Just my opinion: Charlie Hunnam fans have a reason to be worried about his post-Sons of Anarchy career. Hunnam’s career jumpoff was supposed to be Crimson Peak and Fifty Shades of Grey. But Crimson Peak sort of bombed and he dropped out of FSOG after a lot of breast-beating and dramatics. Then his next big career move was supposed to be King Arthur, and it was supposed to be Hunnam’s big summer offering this year… only the release date got pushed back from July 2016 to February 2017, which is not good. So what is Charlie’s next big career move? Playing a Mexican-American cartel drug-lord. Seriously.
Before everyone completely loses it, Charlie has been cast as Edgar Valdez in what is a true story in the film American Drug Lord. Valdez was an American citizen, a high school football star in Texas, and he became the only American citizen to “rise to the level of cartel leader in Mexico.” Valdez was also light-skinned and blue-eyed, apparently, and he had the football and cartel-nickname of La Barbie. While Hunnam might “look the part,” this is still an example of Hollywood whitewashing. Even when Hollywood decides to make a movie about a Hispanic figure, they cast someone white (and English). Even when the casting could go any way – as in, they could have cast a Latino actor or a mixed-race actor – producers always go for the default white actor.
As Vanity Fair points out, the industry press is already calling out this casting choice as whitewashing. I think the announcement came at a bad time too, when we’re in the middle of a discussion about representation and diversity and #OscarsSoWhite. This also comes on the heels of some particularly egregious whitewashing examples in film, whether it’s Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in Pan, or Emma Stone playing an Asian-American woman in Aloha or everyone in Ridley Scott’s Exodus. Ugh.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
Oh god…..
Hunnam actually looks like La Barbie. Only difference is like 30- 50lbs…..
He does look like La Barbie, however there are plenty of blue eyed, blonde Hispanic actors that could have played him as well.
My husband is half Mexican and half Anglo. He’s fair skinned and green-eyed and most people don’t realize he’s half unless they know his last name or he mentions his family. There are plenty of Latinos that could fill this role and be of actual Latino/Hispanic heritage.
Gael García Bernal would have been a better casting call. He could have just lightened his hair.
I don’t think it is right that an ethnic role went to a European. However, I don’t think it is right that the only time we talk of Latino casting decisions are when it relates to drug cartel movies.
Diego Boneta would have been good, too. But no, latin actors are all dark skinned, brown eyed and whatever other sterotype you can think of.
I’m descending into a place of both amusement and despair.
I see blonde or at least blue-eyed Mexican-Americans in my daily life. It’s that’s hard to have an open casting call. Or better yet bleach a dark haired Latino actor’s hair and give them blue contacts (ones made in Asia are really good for dark eyes). Movie magic.
Where are all those commenters who claimed to not stand up for Black actors in the #OscarsSoWhite threads because no one objects to the lack of Latino actors? Silent as expected and probably calling protests against Charlie “the PC Police”.
DeniseMich…I just googled la Barbie & you’re right! I can’t believe my eyes. I think Hunnam will have to gain 60+ lbs to play him. Or have really great prosthetics.
James Roday looks more like him and he’s Hispanic, too. Just sayin.
Ikr, the “earning the most amount of eye rolls in a single month” award definitely goes to Hollywood and their continual stupidity.
La Barbie has similar skin color/hair color/eye color to Charlie Hunnam, I don’t see the problem here if the directors were going for authenticity for what the original person looked like.
except he doesn’t look anything like him, except for eyes and hair colours.
Charlie Hunnam is a British actor who does not speak Spanish or have any first hand experience living within a Latin culture. While he might have a slight resemblance, he is also 6’1″ and slim compared to the 5’9″ fat Edgar. The problem is that Charlie, as the producer, was too busy thinking about his own self interests too realize he was a poor casting choice.
Charlie is one more player in maintaing the status quo.
James Roday looks more like La Barbie than Charlie does.
Not sure why we would be worried about Charlie Hunnam’s post SOA career. King Arthur will probably be ok – not too bad and not amazing. Ritchie is an average filmmaker but makes beautiful films. Man from UNCLE was underrated IMO – it had some fine performances from Debecki and Hammer. Cavill was bland and Vikander was wasted. But overall, it was very much in genre and looked amazing. Then Charlie has a James Gray – I repeat, James freakin’ Gray – movie in the can. If anything, he had the opportunity to work with one of the finest filmmakers working today and that in itself is a huge accomplishment. I’m stoked for Lost City of Z. While Crimson Peak did not do well at the box office, the success or failure of that film does not affect him at all – he was a fourth lead and had like 15 minutes of screen time total. Plus, I’m just glad he worked with Del Toro and my favorite actress, Jessica Chastain. The reviews weren’t bad but they weren’t amazing – lukewarm at best. At least it wasn’t a flat out terrible movie with no box office prospects. I think Charlie is doing just fine – he’s trying to find unique roles and take a few risks.
Hopefully for Hunnam, this won’t be like Vinnie Chase’s “Medellin”
I thought Charlie had been developing this film for years. Like he was writing and putting it together for himself?
Yep. This is old news though I’m glad it’s finally getting attention.
My first thought was “Medellin” as well! LOL
That was not a good move for Vinnie’s career.
