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[hodayathink]

It's great that there's now a precedent for this. Now people like ScarJo whose career is 100x more secure than "Daario from GoT s3" will have to answer questions about why they accepted a whitewashed role.

Even ignoring what I said earlier (it's the people who cast the movie's job not to let this happen, not the actors), GitS is the highest budgeted movie that ScarJo has ever been the lead in. By more than double. Even without the Rough Night/GitS combo, there's no guarantee that she gets to headline an action movie with that level of budget unless Marvel makes a Black Widow movie, since action movies with that level of budget with a female lead really don't happen very often. She would have found work in general, but let's not act like female led blockbusters were falling out of the sky before this year (or that they will be after this year, either).

 

[Doc_Drop]

Very classy, good man

 

[- J - D -]

Let's not go too crazy here. Skrein is an attractive, decently talented white male in Hollywood. He may ruffle a few feathers with this move, but he's going to get more roles.

I'm more concerned about Steven Yeun. His agent has his work cut out for him, I think.

It's not ideal, but Yeun is getting steady voice over work at least. He's in Voltron and plays the lead in the upcoming adaptation of Chew.

 

[TheSkullPrince]

Very classy of him. From now I will support his projects. I hope he lands more roles after this, please don't blacklist him Hollywood.

 

[Surface of Me]

Literally putting his money where his mouth is. Props, not a lot of people turn down money, especially if its just a point of principle.

 

[Korey]

So much respect.

That a relatively unknown actor, who probably really needed this job, would do this at the expense of his career and money speaks volumes about his character.

And fuck Scarlett Johansson. This just makes her look even worse.

 

[UrbanRats]

Cool move from him.

 

[Figboy79]

It's not ideal, but Yeun is getting steady voice over work at least. He's in Voltron and plays the lead in the upcoming adaptation of Chew.

Yeah, I'm glad that he's been getting voice work. He's doing a great job as Keith in Voltron. But I wonder how well is on screen work will do going forward. I hope he doesn't just fade away like so many actors and actresses.

 

[Adam Sadler]

Nice

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

It might be genuine from him, but then again it might be an attempt to save his career from the shitshow that would come from playing it.

And fuck Scarlett Johansson. This just makes her look even worse.

She's a woman in her 30s. While men's careers flourish at that age hers will only get harder, especially in an industry where lead female roles in big budget action movies are few and far between. Something like GitS comes up and she has to accept it (IMHO).

Skrein getting a supporting role in Hellboy? He can turn it down, come off smelling like roses, and easily find a role.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

It might be genuine from him, but then again it might be an attempt to save his career from the shitshow that would come from playing it.

Regardless of his intentions he still has more courage to not take this role than ScarJo and any other high profile actor taking roles meant for minorities.

 

[Caddywompus]

I feel like there's more to this story we don't know and probably never will. Why would you even audition for the role of an Asian character if you felt this way. Something changed his mind, I just wonder what it was.

 

[Nightfall]

I feel like there's more to this story we don't know and probably never will. Why would you even audition for the role of an Asian character if you felt this way. Something changed his mind, I just wonder what it was.

Like he said: He didn't know beforehand. And I believe him. Not every actor knows every comic book character. They're mostly unaware of the source material and I bet most start their research only after getting cast.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

Regardless of his intentions he still has more courage to not take this role than ScarJo and any other high profile actor taking roles meant for minorities.

I don't think so at all. From what I can gather the role is a supporting one and he's a white man in his acting prime.

 

[duckroll]

It might be genuine from him, but then again it might be an attempt to save his career from the shitshow that would come from playing it.

Skrein getting a supporting role in Hellboy? He can turn it down, come off smelling like roses, and easily find a role.

I don't think so at all. From what I can gather the role is a supporting one and he's a white man in his acting prime.

I mean.... let's assume that's all true... so what? He still did it, no one else has done it. People are happy to just take the role and move on. Everyone survives the backlash. Not enough people care. He took an active step to move aside and make it a statement. That's progressive. It's a good thing.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

I don't think so at all. From what I can gather the role is a supporting one and he's a white man in his acting prime.

