Color-blind casting

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Nontraditional casting, integrated casting, or blind casting (short for color-blind/gender-blind casting) is the practice of casting without considering the actor's ethnicity, skin color, body shape, sex and/or gender. A representative of the Actors' Equity Association has disputed the use of the term "color blind", preferring the definition "nontraditional casting". Nontraditional casting "is defined as the casting of ethnic minority actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or gender is not germane".

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Examples

Production	Year	Description
The Mummy	1932	In the horror film, Boris Karloff plays Imhotep, who is Egyptian.
Doctor Zhivago	1965	Yuri Zhivago was played by Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.
Navajo Joe	1966	In the Western film, Burt Reynolds plays the Native American titular character.
Batman	1967	Eartha Kitt was cast as Catwoman on several episodes.
Jesus Christ Superstar	1973	African-American actor Carl Anderson was cast in the lead role of Judas Iscariot, successive to Ben Vereen playing the role in the original 1971 Broadway production.
I, Claudius	1976	Darien Angadi and Sam Dastor played key roles with Renu Setna and Roy Stewart in smaller speaking roles.
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu	1980	In the comedy film, Peter Sellers plays Fu Manchu.
Sadat	1983	Louis Gossett Jr. as Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, although Sadat's mother was from Sudan.
Never Say Never Again	1983	Black actor Bernie Casey was cast in the role of Felix Leiter. Most other depictions of Leiter, a recurring character in the James Bond franchise, have been white. Jeffrey Wright played the role in Casino Royale (2006).
Once Upon a Time in America	1984	In the crime drame film, Robert De Niro plays Noodles, a Jewish character.
The Mahabharata	1989	Men from distinctly different ethnic groups were cast to play Indian brothers in the epic story of the nation's mythical founding.
Batman	1989	Billy Dee Williams was cast as Harvey Dent in the 1989 film. In subsequent films, the character was played by Caucasian-American actors Tommy Lee Jones and Aaron Eckhart.
After the Fall	1990	Josette Simon played Maggie at the London National Theatre in 1990. The role is widely supposed to have been based on Arthur Miller's former wife Marilyn Monroe.
The Bonfire of the Vanities	1990	Morgan Freeman plays Judge Leonard White, who was described as Ashkenazi Jewish in the original novel on which the film is based.
Les Misérables	1993	Filipino singer and actress Lea Salonga plays Éponine in the Broadway production of Les Misérables.
The Pelican Brief	1993	Denzel Washington plays a character described as white in the original novel by John Grisham.
The Shawshank Redemption	1994	An adaptation of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The character Red, described as Irish in the novella, is played by Morgan Freeman.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella	1997	The movie contained a racially diverse cast, with Brandy Norwood as Cinderella, Bernadette Peters as her stepmother (with Veanne Cox and Natalie Desselle as Cinderella's stepsisters), Victor Garber as King Maximillian, Whoopi Goldberg as Queen Constantina, Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother and Paolo Montalban as their son, Prince Christopher.
The Nutty Professor	1996	Eddie Murphy plays Sherman Klump/Buddy Love, previously portrayed by Jerry Lewis.
The Big Lebowski	1998	In the crime comedy film, John Goodman plays a Jewish character.
Jinnah	1998	In the biographical film, Christopher Lee plays Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Dr. Dolittle	1998	Eddie Murphy plays Dr. John Dolittle, previously portrayed by Rex Harrison.
Annie	1999	Audra McDonald plays Grace, the secretary of Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks played by Victor Garber. At the film's ending, Grace and Warbucks become engaged. No reference is made that McDonald is African-American and Garber is white.
Wild Wild West	1999	African-American actor Will Smith plays Captain James West, a character originated by Caucasian actor Robert Conrad.
Arabian Nights	2000	In the miniseries, Dougray Scott, James Frain and Rufus Sewell play Arab characters.