There was an Entourage marathon this past weekend, and I saw the episode with the Medellin debut at Cannes. Ouch, that was painful!
Aaaaaaaaand nope. There are Hispanic blondes out there so once again Hollywood is just lazy.
There’s a lot of Hispanic blondes out there who could’ve played that part, plus Valdez was 30lbs heavier than Hunnam is. It’s not a rare to find someone blonde that’s is of Mexican descent or born-in. They just got lazy with the casting, shame on you casting director.
@Alex and Lizzy. Yes they cast in director got very lazy.
I want to believe that is true, but can you name any Hispanic blonde actors with enough name recognition to make a studio want to sign them as the lead in this role? I honestly can’t think of any.
But does Charlie have that much name recognition? Even after SOA it’s not as if he’s a household name.
to get name recognition you have to be given a chance.
This assumes that Charlie Whoever has name recognition.
Hollywood doesn’t spend $30-40 million to give people ” a chance” unless there is some buzz about them or they’re sleeping with someone important. That’s the business.
William Levy? Jencarlos Canela or his brother Jason? Diego Boneta like someone else said?
I just wish they had chosen some other topic and give Jaime Camil a lead. Is that to much to ask?
Pretty sure they could’ve casted an unknown. If Star Wars can hang a whole new trilogy on the shoulders of two newcomers then so can this movie. Plus it save money on the salary end so the risk is actually lower.
and what…hair dye doesn’t exist?
Alex, the Star Wars example doesn’t fit this scenario. Star Wars is a franchise that goes back GENERATIONS.
Any movie that gets made with a decent budget wants to have a “name” associated with it. If a tree falls in the woods, you know? If you make a movie and no one talks about it and no one goes to see it, you might as well have left it unmade.
OMG no, William Levy and Jencarlos Canela have the acting range and charisma of a wet plank. But yeah, the name recognition is just a lame excuse. Movies like “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” had no star power (don’t mistake respected actors for star power), yet it made buckets of money. “Life of Pi” starred an Indian and a CGI tiger and it was immensely successful. For example, not even Benedict Cumberbatch managed to save “The Fifth Estate” from its epic fail at the BO. Name recognition is an illusion, people mostly go to watch movies not because X or Y is there, but because of the way they are selling them – it’s all in the marketing. Going with Charlie is lazy lazy lazy and it shows once again that Hollywood paints Latinos in a stereotypical light. They could have gone with Édgar Ramírez. He’s Venezuelan, but at least he fits the Latino bill.
@Alexandra, I do realize theyre terrible terrible actors, Im just saying they have a bit of experience in Hollywood. Its just unfortunate they were the first to pop in my head when thinking about fair skinned latin actors lol
How about Oscaar Isaac? Hes known now if thats what people are complaining about, and he could just dye his hair.
PS: Charlie looks nothing like La Barbie. Barbie has mexican in his face through and through.
Star Wars is a poor example. The Universe sells itself and even then they brought back the old stars, at a huge cost, to increase the hype and ease in the new cast. If they wanted to launch a new star in this film they would have to really pack the supporting cast too and there would then be complaints that the leading actor was being paid less than the the supporting actors and it would be put down to race; in other words there would be controversy either way.
Oh no.
I fully support this casting decision as long as he’s naked for 1/3 of the film. Mmm.
Well if he wants to credibly look like the character he needs to get fat and bulky. Be careful what you wish for.
Oh dear God!! Where does one hit “bottom” in Hollywood ffs??
Going back to blackface.
I’m sure at some point Leo D. is going to play MLK. Because he “was simply the only one who got his essence”.
Ok I just spit my coffee!!
Given how Leo D is thirsty for the OSCAHH, I totally believe he would play MLK & give a speech about his people. Just like the character that RDJ played in Tropic Thunder.
You laugh, but late last year a white man DID play MLK. Jr. in a stage production.
Bad timing on this announcement. Really bad.
I could have saved the studio a lot of money as I knew King Arthur would bomb from the moment they said they were making it. Maybe I can be a studio exec! Doesn’t seem hard. 😉
Casting like this is a joke. You can’t tell me there are no great Mexican/American actors..? I really don’t think Charlie looks like him. Same with Aloha, Pan and many other white washed casting choice movies.
I’m more concerned about his accent…accents are not his strong suit.
Absolutely, loved SoA but he was back & forth with his American & British accents. So distracting
Oh hell yea! Sexxy Jax and the switch up in his accent didn’t go unnoticed.
Sooooo, there aren’t any Mexican actors that could play the role? NONE?Wow! Just wow.
Agree about his wavering accent.
He’s gorgeous, but yeah. Not so much with the accents. He’s no Christian Bale.
Charlie can make it up to me if he’s naked throughout most of the film.
As a Mexican, nope, I can’t with this.
Hollywood will never change.
I´m mexican too , and I don´t have a problem!
Ugh…
I don’t have so much of a problem with this. Maybe because my son is half Puerto Rican yet he looks more Irish then me. He’s white as can be. People think I’m joking when I say he’s half Puerto Rican.
If someone was going to play him in a movie they would have to find a white person lol. Hispanics are truly diverse in their coloring and looks.
Thats not the point. its about the opportunity for latino actors. How are they ever gonna get leads cast if they can’t even get legitimately latino parts?
