Idris Elba as James Bond, and 5 Other Roles That Could Benefit From Color-Blind Casting
The recent superhero boom has been a godsend for every young white guy in Hollywood, but what about the non-white actors who can't even get an audition for the title roles in Thor or Captain America? The buzz surrounding Donald Glover's attempt to try out for Spider-Man is indicative of a wider problem: big action tentpoles are what traditionally launched black movie stars like Will Smith, but when those tentpoles are replaced by comic book adaptations, there are far fewer starring roles out there for anyone who isn't a handsome white guy in his twenties.
Can Hollywood think bigger? We've taken 6 iconic roles (both superhero and action hero) that have traditionally cast from a pool of white actors, and expanded that pool quite a bit. Here are our suggestions for casting directors who want to think outside the box:
Idris Elba as James Bond
The British-born Elba (The Wire, Obsessed) has already been a beneficiary of color-blind casting. In the recent action film The Losers, he played Roque, and in Thor, he'll play Heimdall; both characters were white in their original comic book incarnations. Why not take it a step further and give the ultra-suave Elba a license to kill?
Brandon T. Jackson as Spider-Man
The gangly young actor impressed as rapper Alpa Chino in Tropic Thunder, then got cast as the sidekick in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Still, we think he could play nerdy Peter Parker just as well as Marc Webb's shortlist of mostly British beauties.
Édgar Ramírez as Batman
The Venezuelan-born Ramírez is a true 21st century actor, a cultured man fluent in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian. Macho and square-jawed enough to kick the crap out of thugs, yet handsome and polished enough to pull off Bruce Wayne, the actor (who recently impressed in the Cannes entry Carlos) would make a perfect Caped Crusader.
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The name's Bell. Stringer Bell.
I love the idea of Idris Elba as James Bond. Definitely my favorite casting choice of this bunch.
Edgar is yumyum. Must seek out some of his movies.
No...just no..
I'll be damned if I see a black James Bond. It's just wrong. You wouldn't cast a white man in an all-Chinese costume drama would you? As soon as there is a lack in black people in a film, it's suddenly racism. This politically correct bullsh*t is going too far.
Pretty sure the dude just has to be British, which is covered.
Also: "You wouldn't cast a white man in an all-Chinese costume drama would you?" is a joke, right?
Whoah. These are some really bad suggestions, dude. It's a good thing you don't work in casting. Race doesn't even enter into it. Just bad choices.
to the person who says you can't cast a white guy in a chinese film. You obviously haven't heard the controversy with dragonball revolution and the last airbender as they were originally asian but cast as white actors.
Zoe Saldana would be more fun to watch as Dinah Lance, Black Canary, in the Justice League of America movie if that ever happens. The role of Wonder Woman is going to be a career killer for any actress, guaranteed.
I'm all for color blind casting - the more the better. And kudos to giving us choices besides the same 3 black guys that are deemed capable of opening a film (Foxx, Smith, and Morgan freeman if you need a President-type guy).
But why throw the baby out w/ the bathwater? Saldana would be an AWESOME choice for Wonder Woman, and if they are re-booting Spiderman, ethnically diverse actors should great a chance to audition... BUT Craig is a great Bond, Downey is a terrific Iron Man, and Bale the best Batman - I wouldn't chuck any of those 3 out of their roles at the moment.
Just in case you were going for sarcasm, but it didn't translate: You may want to check out "the Good Earth" (1937) starring Paul Muni and Luise Rainer as Chinese peasants in Hollywood's first big Chinese costume drama with sound - they were the first in a looong line of caucasian actors playing asian roles in big films set in asia and beyond. (DW Griffith started the trend in 1919 by casting Lillian Gish as a Chinese woman in "Broken Blossoms".)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Earth_(film)
TCM also has a great article on the history of "yellowface" casting in Hollywood:
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=201608&mainArticleId=196827
That's just nuts. Next you'll want to cast Dolph Lundgren as Muhammad Ali. Leave a character's race at what it really is and quit trying to be so goddamned PC. You just look stupid.
Why would Edgar Ramirez even be on this list? He doesn't fall into the color category.
But Edgar would be the only good choice on this list.
Non Tut, YOU look stupid hanging on to a character's race rather than realizing it's what makes these characters what they are have to do more with their upbringing and characteristics rather than the color of their skin.
Ugh, that reads like gibberish. In short, a superhero's race has little to do with the actual character.
The one that stands out for me is Mickey Rooney as a Japanese man in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Wasn't Tom Cruise The Last Samurai? How can a dude from New Jersey be the last of a Japanese warrior class? (Y'know, without the last name Blart?)
I would pay to see you say that to Idris' face. This would be the only time I would want his inner Stringer Bell to come out on you. Now call and vent on the Glen Beck show with the other like minded souls.
God, I am entertained by the "skin doesn't matter -- leave the white people alone!" defense. That's not the point, people. The point is: Why not? Nobody's up in arms here, relax.
If you are a purist about how the characters were conceived by their creators, then, for example, Daniel Craig is actually wrong for Bond because he's blonde. The Bond folks got a lot of flack for that... but it worked. (Well, Craig worked. I'm mixed on Quantum of Solace.)
Just finished season 3 of The Wire recently and I love Elba. Was actually stunned to discover he was a Brit and am glad to see he's popping up in various things. I actually think he'd fit the bill as Bruce Wayne, something kind of regal about him.
In a world with Gina Torres you'd really cast Zoe Saldana as Wonder Woman? I don't think Zoe could gain enough weight or enough badass to be our Amazon princess over Gina.
Good post, but Boris Kodjoe just isn't on the same level--still has the blankness of a former model. And Brandon T. Jackson? He's TV all the way.
exactly. messing with popular source materials is a dangerous game. the backlash can be deadly. I think in the case of The Last Airbender it has been a tad over the top and stupid but I can see where the detractors are coming from to form their opinions. and can see where many folks would freak to see a similar treatment to major icons.
And i'm sorry but I have to shake my head a little when I see folks talking about color blind casting because often what they really mean is colored casting. As in 'don't hire someone because he/she is white, even if that audition was 1000 times better than all the others'.
that said, are there not non white comicbook characters etc that could receive some attention. I bet there are. and why do you have to cast anyone as James Bond. Why can't we have someone create a character just as hip and tough and suave who is anything but white. I bet if someone was willing to do some research there's a black, hispanic, or whatever spy in some little known historical story that could be spun out into a character that if done right would be just as big as Bond.
Remember Hancock? Or Spawn? OrCatwoman? Maybe black people just make terrible super heroes.
Right. By all means, let's get Woody Allen to play Shaft, or Oprah to play Queen Elizabeth II. Nobody will notice the difference.
I actually think Denzel would have made a great Bruce Wayne about a decade ago.
Bond has always been a mascot for Britain's waning Empire, so anyone but a conquering Anglo Saxon would be sacrilege. Then again, Ian Fleming was apparently a notorious ass man, so maybe it's not so inappropriate ...
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/04/bottoms-up/4719/
In all fairness, almost all superhero movies have been pretty shitty, so - by your logic - most white people make terrible super heroes too.
False. X-Men 2 was very good (and Halle Berry makes a great Storm, if not autistically styled), most of the Batman movies have been good (exceptions for Joel Schumacher's takes) , Iron Man was great, Superman is treasured, and Spiderman 1 and 2 were pretty well done... the list goes on I'm sure.
You know what was awful though? Fantastic Four. Black director. Funny that.
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