Not to disrespect the man but Ed Skrein is not an A list actor. He's probably never gonna be one. He's barely a C lister. He's failed at being the leading man in films so most of his roles are supporting roles. He's got a lot more to lose than someone like ScarJo or Tilda Swinton or Matt Damon. He was well aware of the backlash and he stepped down, which is rare.

 

[MegalonJJ]

He's very good in the film, "ill manors".

 

[ronaldthump]

good. time for hollywood to take a stance. He'll get other roles

 

[weekev]

Is it wrong that I'm feeling a tad cynical about this? I love what he did and wish more people would do the same but I can't help but feel this will lead to him getting better roles in future. Fuck maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man.

 

[Korey]

Is it wrong that I'm feeling a tad cynical about this? I love what he did and wish more people would do the same but I can't help but feel this will lead to him getting better roles in future.

That would be fucking terrible.

 

[duckroll]

Is it wrong that I'm feeling a tad cynical about this? I love what he did and wish more people would do the same but I can't help but feel this will lead to him getting better roles in future. Fuck maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man.

If it leads him to getting better roles than it will indicate that more white actors should turn down whitewashed roles and they would get better roles and more positive PR. This in turn means casting directors and producers will see whitewashing as something there is significant push back against, which will mean they stop doing it.

So... who loses in this scenario?!

 

[Rentahamster]

Ed Skrein


The character he was supposed to play.



One, he should be older. Two, he's pretty Japanese-American. His grandmother is old school Japanese agent.

I wasn't disputing Skrein's bad fit for the role, though.

Is it wrong that I'm feeling a tad cynical about this? I love what he did and wish more people would do the same but I can't help but feel this will lead to him getting better roles in future. Fuck maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man.

If he gets rewarded directly or indirectly for his role in this, wouldn't that mean other miscast actors might be incentivized to do the same? Isn't that a good thing?

 

[Sesha]

Good on him for doing the right thing. I respect that.

Good. This has been getting ridiculous. Dr. Strange(the ancient one), Ghost in the Shell, Death Note both L and Light, all of them needlessly refuse to us Asians in the roles when it really shouldn't be that hard. I mean is it that hard?

And Battle Angel Alita, but the backlash for that has been almost non-existent for some reason.

Is it wrong that I'm feeling a tad cynical about this? I love what he did and wish more people would do the same but I can't help but feel this will lead to him getting better roles in future. Fuck maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man.

People being rewarded for doing a good thing isn't a bad, well, thing. Rewards are perhaps the most reliably way to get people to do so.

 

[wandering]

Good on him for doing the right thing. I respect that.



And Battle Angel Alita, but the backlash for that has been almost non-existent for some reason.



People being rewarded for doing a good thing isn't a bad, well, thing. Rewards are perhaps the most reliably way to get people to do so.

Alita gets more leeway because the source material is set in America and the characters' ethnicity aren't explicit. Plus the lead is Hispanic.

Funnily enough, Ed Skrein is in that movie.

 

[duckroll]

Alita gets more leeway because it's set in America and the characters' ethnicity aren't explicit. Plus the lead actress is Hispanic.

Funnily enough, Ed Skrein is in that movie.

I think he might be referring to how they turned Daisuke Ido into Dyson Ido and cast Christoph Waltz. Lol. Alita has both Lana Condor and Leonard Wu in it, so there are Asians in the cast at least.

 

[Diprosalic]

is that the singer that appeared on GoT and made people mad?

 

[Korey]

is that the singer that appeared on GoT and made people mad?

No but it'd be pretty hilarious if he were cast as this character. The backlash would be amazing.

 

[wandering]

I think he might be referring to how they turned Daisuke Ido into Dyson Ido and cast Christoph Waltz. Lol. Alita has both Lana Condor and Leonard Wu in it, so there are Asians in the cast at least.

Oh, true. Well Ido's one of the few characters where I'm not too fussed about when people see him as white. His name's written in katakana, and he's

Spoiler

a genetically engineered space clone

, so I just choose to believe he's just got a Japanese name cause he's a weeb.

Edit:
Also iirc in the manga there was something about the humans of the future being mostly descended from either the Japanese or Germans, so in a way Waltz could be accurate

 

[kmax]

Is it wrong that I'm feeling a tad cynical about this? I love what he did and wish more people would do the same but I can't help but feel this will lead to him getting better roles in future. Fuck maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man.