Until we have come full circle and mexican actors are cast in english or irish parts, and its sort of open doors for everyone, this shouldn’t be happening.
Your son is half-latin and still white, just like many of us, and like many actors working in Hollywood. Would you believe Alexis Bledel is Latin? Surely not, but she’s half Argentinian and half Mexican. So why not cast a white hispanic/latin instead of a British actor?
You missed the point.
@Cee
Alexis Bledel is actually of German, French and Danish descent, and has no Hispanic heritage. Her father was born in Argentina to European parents, while her mother (a white American) moved to Mexico as a child/teen.
There are other Latino actresses/actors who do fit as an example of not looking as what some people would think would be “stereotypical” (James Roday, Lynda Carter, Majandra Delfino, etc) but Alexis is not one of them.
Yes, but she’s still Latin because her parents are from LatAm (maybe her mother doesn’t, Alexis has always referred to her as being Mexican, though, so my mistake!).
Just like Alexis I’m from European descent: German, galician-celtic, and maybe Hungarian/Swiss (those pesky post-war borders…). I’m not white because I’m from South America. If my children were born in the US they would still be Latin, just like Alexis, except white.
Hello @Cee!
Just a question: even if you are ethnically white, but from LatAm, or born in a non-Latin country to parents who are European but only lived in LatAm for one generation, are you still consider yourself not-white? I’m new to language of the US/Latin race debate (English is not my first language, nor yours I understand, but you seem to be a bit better at the ‘Americanisms’ than I am!) and would just like to know, as it is fascinating.
And, as a Pakistani, I know all about those pesky post-war borders! 🙂
But you just contradicted yourself. Your son, who is half Puerto Rican, has such light features a white person would have to play him? Obviously Puerto Ricans and Mexicans, Latinos in general, blacks, Asians, etc, can appear white. So why couldn’t they just find another Puerto Rican who has light features to play him? Edgar isn’t the only Mexican with blond hair and white skin, why couldn’t a casting call work with that? Oh, they need a name to make producers chip in? Hunnam, while known on the blogs, isn’t a Pitt or Cloobey name. How are Latinos ever going to get a foot in the door if never given a chance? Maybe the next movie isn’t about a drug lord, it’s a regular family drama and the family just happens to be Hispanic or something. But one less role to give a Latino a chance to make a name for himself.
Because everyone in the US believes every latin american looks like Oscar Isaac (who’s very handsome, but another personas used to stereotype the rest of us).
One correction though – some of us don’t appear to be white. We are white. Our European greatgrandparents/grandparents did not get darker skin tones the moment they set foot in Central and South America.
Yeah, “hispanic” isn’t race, it is a word coined to describe immigrants from central and south america, who are racially diverse.
@cee
What I find disturbing, kind of off topic though – is how eager some Latinos are to now first categorize themselves as ‘white Hispanic,’ or just white. That’s a new thing.
My friend gets Latina magazine – and it’s just Latina magazine not white Latina magazine, or Afro-latina magazine or mestizo-latina magazine.
This latest glomming on to whiteness by some Hispanics is a reaction to racial tensions in a post-Obama America, IMO where Obama Derangement Syndrome among many angry white Murcans has taken hold.
It’s a historically American thing, this touting of whiteness, not really done in their country of origin, yet they come here and they sure as heck don’t want to be ‘other,’ they’re itching to be accepted by whites and shout it from the rooftops. pretty sad.
But back to topic and @Patricia. Yes, in some cases whites can play blacks, Latinos, and other ethnicities of color and get pretty close to looking like the actual real life person – but that’s not the point…a person who is of that cultural background would be better and it would be giving a role to a Latino or Hispanic American actor not a white Englishman.
Also @cee you said something else that rubbed wrong: “some of us don’t appear to be white. We are white.”
First of all, now is a good time to remind you and everyone – race is a construct, it doesn’t actually exist. In reality, what you are is homo sapien. Anthropologists, and scientists have said this for the last 75 years.
Secondly, in terms of your ethnicity and background being European, well whoop Dee doo…Congrats. But unless you’ve had your cheek swabbed as of late, they weren’t all European…or were they? How do you think that brown skinned ancestor(s) feels about you shoving them under a rug, and hoping they stay hidden?
In historic ‘Murca, I think you know our history is a bit diff, your background could have been 90% european and left u looking like Pippi Longstocking, but if you were from a black or native american comunity that’s what you were.
@Cee–thanks for the utterly ridiculous sweeping generalisation. The next time I see my US-born, blue-eyed, blonde-haired niece of Latina ancestry, I’ll be sure to mention that she’s not allowed to think of herself as Latina because she doesn’t look like Oscar Isaac.
Sorry I disagree with he writer here. The problem here isn’t the casting, it’s the subject matter. There are plenty of interesting scripts to write and film about drug cartels, but the studio don’t care about those, never considered those, and decided that the one centered around the white american football player is worthy/interesting enough. That is exactly the opportunity issue Viola Davis was talking about imo. The opportunity for diversity never existed in this case, and that issue started a lot earlier in the process than casting.
