Dragons believable but not 'black hobbits': Rings of Power star Lenny Henry on racism in fantasy genre
India Today
The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power star Lenny Henry spoke about the racism in the fantasy genre. He said that the purists have 'trouble believing a black person as a hobbit or elf'.
Lenny Henry is having the time of his life. The popular British actor has now gone global. After a voiceover role in Netflix's Sandman, he will be seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime Video. Another fantasy drama which will see him in a primary role is the prequel of The Witcher on Netflix. The actor recently opened up about racism within the fantasy genre.
Lenny Henry plays the role of Sadoc Burrows in Rings of Power. The 64-year-old actor who portrays one of JRR Tolkien's famous hobbits, shared that an effort was being made to make the fantasy genre 'more inclusive'. The original Lord of the Rings films had no Black characters. While speaking to GQ, Lenny said, "They have no trouble believing in a dragon, but they do have trouble believing that a Black person could be a member of the court. Or that a Black person could be a hobbit or an elf. And, actually, storytellers can do what they want, because they're storytellers. In the reimagining of these stories from 1000 years ago, they are not part of the canon that everybody knows, this is a reimagining and re-weaving of the story."
The two upcoming fantasy dramas, Rings of Power and House of the Dragon, both include a more inclusive cast. Lenny further added, "JD Payne and Patrick McKay [Rings of Power showrunners] have just gone, 'What if?' The greatest two words in storytelling: What if."
Moses Ingram, who plays Reva Sevanda - the Third Sister in the Disney+ Hotstar's Obi-Wan Kenobi, also had to face racist comments from Star War fans. She took to her Instagram Stories to share a series of hate messages she received on social media.
The Star Wars franchise came forward in Ingram's support and shared a statement after she opened up about the online harassment. "We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold," read a tweet from The Star Wars official Twitter account. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist."
We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist. pic.twitter.com/lZW0yvseBk