No one forced him to do this. He could of buckled down like a good little actor and collected his paycheck, but that would of meant that he'd be supporting the supression and whitewash of equality in the arts. There's no reason why an actor should get a role that was never meant for them - just for being white.

The fact that he's not even an A-lister puts him in a sensitive position as studios could easily discard him from now on. He's not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.

When someone comes out and shows compassion by helping others whose voices are actively being ignored, contenmplating whether their intentions are honest or not is self-defeating.

They did a good deed for the sake of others. That's all that matters.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

is that the singer that appeared on GoT and made people mad?

That's Ed Sheeran.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

No one forced him to do this. He could of buckled down like a good little actor and collected his paycheck, but that would of meant that he'd be supporting the supression and whitewash of equality in the arts. There's no reason why an actor should get a role that was never meant for them - just for being white.

The fact that he's not even an A-lister puts him in a sensitive position as studios could easily discard him from now on. He's not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.

When someone comes out and shows compassion by helping others whose voices are actively being ignored, contenmplating whether their intentions are honest or not is self-defeating.

They did a good deed for the sake of others. That's all that matters.

No one forced him to do it... but if he didn't he'd have been eviscerated for it. You know, I know it, he knows it.

 

[drabnon]

I think this proved that Skrein is a man of principle. It's easy to say, "I have progressive values and I support inclusive casting in films" etc etc, and it's another thing to actually show those values through actions. Skrein isn't exactly an A-list actor and he's turning down a paying gig—make no mistake, this is meaningful.

I understand that people have complaints about "double standards", as in, white roles rewritten for minorities, but the context for this situation is different. Asians can't even get roles as Asian characters, let alone white ones. It happens almost every single time to where I don't even get surprised when, for example, Zach McGowan gets cast as a Hawaiian war hero.

Mad respect to Skrein, he has earned himself a fan on this day (and I already liked him as Daario/Bad guy in Deadpool)

No one forced him to do it... but if he didn't he'd have been eviscerated for it. You know, I know it, he knows it.

Other actors have been eviscerated for taking roles of Asian characters. It doesn't seem to affect them that much in terms of roles or how much their movies make. This guy could have never said a word about it and taken the money like everyone else. Yes he would get a bit of backlash but, again, other actors have faced the same thing and taken the paying job. I find it a bit cynical and unfair to accuse him of dropping the role solely to avoid backlash. If it is that bad, why didn't Scarlett drop out of GitS, for example?

 

[UrbanRats]

Regardless of his intentions he still has more courage to not take this role than ScarJo and any other high profile actor taking roles meant for minorities.

Not to mention, ScarJo would probably have less trouble finding work than this random guy.

EDIT: Yeah you mentioned that in later posts!

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

No one forced him to do it... but if he didn't he'd have been eviscerated for it. You know, I know it, he knows it.

Ok? Can he not believe in having integrity for himself and respect for minorities in the film industry? I don't know the man and you don't know the man, but I also believe not everyone in Hollywood is only looking out for themselves.

 

[Saya]

This is a good start. He'll be fine. And with this development, hopefully it will be a little harder in the future for white people to accept Asian roles.

Some people just don't realize how few roles there are for POC compared to white guys.

Now let's see what the studio's next move is.

 

[ecosse_011172]

Well done to him, I'm well impressed, hopefully a huge step in the right direction.
He was terrible in GoT though.

 

[kmax]

No one forced him to do it... but if he didn't he'd have been eviscerated for it. You know, I know it, he knows it.

They don't care.

The voices have reached Hollywood many times over, and they have continued their practices and shown little regard in taking the very legitimate criticism seriously. They have their targets and demo audiences they're trying to appeal to, and couldn't care less about equality if it risks the bottom line. It's just one of those aspects that shows how cold business can be.

As for Skrein, sure he'd be eviscerated by fans, no doubt. He'd still get paid though, and would continue to get gigs as long as audiences show up to see the films and Hollywood continues to make its millions. That's how the system works.

Skrein just showed everybody how it's done when you have principles that you live by. You don't cover behind double speak and excuses.

You act.