I agree. When every story told on screen is about a white (half white, light skin, etc) person or character then things will never change.
agree! this is the same issue i had with dallas buyers club! the story can only be told if it is centered around a straight cowboy who contracts AIDS. who must, for the sake of appearances, be hostile towards the LBGT community and has a change a heart but only after experiencing his own suffering. REAL TALK: he goes on to exploit a market for the drug he smuggles and ONLY goes to the FDA when it is hard to get the drug, for himself. Then – they cast a straight man as a transvestite and give him an Oscar. Meanwhile – the Normal Heart has to be an HBO movie of the week. It was better written, produced, directed and acted. the director, writers, writer of the source material and most of the cast are actually gay. SMH.
Sisi – I think both of you are right.
Oh, CHARLIE. I’d rather you play Christian Grey for the rest of your days then step into a whitewashed role. I don’t care that La Barbie is light skinned and blond. You’re telling me there aren’t ANY light skinned, blond, Latino actors out there who could have been cast?
Firstly no for the fact that he is Mexican.
Secondly he cannot hold an accent to save his life
Thirdly if you were gonna go white atleast cast a better actor?
Totally agree about the God awful timing of this announcement- given what’s gone on the last few weeks. I can’t imagine financing for this hinged on getting Charlie, so perhaps they listen and re-cast. Accent aside, how is playing a violent drug involved character a stretch for him? He seems like a nice person- he just needs to pick better projects. Still hopeful for Lost City of Z.
I looked at pictures of Edgar Valdez, and Charlie, while being far more good looking, is not far off. So I don’t have a problem with it. At some point, you have to cast the best man (or woman) for the job while staying reasonably within the physical characteristics (IMO). I don’t really see why the producers should have to look for only a Mexican-American actor with blue eyes to fill the role.
How do we know hes the best man for the job? Producers wants a name actor they probably didn’t even audition lesser known mexican actors.
The best thing about a series like narcos is they have these unknown latin american actor in the leads.
If narcos was a hollywood movie they would have cast Leo Decaprico or Ben Affleck.
This is one of the many reasons why TV/ streamings services are better and more progressive right now.
He is not even a name actor. He is just another white boy that the studios are trying to make “a thing’. See also Taylor Kitsch and company.
Hunnam still doesn’t really have name recognition, as the article intro kind of showed with the summary of his film career… They got a blond, blue-eyed white Brit who’s not great at accents and in the big scheme of name actors, isn’t well known.
It’s an odd choice and the only defence is ‘he looks the part’…if talent and name don’t matter, than any unknown could have been cast, showing respect to the actual subject of the film.
You’ve missed the point entirely!
A Latino role should be played by a Latino, not an Anglo –it doesn’t matter that they’re both fair with blue eyes, it’s about recognition and opportunity. The only time Hollywood makes a film about us is when it plays into a stereotype, and even with that, we’re not allowed to play our own stereotypes…
Yes!!!
It’s about recognition and opportunity for Latino actors!
Having seen Charlie in a few things, he is a decent but not amazing actor. I’m pretty sure there are fair skinned Mexican -American actors that are just as good or better then him, so I doubt it is about casting the “best” actor for the job. They just want someone with name recognition and whose racial background isn’t too confusing for the viewing audience to handle.
Charlie does have a resemblance but so does Emilio Estevez, although he us probably too old. They can find Latinos if they make the effort
A young Emilio would have been great I think.
A young Emilio would have been great
But I saw him at a grocery store near Zooma beach in August and looks more like this guy than hunnan does.
That store was the most surreal experience, I was walking around and almost everyone was familiar.
I was squinting at Emilio trying to figure out why he looked so familiar thinking I must know him when he noticed and grinned at me and I was oh my good lord
I spent the rest of the day humming breakfast club songs to myself
Its about the opportunity. Here in the wake of #oscarssowhite we’re talking about how POC dont get the same opportunties because “there isnt enough roles” written for them. And so here comes up a movie about a mexican, and who do they hire? Some white guy. Like what does that say to the mexican/latin community as a whole if they can’t even get roles about their own community?
Valdez is a white Hispanic and Charlie looks like him. No different to playing a Russian or Danish or Australian. Seriously are we going to demand that all actors are only allowed to play their own exact nationality now?!
Charlie is a great actor and would be brilliant as Valdez. There is no race issue there, just a created one. He’s an actor playing someone who’s the same colour and appearance as himself, he’s not playing Mike Tyson or Kim il Jung. Which would be racially offensive
offensive.
I agree. James Roday from Psych is Mexican and American (real last name is Rodriguez) and was born in Texas…if we are going to be exact, why not cast him?
I don’t think this casting is white washing if Charlie has a resemblance to the guy.
James Roday is who I was thinking about for this role too. Dye his hair blonde, voila!
Latinos are still discriminated in this country: our incarceration, poverty, infant mortality, and wage rates are unbelievably low or too high in some cases.
People still assume we’re not from here even tho the real carpetbaggers of this country are of European descent 😐
Don’t compare Europeans against other Europeans as if that makes it okay: if you’re white, you get to see your own EVERYWHERE because they monopolize everything, Latinos get to see a handful of ours in cinema (if that).
+1
+1 TEAM CHARLIE
You do know someone’s nationality and ethnicity are two different things right? Just because Barbie is white-passing doesn’t mean he’s still not Latino.
