So a white actor is to play a role originally envisaged for a black one and this, of course is racist.
Danny Lee Wynter, who set up diversity campaign Act for Change, said black actors were “confused and understandably angry” when Edward Holcroft was chosen for London Spy after many of them had auditioned.
He said the part was originally advertised for “an immensely talented non-Caucasian actor” and auditions had taken place for what was described as “a pivotal role in this brilliant original drama series”.
Maybe the black actors who auditioned for the role weren’t sufficiently talented? Who knows? Frankly who should care? This is not racist. Any more than the decision of the BBC to put black actors in roles that were once played by white people. Remember “Survivors” the remake? The lead character changed colour. No one claimed that this was racist. The Duke of York in the TV film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V was black. I think we can be pretty sure there were no black nobles fighting at Agincourt, but this passed without remark – and quite rightly so. The actor played the part well, so was believable. His skin colour was of no consequence.
But, oh my lord, turn the tables and suddenly it’s racist. No. Really, no, it isn’t.
“non-Caucasian actor”…. THAT is racist, because it limits the choice based upon colour of skin!
But hey, lets test this, Let’s make a remake of Shaka Zulu with a White actor in the lead, or do Shakespeares King Lear with Anthony Hopkins playing the lead……I predict much squealing from those of the brown persuasion.
Do you mean Othello? Shome mishtake shurely?
Yeah, wrong geezer innit : )
The current remake of Ironside has a black lead. Very good he is too compared to Raymond Burr. He has been demoted to sergeant though so maybe it is racist!
The original series of Survivors was much better. All coming true tho’ isn’t it?
The BBC recently did a series of Shakespeare’s historical plays. In each one, one of the supporting actors was black. I do not remember anyone complaining that a black player was playing the part of a white person. It just shows how racist the complainant is. (In reality all that is happenin, is that some people are trying to drum up jobs for black actors. Are they acting as agents, and getting a cut of the fees.)
Who can forget the BBC’s Robin Hood with a black Guinevere? On this basis, that must have been a racist casting too.
Who was that Australian film critic over here in the eighties, bald bugger, clever as fook? Any way, he had a programme where he took the pee out of foreign telly. In one section he showed how Kenyan tv portrayed whites, Imperial white judges no less. The judge was played by an Idi Amin alike, with, would you believe, flour and water whitening. The makeup artists couldn’t use anything more longer lasting because the actor also played parts as a black man. So fuckin* what? Othello played by a whitey? Shylock having a secret foreskin? Bollock*, it’s theatre, you leave reality and credibility at the door. Lose yourself in the story, or become such an anal retentive shi* that you can’t enjoy anything just in case it offends someone somewhere. Cunt*, the lot of them.