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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Comments
I can only guess what race of person you are. I bet you did not say anything like that with this new Prince of Persia movie being out and it being a white person playing a Persian role. The funny thing is things like Prince of Persia make other people around the world laugh at the fact that white Americans can only support a film like that if there is a white person playing the part. I guess that also explains the white Jesus thing also. LOL.
you're being a clown. woody allen for shaft? oprah for queen elizabeth? if you paid attention to the article more than your emotions you would realize they chose black actors who fit the role. They didn't just say Ice Cube as Tony Starks or Shaquille o'neill as Batman. It's simple. This article is proposing that you give acting roles to people that FIT the role REGARDLESS of race. Obviously they wouldn't give Muhammad Ali to an actor of dissimilar race because he's a nonfictional character, DUHH. These are fictional characters open to interpretation and whoever can present my 12 bucks with the BEST interpretation, booyah!
Being a Hack director has nothing to do with color. They are just drawn to the superhero-action genre.
You hit the nail on the head with Gina as Wonder Woman. Zoe is talented but she doesn't have nearly the chops or the commanding presence Gina has. She wouldn't need a lasso to get the truth out of people.
Of all the picks on this list, the one I have beef with is Boris Kodjoe as the Man of Steel. He's nice to look at but in order to do the role justice (no pun intended) the perfect choice would be Henry Simmons from NYPD Blue. It's beyond me why this man isn't a superstar.
You hit the nail on the head with Gina as Wonder Woman. Zoe is talented but she doesn't have nearly the chops or the commanding presence Gina has. She wouldn't need a lasso to get the truth out of people.
Of all the picks on this list, the one I have beef with is Boris Kodjoe as the Man of Steel. He's nice to look at but in order to do the role justice (no pun intended) the perfect choice would be Henry Simmons from NYPD Blue. It's beyond me why this man isn't a superstar.
You know what WASN'T horrible?
BLADE 1, 2 and 3... starring Wesley Snipes. So STFU, obviously you know not what you speak.
this is nothing but rascism. all these actors listed above are great. whitl films, or black. whites are afraid of their little sacred superhero movies getting taken away.. if the actors fit, give them the opportunity.
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