This England: The Histories	2000	British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo played Henry VI of England. Oyelowo was the first black actor to play an English king in a major production of Shakespeare
Attila	2001	In the miniseries, Gerard Butler, who has Irish descent, plays Attila the Hun.
The Fast and the Furious	2001	In the crime action adventure film, the characters of Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster are siblings.
The Mummy Returns	2001	In the fantasy film, Arnold Vosloo plays Imhotep, who is Egyptian, and Oded Fehr, who is Israeli, plays a Muslim.
Smallville	2001	The television series cast African-American actor Sam Jones III as Clark Kent's childhood friend Pete Ross. In the decades-old comic books, this character was white. Kristin Kreuk, of Dutch and Chinese descent, was cast for the originally red-headed character Lana Lang; and Allison Mack was cast as Chloe Sullivan, written to have a non-white ethnic background.
Daredevil	2003	Black actor Michael Clarke Duncan played Wilson Fisk (AKA Kingpin), who was portrayed in earlier comics versions as a European American.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle	2003	Black actor Bernie Mac portrayed Bosley, who was previously portrayed as white and was played by Irish-American Bill Murray in Charlie's Angels (2000).
Hidalgo	2004	In the biographical western film, actor Viggo Mortensen plays Frank Hopkins, whose mother was Lakota.
Catwoman	2004	Halle Berry portrayed the titular character in the 2004 film.
Alexander	2004	Persian King Darius III is portrayed by Israeli actor Raz Degan. Indian King Porus was portrayed by Thai actor Bin Bunluerit.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	2005	Mos Def was cast as Ford Prefect. Although Ford's ethnicity was not explicitly stated in the books, he was described as having ginger hair.
Batman Begins	2005	Colin McFarlane was cast as Gillian B. Loeb in Batman Begins and its sequel, The Dark Knight.
Grey's Anatomy	2005	During the creation of the television series, none of the characters was assigned a race. Color-blind casting was used to choose the best actors for the roles, resulting in a racially diverse cast.
Casino Royale	2006	Jeffrey Wright was cast as Felix Leiter in Casino Royale and its sequel Quantum of Solace (2008).
Robin Hood	2006	Kwame Kwei-Armah was cast as De Fourtnoy (Master-at-Arms) in "Who Shot the Sheriff?", the third episode.
The Nativity Story'’	2006	Joseph is portrayed by Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac. Magi Balthasar was portrayed by Cameroonian-French actor Eriq Ebouaney. Elizabeth and Joachim were portrayed by Iranian actors Shohreh Aghdashloo and Shaun Toub, with the latter being Jewish.
300	2007	In the period film, Rodrigo Santoro plays King Xerxes of Persia.
Merlin	2008	Several non-white actors play roles traditionally described in the historic Arthurian legends as European, most notably Guinevere and Elyan the White.
Max Payne	2008	Ludacris plays the role of Internal Affairs agent Jim Bravura, who is portrayed as white in the video game.
Iron Man	2008	African-American actor Samuel L. Jackson played Nick Fury, who was previously depicted as white in a variety of mediums.
Body of Lies	2008	Mark Strong and Oscar Isaac play Arabs.
Shades of Ray	2008	Zachary Levi, who has Welsh ancestry, plays the half-Pakistani protagonist.
You Don't Mess with the Zohan	2008	In the comedy film, Italian American John Turturro plays a Palestinian character.
King Lear	2010	Black British actor Pippa Bennett-Warner played Cordelia in the 2010 Donmar Warehouse production of King Lear, starring Derek Jacobi in the title role.
The Karate Kid	2010	In Chinese American martial arts action drama film, black actor Jaden Smith plays main character of Dre. The original 1984 film of the same name had a slightly different story and the main character's name was Daniel LaRusso and he was of Caucasian descent.
Death at a Funeral	2010	A 2010 American ensemble comedy film directed by Neil LaBute. The film is an American remake of the 2007 British film of the same name. Most of characters in the remake were black while in the original movie they were of caucasian descent.