This isn’t whitewashing. You can be white and be Hispanic. Furthermore, they have similar coloring and features.
Instead of casting a Mexican-American or a Mexican with those features (they do exist) they casted an English dude. So yes, it is white-washing.
Wasn’t it the PuddleTom that said Brit actors are cheap and grateful?
I don’t see this working out well for Hunnam or the studio.
I know one of the Brit actors did say that, could have been Tom. But they could have found a cheap Latino actor to play this role too.
Hahahaha. Okay, so, summarizing:
– Of all stories Hollywood could tell about Mexicans, they decided to tell a story about drugs.
– Of all crazy Mexican cartel lords they could pick, they chose the half-American blondie.
– Of all fair-skinned latino actors they could choose from, they chose a British guy.
And all of this in the middle of #OscarsSoWhite.
God damn, Hollywood.
That’s a good summation, I think.
Thank you for the summary. I love Hunnam, but this casting is all kinds of wrong. As someone pointed out, we are not even allowed to play our own stereotypes?!
I know this is passion project for him Miss M, but still, ugh…
I know, Marty, I know… It pains me… I understand is a business, you need to put a known face to sell the movies. But come on…
If Hollywood wants to whitewash to this extent, I’d rather see Sebastian Stan (Romenian) or Daniel Bhrul (who speaks fluent Spanish) playing this role…
bingo
Nailed it. Everyone refer to this post
Summarized well. I’m just asking, but do many really talk in terms of being a “white” Latino? Odd. Secondly, when has complexion been a determining factor for casting. I think this shouldn’t weigh as heavy as it seems to here. If they cast a Latino man of any complexion would it be aghast to his role? I don’t think so. I do like the point someone raised about needing more Latino men as lead and not as drug lord. And thus definitely is emcompassing of #oscarsowhite. I want more Latino led films, women led films with woc to add depth and breath to our culture.
QUOTE: he became the only American citizen to “rise to the level of cartel leader in Mexico.”
And that right there is my problem (besides the casting). Why is this a movie? Why are movies still being made about drug lords, violent dictators, etc? So, he rose to their level. Good for him I guess but how about a movie about someone who grew up in the ashes of this mess to become head of government or a crusaders against these a$$holes. But no, lets make a movie about a former high school football hero who went to on to deal drugs. Freaking hell.
MAF: yes good point. I totally agree how terrible it is. Not something I’d ever let my kids watch.( We don’t even have a tv in the house , lol)
It’s a Filmmakers job to find fascinating subject matters to write scripts about I suppose . It’s all about making money.
I know, this is horrible.
It is the same thing when they cast a black Kind Lear, Juliet, Hamlet or Romeo. I get really uncomfortable when that happens. Keep white characters white, black characters black and all that.
Speaking of which; I sincerely hope I will never see a non-white Bond. It would be disgusting.
Keep the races SEPARATE! NO NEED FOR INTEGRATION. SEGREGATION IS THE WAY TO GO!
Your sarcasm just didn’t work while, evidently, missing the point. Good try, though.
Swing and a miss, right?
Why are you assuming Romeo is white?
Shakespeare references Juliet’s white skin but I don’t recall a single line about Romeo’s color.
Doesn’t it make a lot more sense that he’s not, given the narrative of the play and the three mentions of Juliet’s whiteness, particularly this line:
Alas, poor Romeo! He is already dead, stabbed with a white wench’s black eye
I mean, why mention her skin in that context? Seems like maybe old Will was bringing it to our attention for a reason, no?
Frankly it’s that kind of prescriptive thinking- that ALL Shakespeare characters are white unless explicitly noted otherwise (like Othello) that underlies the problem. Whiteness is not a neutral and shouldn’t be used as a default setting but Hollywood keeps treating it like it is and it should be.
I hate “diversifying” history just for the sake of it. So: since “Romeo and Juliet” is taking place in Verona during the Renaissance and since both characters are from upper class families it is obvious they are both white. Of course, should one adhere to Stormfront principles that only Anglos and Germans are white then one could think the inhabitants of Italy weren’t and aren’t. However, from the historical perspective upper classes in Europe in the 16th century could not have been but white. You cannot have “diversity” in upper classes in Renaissance Europe and slavery based on race in the same time, can you?
Although I love Charlie Hunnam, or at least looking at Charlie Hunnam, this comes at a perfect time to prove that criticism over Hollywood’s lack of diversity is spot on.
I’m not too mad about this because Valdez “la barbie” is white. Latino is an ethnicity not a race. You can be white and latin@, you can be black and latin@, you can be Asian and Latin@, you can be mixed and Latin@. I think what’s actually troubling is that because the only stories about Latin@s that get told are ones about drugs and cartels. That’s lame. Where are the stories about Latin@ spies, or sci fi, or Colombian, Mexican, Guatemalan folklore.
I’m more worried about his accent because he sucks at accent work. But I do think this is a smart choice for Hunnam, to go and find a project that is Jax Teller adjacent and remind everyone why they like him.
No. Latin is not an ethnicity. You can not state that without taking into consideration all the countries that make up Latin America and our differences: our inmigration, our culture, our language and accents, our customs and traditions, etc. All of us descend from different ethnic groups, we’re not all the same, we do not sound the same.
