Lenny Henry says fantasy fans can ‘believe in dragons’ but can’t accept Black actors

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. While the original LOTR films featured no Black characters, both The Rings of Power and new Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon have worked to feature more racially diverse casts. Recalling a conversation he had with Steve Toussaint about the actor’s casting in House of the Dragon, Henry said that “the purists were saying things” about a Black performer starring in the HBO series. 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.” Henry added: “ JD Payne and Patrick McKay have just gone, ‘What if?’ The greatest two words in storytelling: What if.” The Rings of Power comes to Prime Video on Friday 2 September.