Resident Evil: Afterlife	2010	In the action horror film, Sienna Guillory plays Jill Valentine, who is half-Japanese in the Resident Evil video games.
Thor	2011	The role of the Asgardian sentry Heimdall, based on the Marvel Comics character commonly depicted as white, was played by Black British actor Idris Elba.
Skyfall	2012	The role of Miss Moneypenny, which had previously been cast as white, went to Naomie Harris. She reprised the role in the next James Bond film, Spectre.
Steel Magnolias	2012	A contemporary retelling of the play Steel Magnolias and its 1989 film adaptation. The new film stars an all-Black American cast, including Queen Latifah as M'Lynn, Jill Scott as Truvy, Condola Rashād as Shelby, Adepero Oduye as Annelle, with Phylicia Rashad as Clairee and Alfre Woodard as Ouiser.
47 Ronin	2013	In the fantasy film, Keanu Reeves plays the half-Japanese protagonist in late medieval Japan.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation	2013	In the military science fiction film, Dwayne Johnson plays Roadblock, sharing the character's African American descent but also being half Samoan.
The Great Gatsby	2013	Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan played Meyer Wolfsheim, a character described as Ashkenazi Jewish in the original novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Man of Steel	2013	The role of Perry White, previously portrayed by white actors, is played by African-American actor Laurence Fishburne.
The Sound of Music Live!	2013	Audra McDonald plays the Mother Abbess, a role traditionally played by a white actress.
Hannibal	2013	Laurence Fishburne co-starred as FBI agent Jack Crawford. In the previous films of this franchise, this character had been played by white actors.
Thor: The Dark World	2013	The role of the Asgardian sentry Heimdall, based on the Marvel Comics character commonly depicted as white, was played by Black British actor Idris Elba.
The Wolf of Wall Street	2013	Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort, who was Jewish.
Mary Kom	2014	Priyanka Chopra, who is of Punjabi heritage, portrays Mary Kom, who is of Kuki descent.
Annie	2014	Black actors Quvenzhané Wallis and Jamie Foxx played the characters Annie and Will (Warbucks) who have been portrayed as white in the previous productions.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2	2014	Jamie Foxx played Max Dillon / Electro, who was commonly depicted as white in the comics.
The Flash	2014	Black actress Candice Patton plays character of Iris West. The originating comic book series featured the character as Iris West Allen, who is of Caucasian descent. Wally West was also race-swapped, and played by African Australian actor Keiynan Lonsdale.
Fantastic Four	2015	Black actor Michael B. Jordan played the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), a character traditionally portrayed as white.
Hamilton	2015	Broadway musical. Historical figures including the Founding Fathers, who were all white in real life, are played by people of multiple different races.
Quantico	2015	Indian actress Priyanka Chopra portrays Alex Parrish, who was originally written as white. Eventually, the character become half-Indian.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens	2015	In the science fiction film, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, both of whom have partial Jewish descent, play the parents of Kylo Ren, who is portrayed by Adam Driver.
Supergirl	2015	In American television series, based on DC Comics character Supergirl, black actor Mehcad Brooks plays the character Jimmy Olsen and another black actor David Harewood plays the character Hank Henshaw. The originating comic book series featured the characters as James Bartholomew "Jimmy" Olsen and Hank Hendshaw, both as of Caucasian descent.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child	2016	Black actress Noma Dumezweni played Hermione Granger, a character that is white and portrayed by white actress Emma Watson in the Harry Potter films.
Suicide Squad	2016	African-American actor Will Smith played the supervillain Deadshot, a character traditionally portrayed as half-Hispanic.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again	2016	This remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show stars black actress Laverne Cox as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a role originated by white male actor Tim Curry. Victoria Justice, who is of Puerto Rican descent, portrays Janet Weiss, a role originated by Susan Sarandon. The film also features black actress Christina Milian as Magenta, a role originated by white actress Patricia Quinn.