Latin America is a geographic region encompassing countries with different backgrounds and history.
Yes it is an ethnicity. Colombian isn’t a race. Mexican isn’t a race. Brazilian isn’t a race. Dominican isn’t a race. Cuban isn’t a race. Furthermore I think it’s bad to get picky when it comes to ethnicity and nationalities. Jennifer Lopez is Puerto Rican and she played Mexican American Singer Selena and killed it.
No Lexx, it is not an ethnicity. “Latino” is the term use to call the people from the countries within the territory that goes from Río Bravo to the Argentinean Patagonia. Our ethnicities are a different matter, in Mexico for example, most of us are consider mestizos (mix between our natives and Spanish), and still there are so much people who have different ethnicities, yet all of us are Mexican and Latinos.
As Latin Americans our bond comes more from cultural, regional and historical aspects. We share a similar history, most of us speak the same language, and that has resulted in the fact that we “understand” each other: music, food, entretainment, sports, dancing, etc., from a country are widely known in the rest of our region.
As far as I know, Latin is a terminology used to determine groups of people whose languages derived from Latin. Therefore, people who speak Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and/or Romenian are latins. If we include geography in the mix, we have Latin Americans and Latin Europeans.
No lexx, it is not. I’m 2nd generation Argentinian but argentinian or latin is not my ethnicity. My ethnicity is German, Celtic and maybe Swiss Italian (my family is not sure). My nationality IS argentinian.
We might share some things between south, central and north american countries, but we’re not the same. Just as you would not compare a Norwegian to a French, a Brit to an Italian.
@MissM yes that is true. All of those languages are Latin based but as far as I know the term Latin is now used as a catch all term for anyone from Mexico, Central and South America, and any of the islands in the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic ) as well as those born in the US with any and all of those in their blood.
@M.A.F.: I noticed the incorrect usage of “Latin” here. I think that’s why people don’t understand when I say: Yes, I am Latin. But I am not Hispanic. My country was colonized by Portugal, not Spain, bla bla bla…
Good point. The casting isn’t the problem, its the subject matter. 100% agree
As a latina, I would have no problem at all with this casting if Charlie could actually do the accent (which he can’t), and if there truly was equal opportunity for latin actors.
I don’t think it’s wrong for a British guy to play a Mexican, much like I don’t think it’s wrong for a Mexican guy to play a Brit. The thing is, the latter never actually happens while the former happens a lot more often than it should.
As I summarized above, this is whitewashing and stereotyping at it’s finest. Painting Mexico as this hell where only poverty, gardeners and drugs come from, and not even having the decency to cast an actual Mexican in the role.
I just wanna add this story at least made me remember how much I enjoyed The Book of Life. It was not perfect, but seeing Mexican culture finally being portrayed as interesting and rich really made me happy. Mexico is a beautiful country.
What?
I’m sure it would really resonate with the industry if they would use a real blonde Latino actor. He doesn’t even need to be of Mexican decent.. Perhaps a Spanish actor (from Spain) to make it easier for the casting director. Why not set out a casting call for a blonde Hispanic?? Not that hard to find. There are many Mexican blondes all over Mexico City since many of their ancestors from Germany migrated to the Mexico City around WW2. I have several blonde Mexican American friends that would be great for the part but they are not actors. I call one of them “Guerito” (blondie). He has long dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and a totally blonde beard. Perhaps Guerito would consider giving up his professional day job for the role because he would be perfect.
BTW, not all of us 1st and 2nd generation Mexican Americans born and raised in Texas have accents. Edgar V is of Mexican decent But born in the US as well. I was born and raised in a Texas border town myself and I don’t have a Spanglish nor a Spanish accent. Not even a Texas accent. Guerito doesn’t have an accent either. Kind of boring, huh?!
But I guess for the Edgar role it would make it more interesting if her did have a cool accent.
If the Spaniard was able to pull off the accent, then fine. But there’s one thing we hate the most – when spaniards are cast in different latin american nationalities and use their own accents. I’ll never forget when Enrique Iglesias was cast as an argentinian in How I Met Your Mother and kept his spanish accent. It’s gross misrepresentation.
Spain is in Europe. It is not a Latin American country.
How do you think Latin America became Latin America?
@M.A.F.
Miscegenation between the millions of pre-Coloumbine ethnic groups played a major part in that. Latin America went through a lot to get independence from Spain. Don’t lump us together because we’re not the same and we have never been.
Josefina : yes. And spaniards Speak Spanish. The language in question here. My point was that hiring a native Spanish speaker would have been superb, regardless of what Spanish speaking country he was from.
No shit not all of Latin America is the same. The Spaniards and Portuguese were able to conquer thanks to guns and diseases. I know the history quite well thank you. But a Spaniard is far more suitable to play this role than a Brit if Hollywood doesn’t want to take the time to find a Mexican-American.
@M.A.F.
“But a Spaniard is far more suitable to play this role than a Brit if Hollywood doesn’t want to take the time to find a Mexican-American.”
What is this even supposed to mean? Why is a Spaniard more suitable? Because of the language? It would still be whitewashing and a latin actor would still be robbed of an opportunity in favor of a white person.
I just saw a photo of Valdez. No no no no. I agree it was lazy casting.
