Ismael Cruz Cordova had hopped, skipped and jumped across four continents in the last two months. But the Puerto Rican actor wasn’t going to allow jet lag to beat him and off he went to explore the sights and sounds of Singapore as soon as he landed in the country. “It is my first time in Singapore and I want to make the most of the short time I have here,” smiled Ismael as we settled down for a chat recently at the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore. A large part of the cast and crew of the Prime Video series was in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific premiere of Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Ismael — whose small screen cred includes prestigious titles like The Good Wife, Ray Donovan, The Mandalorian and many others — plays Arondir, a Silvan Elf, in The Rings of Power, Season 2 of which is now streaming on Prime Video. Joining Ismael in this interaction was 18-year-old Tyroe Muhafidin, who plays Theo, the son of Bronwyn in the series. The Australian actor has appeared in a few roles, but it is The Rings of Power that has been his biggest calling card so far.

The Rings of Power is based on JRR Tolkien’s history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, and is set thousands of years before the novel and depicts the major events of Middle-earth’s Second Age.

This is your first time in Singapore. The two of you should make it to India soon!

Ismael Cruz Cordova: I would love to! In fact, I just shot a film (The Bluff) with Priyanka Chopra (Jonas). I am hoping that my India connection gets stronger after this and takes me there.

The Lord of the Rings is pretty much at the top of every actor’s wish list. What was your first reaction a few years ago when you heard you had landed this gig?

Tyroe Muhafidin: I was a kid, man! I was this tall (gestures towards the floor). It was a long process initially and then, all of a sudden, it moved really fast and I found myself flying to New Zealand and doing screen tests. It was a feeling of pure joy! Being that young and being given an opportunity like that... I can’t even describe what it was like. It was just pure elation. And then getting down to work in the world of this story was so exciting. It was a blessing.
Ismael: I was auditioning for a long, long time. There were a few rounds of rejections but I kept fighting for it and fighting for it and fighting for it.

I finally got the role but the process of getting to it was so long and arduous that I didn’t even yell or celebrate. It was more relief than anything else. When it finally dawned on me, I was in New York City and I went out and just did a little dance on the street! (Laughs) At that moment, I realised that my life was going to change in ways that I didn’t even know then. And it did!

The makers have said that Season 2 is darker, scarier and grittier than the first. How have you seen that unfold while you shot this new season?

Ismael: That definitely started at the end of Season One. There is a suspicion of darkness that Arondir is one of the first people to notice. And then, by the end, you realise what it is — Sauron has arrived! That is when Season One ends. And when we come to Season 2, we are in the thick of it. Sauron is here and he has established his darkness.

That is where we start and we hit the ground running... Middle-earth is changing rapidly. Sauron is getting a lot of territory and it is not a matter of what is going to happen... it is about when it is going to happen. People need to act quickly and very big pivots need to happen. Very big decisions need to be made and that is where you will find us. There is no warming up. You see the first frame of the first episode and you know it will be different.
Tyroe: Now that we know the characters and the relationships, we can build on it and just get into pure entertainment, which is what this season is.

Would you say that you are now more evolved or more improved as actors after The Rings of Power experience?

Ismael: Absolutely! Before this, I had never done a Season 2 for any show. It is a completely different experience. This is a franchise that doesn’t only require you to be a good actor on camera, it also requires you to be an overall person in the public eye that carries a legacy that means so much to so many people. This piece of literature is one of the top literature in the history of the world. So, you are carrying a banner, whether you want it or not. And we signed up for it.

It really has changed me for the better. We have the opportunity of playing very noble characters. They are also flawed, which I love! I don’t trust anyone that says that they are good! (Laughs) We all make mistakes. We all are kind of terrible as well. So it makes you more compassionate, more empathetic. And the list goes on.

Tyroe, you have literally grown with your character!

Tyroe: True. This has been my whole life, you know! It has been a quarter of my life. This is all I know at the moment.

Tyroe, you make me feel very old!

Ismael: I was going to say that! See how satisfied he looks when he says: ‘I am young, I am young!’ (Laughs)
Tyroe: I am young now! I have to acknowledge it.
Ismael: Honestly, Tyroe keeps me present in the moment. Even I started out at the same age as him and his enjoyment and his living of it reminds me of how special it is.

What was your first brush with Tolkien and his world?

Ismael: For me, it was the movies, the cinema trilogy (directed by Peter Jackson). It is from there that I started becoming more of a fan of the written word, but it was the visual world that was my introduction.
Tyroe: I am younger than the trilogy itself! (Laughs)
Ismael: Okay, I am out (feigns mock horror and laughs out loud)
Tyroe: As a kid, I wasn’t really into it, but my dad loved it. At home, the movies played on TV all the time. So it is not that I wasn’t familiar with The Lord of the Rings. And then obviously once I got the role, I did a deep dive and I would say that I am a fan now. I am pretty clued in.