 

[drabnon]

Well done to him, I'm well impressed, hopefully a huge step in the right direction.
He was terrible in GoT though.

Better than the guy who replaced him, imo

 

[Conor_Fool]

Gah damn, what a badass.

 

[wandering]

Might be worth mentioning that his daughter is half black so it's more than likely that he has at least a passing awareness of racial issues. I think it's completely fair to applaud him for his decision.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

Ok? Can he not believe in having integrity for himself and respect for minorities in the film industry? I don't know the man and you don't know the man.

Exactly. You don't know him but here we are lauding him for a compassionate decision anyway.

I'm not going to do that when it comes in the wake of the hindsight derived from a massive PR mess for other white actors. I'm also certainly not going to join in the chorus of people roasting Scarlett Johansson either.

But hey... +1 for a white male actor making an easy decision that will be looked fondly on by others in the industry.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Exactly. You don't know him but here we are lauding him for a compassionate decision anyway.

I'm not going to do that when it comes in the wake of the hindsight derived from a massive PR mess for other white actors. I'm also certainly not going to join in the chorus of people roasting Scarlett Johansson either.

We rag on ScarJo cuz she thought of every dumb excuse to keep her role even though she knew it was wrong.

 

[Saya]

 

[drabnon]

But hey... +1 for a white male actor making an easy decision that will be looked fondly on by others in the industry.

If it's an easy decision then why has it never happened before (as far as I know)? If the PR hit is as big as you're claiming, don't actors like Scarjo have even more incentive to drop out since they're already well-off actors who won't struggle to find roles?

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

We rag on ScarJo cuz she thought of every dumb excuse to keep her role even though she knew it was wrong.

She's a woman in her 30s who despite the years of success has had very few lead roles.

I'm not going to attack her for taking the job and then praise a white man in his prime for dropping a supporting role.

If it's an easy decision then why has it never happened before (as far as I know)? If the PR hit is as big as you're claiming, don't actors like Scarjo have even more incentive to drop out since they're already well-off actors who won't struggle to find roles?

Why has it never happened? Because we're in the perfect storm of racial discrimination and backlash caused by whitewashing in the industry.

Now it's an easy decision.

 

[duckroll]

She's a woman in her 30s who despite the years of success has had very few lead roles.

I'm not going to attack her for taking the job and then praise a white man in his prime for dropping a supporting role.

Why are you so focused on the actors in question rather than the bigger issue of representation? This isn't about actors who already have jobs, it's about those who don't. It seems you're all "OH MEH WHO CARES THIS ISN'T A BIG DEAL" because you're not interested in the issue of representation at all, which is what this is really about, instead you want to assign moral brownie points to what actors do. Who gives a crap? I don't care if he has an ulterior motive here, I don't care if his heartfelt feeling is genuine, that's between him and his own conscience. I care that he did the right thing and advocated for representation by putting his foot forward. Because that awareness helps and it's not about him, it's about the Asian Americans who don't get cast or even looked at because it's easier casting a white person from the huge pool of white actors.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

She's a woman in her 30s who despite the years of success has had very few lead roles.

I'm not going to attack her for taking the job and then praise a white man in his prime for dropping a supporting role.

She took a role that would have been perfect for a asian actress. She doesn't get a pass.

 

[Aske]

She's a woman in her 30s who despite the years of success has had very few lead roles.

I'm not going to attack her for taking the job and then praise a white man in his prime for dropping a supporting role.

I'd never blame anyone for taking a job, but this guy deserves kudos. Everyday activism, setting an example, taking a stand against whitewashing in Hollywood; I appreciate this behaviour, and I want to encourage it. Even if his reasons are entirely selfish, the statement remains valuable. Why try to make him pass a purity test when you can validate and encourage this behaviour?

 

[emalord]

She took a role that would have been perfect for a asian actress. She doesn't get a pass.

Casting was awful, a masculine woman was the perfect and only choice. I can hardly say Motoko Kusanagi is asian-looking so any actress (muscolar and androgynous) of any race could be the perfect choice.

 

[NHarmonic.]

Such a classy move, i'm speechless. Hope this inspires more change in the industry.


lol at people justifying Ghost in the Shell, seriously stop.