Right? I’m kind of surprised at all the people saying that Hunamm looks like him. Not seeing it even a little bit.
Yeah, so why do English dudes play Russian villains? there’s not enough Russians? I can go on and on. And check out “Alexa Chung” – she’s HALF Chinese and is blue eyed with European features. You can’t tell how a mixed person should look like. And movies should not reflect real life, you know. Why didn’t they cast an actually handicapped guy for Forest Gump? There’s probably some unemployed actor in a wheelchair.
“And movies should not reflect real life, you know”.
But this is ‘based on a true story/person’ movie.
Alexa Chung’s dad is mixed as well (white/Chinese), so that explains why she’s more Euro looking than most Asian/Caucasian mixed race people.
But I do agree – there’s no way you can tell how a mixed race person will look. My baby daughter is proof of this, looking more like her French_Canadian father, with only a bit of my Vietnamese coming through.
Name 5 big movies were a latin actor or actress played a role intended for a white person.
Let’s not go around portraying Hollywood as a color blind utopia when it very clearly isn’t.
Do your research, people!
1. A white actor cast as a white man… and the problem is?
2. The movie is only getting made because of Charlie. He optioned the Rolling Stone article years ago and planned to write, produce and star in it. He got busy, so he’s only producing and playing the lead.
3. The film and his casting was announced a year ago…
People are so PC now, it’s ridiculous. I do worry about Charlie’s career and think he’s going to have a rough couple of years before breaking big into movies. Maybe he should have made 50SOG because he would have brought the sex appeal on big time.
Every film he’s done has had a huge budget. He’s already in big movies they’re not doing well is the problem.
@Meme- Ah yes, political correctness, the true enemy of the world!
@FingerBinger – Frankie Go Boom, The Ledge were not big budget. Charlie was a supporting player in Crimson Peak.
@meme Pacific rim had a big budget. That was supposed to be his breakout film before sons of anarchy finished. It did ok but it didn’t help his career.
@marty – PC has gone too far IMO.
@meme: “PC has gone too far IMO.”
What do you think PC is? Or are you reacting like this because Hunnam is an actor that you really like and don’t want to think badly of, especially as he’s not just acting in the movie but has a behind the scenes role as well?
@meme
Asking for latin people to have equal opportunities is going too far?
@cr – yes I am a big fan of Charlie Hunnam and I’ve know about this project as he’s discussed it in interviews. He optioned the article a while ago to develop a project for himself) No, it doesn’t bother me in the least that he’s playing a blonde haired blue eyed Mexican druglord since Charlie is blonde haired and blue eyed. Fassbender looked nothing like Steve Jobs and is a Brit – where’s all the whining about that?
@meme: but there were complaints about Fassy being cast as Jobs. But you didn’t really answer the question about what you really think PC is, and how much liking Hunnam is influencing how you react to the reaction to his casting. Nor to how you really view the overall complaints about whitewashing casting. You seem to be so focused on Hunnam that you’re missing the overall point? Or don’t you like the overall point?
@CR – I get the point but did you all complain when Angelina played Marianne Pearl? She’s not white.
@meme
I don’t really care about Charlie Whomever. This effed up move insures I never will.
Glad he has a fangirl in you.
But being a fangirl doesn’t mean I lose my decency as a human being.
I’m pretty sick of Trumpisms, wingnuts and right wing hate mongers yammering on about ‘hating PC.’
PC is being considerate and respectful of others. No, I won’t say a transgendered person is dressed ‘in drag,’ because that’s offensive. No I won’t use ‘colored,’ when I know that’s an outdated name for black people/African-Americans. No I won’t tweet #alllivesmatter
It’s pretty easy to check your white straight privilege, and NOT be an a$shole.
@CR
The conversation about whitewashing in Hollywood is old, but only now, because of social media, people are becoming more aware of it.
I’m sure people complained about Angie’s casting. But I think it’s easy to understand the uproar this in particular is raising amidst #OscarsSoWhite. Diversity in Hollywood is a “hot topic” now and this is the most perfect example of whitewashing.
I wish I had more time to research during business hours. thank you for the information ! This new info does change things up a little bit.
However, the fact still remains that placing a Latino in the role would create recognition and opportunity for Latin actors regardless of who is writing and producing it.
I agree, in a perfect world. But no studio will cast an unknown for the lead…
And as for known Latin actors, imagine the sh*tshow that would happen if they cast Gael Garcia or someone similar for the lead. They would change a white drug dealer to a stereotypical mexican drug dealer. That’s much more racist, IMO
James Roday is not an unknown. How about him?
Or William Levy?
“They would change a white drug dealer for a stereotypical mexican drug dealer, that’s more offensive imo”
… because being white was some sort of “improvement” on the character? What’s your point here exactly?
Josefina, of course not. I meant that there would be outrage anyway. People would be like ” But he’s white! he’s American! Why does Hollywood always make thugs Latins?” if they had cast someone with Latin ethnicity.
Btw, i agree with everything you said above in the post you talked about the book of life. I really don’t want to see yet another Mexican drug cartel film. There’s much more intresting aspects about mexican and latin cultures than that.
My point is, it’s not the casting, it’s the film that’s more problematic.
