Ian Mckellan, a brilliant actor known for his range of talents as an actor on stage, screen, and TV, and a favorite among fans, did an interview with BBC’s Amol Rajan, in which he defended actress Helen Mirren, who has faced criticism for playing former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, because she wasn’t Jewish. It’s a sad state of affairs these days when an actor is accused of discrimination because they are acting in a role that they don’t exactly replicate, or in Helen Mirren’s instance, because she wasn’t Jewish. There are those in Hollywood, actors included, that feel that you should only be assigned a part in a story if you fit the description of the role. Meaning that if the part calls for a gay, lesbian, non-binary, man, woman, Asian, Indian, Cuban, handicapped, or blind person, then you should fit those credentials to the tee, or risk not getting cast. It’s ludicrous, manipulative, and shallow. Hollywood is afraid of their own shadow, in their attempts to not offend everyone. Ian McKellen disagreed with this assessment that you should only be cast in roles because you fit the part, because as he put it, actors are just pretending, and isn’t that the whole point.
Actors Act and Play Make Believe
It’s going to come to the point where Hollywood studios won’t be producing any content, because they can’t find someone to fit a handicapped, non-binary, half Jewish half Catholic, conservative leaning environmentalist. It sounds ridiculous, but this is what the crazy people on the left are calling for. Ian McKellen questioned very plainly in his interview, if he should be denied a part in Macbeth because he wasn’t heterosexual. McKellen suggested that that was absurd, and that actors were just playing a part and were pretending.
“There are two things: is the argument that a gentile cannot play a Jew and is the argument therefore that a Jew cannot play a gentile? Is the argument that a straight man cannot play a gay part, and if so does that mean I can’t play straight parts and I’m not allowed to explore the fascinating subject of heterosexuality in Macbeth? Surely not. We’re acting. We’re pretending. Now, are we capable of understanding what it is to be Jewish? Are we going to convince a Jewish audience that we’re Jewish? Perhaps we don’t need to because we are just acting.”
I’m not sure how much simpler you can make that argument. Ian McKellen is exactly right. Actors, directors, producers, and studios, all need to ignore this obsession they have with bending the knee to the social media mob whenever someone complains, because an actor cast in a role didn’t check the appropriate boxes. It shouldn’t matter because they are acting a part in a story, not claiming to be whoever they are portraying. Isn’t that why we used to pay to go to the movies? So we could escape into a world of make believe?
Sorry…You’re Just Not Hispanic Enough
Aaron Sorkin was recently criticized for casting Javier Bardem, a Spaniard, as Desi Arnaz, who was Cuban, saying that Hollywood is resegregating itself and handing out empty gestures.
“It’s heartbreaking, and a little chilling to see members of the artistic community resegregating ourselves. You can act being attracted to someone, but can’t act gay or straight. So this notion that only gay actors should play gay characters? That only a Cuban actor should play Desi? Honestly, I think it’s the mother of all empty gestures and a bad idea.”
“You can act being attracted to someone, but can’t act gay or straight. So this notion that only gay actors should play gay characters? That only a Cuban actor should play Desi? Honestly, I think it’s the mother of all empty gestures and a bad idea.”
— Sunday Times Culture (@ST_Culture) December 19, 2021
This is how crazy it’s become. The actor playing Desi was Hispanic, but not the right kind of Hispanic. Seriously? Yes…seriously. With this kind of capitulation and attitude towards casting, Hollywood will end up eating itself alive, producing bad content that no one will want to see. Oh wait, they are already doing that. There’s a Steven Spielberg movie that comes to mind that recently flopped at the box office, because he thought it prudent to hire based on race rather than talent.
Related: Another Woke Takedown?
Are Hollywood Actors Not Proud of Their Talents?
Another example of this, is actor Hank Azaria who voiced Abu on the Simpsons who was Indian. Azaria was called out as being racist, and not only did he resign from playing the part, but apologized and said he needed to do better. He said he was apologizing to fans, but he was only apologizing to the social media mob who came after him. It was out of left field and not called for. Actor Eddie Redmayne, known for the Fantastic Beasts movies, came out last year and said that he wouldn’t have accepted his Oscar nominated role in ‘The Danish Girl’, because that role should have went to a transgendered actor, for whom he was playing. Eddie Redmayne also obliged and bent the knee, saying it was a mistake. Please get off the woke pedestal and just act and be quiet. Are you not proud of your ability in the craft of acting?
Hollywood is Going to Drown Trying Not to Offend Everyone
There’s also examples of where this has had the opposite effect. Peter Dinklage recently called out Disney for having Dwarfs in an upcoming live action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, implying that it was offensive. Disney has backed themselves into such a diversity and inclusion corner, and bent the knee to everyone, that they said they were sorry and stated that they would essentially be replacing the dwarfs with some sort of magical creatures. What happened as a result, was the dwarf community lashing out at Peter Dinklage for costing them high paying jobs. Hollywood can’t have it both ways and satisfy everyone. Someone is always going to be offended. Are there people who are offended by Tootsie or Mrs. Doubtfire because they were played by white males pretending to be women? Probably, but who cares? Movies like that would suck if we focused solely on hiring for race and gender as opposed to talent and experience. Ian McKellen is a man of many talents with words of wisdom to be followed. He is exactly right when he says actors are just pretenders. Hollywood should heed what McKellen said in his interview, along with others like Aaron Sorkin, or Hollywood is going to drown trying not to offend everyone.