Doctor Strange	2016	British-Nigerian actor Chiwetel Ejiofor played Karl Mordo, who is a Transylvanian baron in the comics the film is based on, and British actress Tilda Swinton played the Ancient One, traditionally represented as an old Himalayan man.
The Promise	2016	Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac plays the Armenian protagonist.
The Girl with All the Gifts	2016	In British post-apocalyptic zombie horror drama film, based on a novel by M.R. Carey of the same name, black actress Sennia Nanua plays main character of Melanie, who is of Caucasian descent.
Dynasty	2017	Based on the 1980s series of the same name where both of the lead families are white. In this reboot, the Colby family is portrayed by African-American actors.
Riverdale	2017	Based on the characters and setting of the long-running Archie Comics series, multiple characters traditionally depicted as white in the comics are portrayed by non-white actors in the show. Most notably, Veronica Lodge is portrayed by Camila Mendes, who is of Brazilian descent: indeed, the entire Lodge family has been depicted as being of Latin-American descent in the series. Reggie Mantle is portrayed by Asian-American actors Ross Butler in season 1, and Charles Melton from season 2 onwards, Pop Tate is portrayed by black actor Alvin Sanders and Josie and the Pussycats, a band originally consisting of one black member and two white members in the comics, are converted into an all-black group: Josie and Melody, both previously white, are portrayed by Ashleigh Murray and Hayley Law, respectively.
Spider-Man: Homecoming	2017	Anthony Revolori, of Guatemalan heritage, plays Flash Thompson, a white character from the comics previously portrayed in Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3 by Joe Manganiello.
Beauty and the Beast	2017	Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Plumette, a castle maid who was represented in the 1991 animated film as a white woman. Similarly, Audra McDonald plays Madame De Garderobe, an opera singer who was also white in the animated movie.
The Dark Tower	2017	Black actor Idris Elba plays Roland Deschain, a character who is described in the Dark Tower series as white and is said to have been inspired by white actor Clint Eastwood.
Frozen the Musical	2017	Black actor Jelani Alladin plays the character Kristoff, a Scandinavian ice harvester.
Thor: Ragnarok	2017	The role of the bounty hunter Valkyrie, based on the Marvel Comics character commonly depicted as white, is played by African American actress Tessa Thompson. The role of the Asgardian sentry Heimdall, based on the Marvel Comics character depicted as white, was played by Black British actor Idris Elba.
Justice League	2017	Aquaman/Arthur Curry was portrayed by Jason Momoa in this 2017 film.
Bohemian Rhapsody	2018	In the biographical film, Rami Malek plays Freddie Mercury, who had Parsi ancestry.
Troy: Fall of a City	2018	The BBC/Netflix co-production, which retells the Iliad, depicts Achilles and Zeus as being black, with the respective roles played by David Gyasi and Hakeem Kae-Kazim.
Deadpool 2	2018	The character Domino, drawn in comic books as an albino Caucasian with a dark patch of skin in a diamond surrounding her left eye, is portrayed by African-American German actress Zazie Beetz;
Fahrenheit 451	2018	The character Guy Montag, who was portrayed by Caucasian actor Oskar Werner in the 1966 adaptation, is portrayed by African-American actor Michael B. Jordan. Additionally, the character Clarisse McClellan (portrayed by Julie Christie in the 1966 film) is played by Algerian actress Sofia Boutella.
Titans	2018	African-American actor Anna Diop plays the character Koriand'r who in all other iterations depict her with an orange/tan complexion.
Colette	2018	Saudi actress Aiysha Hart plays the character Polaire. Polaire is a French woman.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu	2018	Biracial actor Justice Smith plays the main human character Tim Goodman, who was a brunette Caucasian male in the 2016 video game.
Mary Queen of Scots	2018	A British historical drama included Gemma Chan as Elizabeth Hardwick and Adrian Lester as Lord Thomas Randolph.
Birds of Prey	2020	Biracial actor Jurnee Smollett-Bell plays the character Black Canary who is Caucasian in the comics.

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Color-blind casting

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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