicted as white, and Cordova felt that his casting as a Black elf was very important as it would help “change things.” Cordova said: “I grew up with that rejection all around me. And that’s something that’s driven me. 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.”

A Therapist Was Hired by Amazon Studios for the Cast

The online criticism did not affect the casting. Cordova even revealed how Amazon Studios had hired an on-set therapist to have on hand to help anyone who may be struggling with the racist backlash against the cast. From his view, Cordova found it to be very beneficial to have the therapist on set, as he found her presence comforting even when he personally didn’t need to speak with her. The actor said:

“You need support when this happens because the voices are so loud and they’re coming at you from so many places. I loved seeing her there, even if we didn’t speak. I knew there was someone there seeing me completely. It wasn’t just as an actor.”

To see the show, you can stream the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video. Season 2 does not yet have a premiere date.