Times Actors Got Some Backlash For The Roles They Picked
Sometimes actors love a particular role, they even ace it. But there are many problematic aspects to the same. When it comes to Hollywood, the marginalized people are many times portrayed by non-marginalized actors. One can argue that it’s the fault of casting directors as they can even cast marginalized actors.
Here are a few actors who had to face severe backlash for the roles they chose to portray.
1. Dakota Johnson
Marvel comics book fans are aware that in recent news, Dakota Johnson was cast as Madame Web in Sony’s Marvel Universe. For those who don’t know, Madame Web is a blind, elderly woman who can predict the future and is also an ally of Spider-Man.
Fans were not happy with the casting and criticized Dakota for disability erasure.
2. Eddie Redmayne
The Danish Girl got a few awards back in 2016 -2017. The movie was liked by many and even got an IMDb 7.1/10. But things weren’t that extraordinary for Eddie Redmayne. Though he was praised, he was also criticized by many.
Eddie is cisgender and was criticized for playing a trans woman. He told in an interview that he wouldn’t take it on now. “I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake”, he added.
3. Jake Gyllenhaal
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), was a big thing when they announced it, but Jake Gyllenhall was criticized for playing a Persian man in the movie. He even spoke about this controversial role stating, “I spend a lot of time trying to be very thoughtful about the roles that I pick and why I’m picking them.”
4. Angelina Jolie
She was heavily criticized for her role as Mariane Pearl, a journalism icon. The fans said the fact Mariane has Afro Chinese Cuban and Dutch ancestry wasn’t respected in the movie. She played the portrayal in the movie A Mighty Heart.
5. Jared Leto
Jared Leto is cisgender and was criticized for portraying Rayon, a transwoman in the film Dallas Buyers Club. He was heckled by a trans activist at a Film Festival. He argued by asking, “Because I am a man, I don’t deserve to play that part?” Jared went on to add, “So you would hold a role against someone who happened to be gay or lesbian — they can’t play a straight part? Then you’ve made sure people who are gay, people who aren’t straight, people like the Rayons of the world would never have the opportunity to turn the tables and explore parts of that art.”, as reported by Hollywood Reporter.
6. Emma Stone
Emma played Allison Ng, a Chinese Hawaiian and Swedish character in the film Aloha. Fans called her out for whitewashing the character.
