Ismael Cruz Córdova says his celebrity crush is Oprah Winfrey

Ismael Cruz Córdova has revealed who his celebrity crush is! The Rings of Power star stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday, where he shared his experience at the Emmys, coming close to who he deemed his “celebrity crush.”

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Kimmel asked the Puerto Rican-born actor if he was able to meet Oprah Winfrey. “I actually did not. I mean I could feel her presence, I think everybody did,” he said. “When she came in it was just like a wave. And her mask was kind of awkwardly huge, and kind of covered half of her face,” he said with a giggle.

“But we all knew it was her. I was telling my friend, ‘I was getting coy, I was getting nervous,’ like ‘I think I just realized that my celebrity crush is Oprah.’” You can even see how happy Córdova was while she was on stage.

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The proud Black Latino said he stood up, “and blushed.” “Well- I don’t blush,” he quipped but, “I stood up, and I was like feeling gitty and excited.” It was at that moment when Córdova realized, “I’m here.”

The handsome actor was our digital cover star in August, where he opened up to us about the sacrifices and journey he has had to make his dreams come true. Córdova plays “Arondir” and is the first person of color to ever play an elf in a Tolkien project, which has always been his dream.

When he was a kid, he saved money to buy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD and told us, “All these circumstances that I had gone through in my life for some reason made me feel very connected to the elves.”

Unfortunately, his casting has not come without racist pushback. Córdova told us, “Sometimes it hurts, and it weighs you down,” but assured, “the obstacles that I’ve gone through already in my life- these little bits of vitriol, pale in comparison.” “I always say, ‘if you can see it, you can imagine it, and if you can imagine it, you can create it.’ So me being here and being this role, and standing proudly in this role, creates the space for other people like myself to see themselves, imagine themselves, and go ahead and create whatever life they want for themselves,” he added.

Read our full interview with the actor here.