Amazon’s latest fantasy series, The Rings of Power, has introduced fans of JRR Tolkien’s iconic literary work to a slew of new Lord of the Rings characters. Among the fresh additions to the sprawling world of Middle-earth is the elf Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova. However, this isn’t Córdova’s first outing with a major franchise. The actor has previously starred in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian – although you may not have recognised him straight away.
That’s right, before fantasy Córdova was in a sci-fi series, playing the Star Wars character Qin – designated prisoner X-Six-Nine-Eleven and an old enemy of Din Djarin – in a galaxy far, far away. Before all you Star Wars die-hards start kicking yourself for not realising Córdova’s identity, it is understandable if you didn’t recognise the actor from his time in the beloved franchise.
There is no getting around the fact that the hefty amount of prosthetics and makeup the star had to wear for his appearances in The Mandalorian was pretty intense. Qin is a Twi’lek, an alien species with pale purple skin, no eyebrows, and some pretty extreme-looking appendages coming out the top of their heads.
The actor had a complete transformation to fit the bill of the striking alien species and is, let’s face it, pretty unrecognisable as a result. Check out a picture of Qin below:
Córdova’s look in The Rings of Power, on the other hand, just sees the actor rock some pointy elf ears, meaning his face – prosthetics-free – is in full view. However, despite the differences in appearances, it is high time people start recognising Córdova for the franchise TV series giant that he is slowly becoming.
You can now watch the first two episodes of The Rings of Power on the streaming service Prime Video. To sign up for a Prime membership, click our link here.