The original “Lord of the Rings” cast defended diversity in “Rings of Thrones” after complaining about actors of color, and the Prime Video show’s cast includes British-Jamaica, South African-Iranian and Puerto Rican actors.
The cast of the original Lord of the Rings movie trilogy has defended Prime Video’s The Rings of Power after the franchise faced backlash over its cast of people of color.
Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan as The Hobbit Frodo Baggins, Pippin Tooker, Merry Brandyback and Samwise Gunge and Sean Astin on social media to support the cast. Wood, Boyd, and Monaghan were spotted together wearing a T-shirt that said “You’re all here” in Elvish, and found different types of ears in Middle-earth in several skin tones. Meanwhile, Astin uploaded a separate personal photo of him wearing a hat of the same design, and all four actors shared a link to the merchandise and tagged the Ring of Power’s account. 50% of all proceeds from merchandise will go to charities that support people of color.
Ring of Thrones has come under fire as viewers criticise the casting of people of colour in lead roles such as actor Sir Lenny Henry, who has Jamaican parents, Puerto Rican Ismail Cruz Cordova and South African and Iranian Sofia Nome Werther. The first black woman to play a dwarf in The Lord of the Rings was also a woman. The series also defended its cast and made lengthy statements about Tolkien’s multicultural world.
We stand in solidarity with our cast. #YouAreAllWelcomeHere pic.twitter.com/HLIQdyqLmr
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) September 7, 2022
You are all welcome here.#RingsOfPower @LOTRonPrime #MiddleEarth #Samwise @ElijahWood @BillyBoydActor @DomsWildThings @DonMarshall72 https://t.co/w2tdZ4nFwN pic.twitter.com/f4RsBKE9an
— Sean Astin (@SeanAstin) September 7, 2022
You Are All Welcome Here @LOTRonPrime @DonMarshall72 #RingsOfPower https://t.co/8txOhlHa2f pic.twitter.com/nWytILT0zG
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) September 7, 2022