@Ingrid
Yes, you’re right – the very subject of the movie is problematic. But the fact a white guy was cast only makes the matters worse.
The casting issue is problematic. How many times do you see Mexican actors playing white people? The only option Mexicans have is play stereotypes of themselves and, if it wasn’t enough, white guys end up getting those roles too.
Ingrid please just stop.
That white actor will make more money than a white Latino because we’re still considered an “other” to them, THAT is the point 😒
There are several other roles Charlie could play, y’all same to consider La Barbie white now because it’s convenient, let me tell you when her was arrested he was just a Mexican.
SMH.
1. The problem is it was likely they didn’t even consider a white latino for the role. Ethnic actors rarely ever get the color-blind roles, and if that was little, white actors even take the roles intended for their races.
2. If he writes and produces that only makes him look worse for all the reasons listed above. White people and their fascination with painting us as criminals.
3. And we’re only finding out now because he’s irrelevant like that.
Charlie just needs a really good movie role to show what a good actor he is. I don’t care who he plays, I just want to see him on the big screen doing a great job in a good movie. I adore this man and he’s not only gorgeous, he’s talented. He can’t catch a break lately.
I’m sure there were white American actors to play Steve Jobs but they chose a Brit. And how about Hiddleston as Hank Williams, another Brit playing an American role.
Nobody has a problem with Steve Jobs being played by a British guy because American white actors will never run out of opportunities and roles to play. Very little roles are written for latinos, and even for those roles, white guys are picked.
It’s not that actors should play roles strictly limited to their race and nationality. It’s that actors of certain races and nationalities are always left behind.
^^ Why is this so hard to understand? ^^
There were complaints about Hiddleston playing Williams.
Shaking my head at narco culture permeating my country and social weaving and now more so when Hollywood is mainstreaming it in tv series and movies.
I am sad because I see this as a kind of “normalization”.
About the actual movie… La Barbie might be American, but he is 100%Mexican descent. There are lots of blondes, light eyed, tall people in Mexico, many are mestizos with a lighter dominant coloring, and also some Of 100% European descent, but they are less numerous.
I cringe every time I see Benicio Del Toro playing a Mexican. At least in Sicario he was not playing one (I was dragged to see that, I do not support narco movies.
Yes, there are plenty of Mexican actors they could’ve chosen, they are going with CH probably because he is more known than most Latin/ Mexican ones. Absolutely disagree with Gael Garcia Bernal for this. Probably Diego Boneta would’ve be fine. Most actors are too pretty and trim for this role, but hey, Tom Cruise plays roles for extremely tall guys and also roles for very fat drug lords and he doesn’t lose his figure. They’ll let Charlie look as he please.
I hope that they at least tried harder with this casting. It is disappointing.
Yes I find it extremely disappointing and I agree with everything you said. If the real life person is Mexican, then a Mexican should play the role in the movie. Simple as that.
Charlie Hunnam is not even A-list. The role he’s most known for is the one he turned down.
SoA is more of a cult classic and all the movies he’s been in are either low-budget indie stuff or big-budget stuff that didn’t really have any impact.
@Josefine – I agree Hunnam isn’t A-list but why would this role require an A-lister? That’s odd. He had the $$ and enough clout to secure the rights to the RS article. He has a relationship with Plan B – Brad Pitt’s studio – and Legendary. In fact, I believe the original Deadline article states that Legendary is looking at making this film with him which means they are positioning him as their next, big star. He already has history with the studio, as Del Toro has worked with them in the past and Hunnam has been in said director’s films. He doesn’t need to be A-list right now to make it happen. I’m assuming his long term goal is to make this film which would then help him continue to elevate his career. It’s how most actors operate. Very unlikely that they just become huge stars after one film or project. It took DiCaprio and Lawrence many years to get to where they are – they just started out much younger so their rise seems overnight compared to other actors.
Eugenia Siller, Mexican blue eyed blonde haired actor. Super hot and very talented.
Eugenia is a girl’s name lol
Lol. Sorry, I meant Eugenio.
lol EugeniO is def. hot but I’m not sure he looks the part.
Then again, movie makeup and some weight gain and who knows?
Seems that we have to discuss every casting choice from now on….
I think this is going to be a mess of highest proportions because
1. Charlie has a lot of trouble with accent work.
2. Armie Hammer and his wife just secured the actual rights from Barbie himself.
RE: #2 Yeah I saw that!
So..how is this going to work?
I have no idea. In that article it said Armie and his wife have been working for years to get the rights to the story. I won’t be surprised if Charlie’s movie gets scrapped, but tbh Kitten, I’m not looking forward to another Mexican cartel movie either way. Mexicans are more than drugs and Telenovelas, you know?
Interesting indeed. Oh, and I completely agree with you about the Mexican drug cartel movies. YAWN. So effin redundant.
This reminds me of the Master of None “Indians on TV episode”.
Yeah Hollywood has a history of not caring about PoC stories unless it involves said people in stereotypical roles. A Mexican can be a drug dealer or a maid, but God forbid they are the hero of their own story.
@ Marty
Yes so agree with you. Hopefully this changes. Michael Pena is one of my favorite actors. He has been lucky enough to play a multitude of roles, some of which his ethnicity had nothing to do with the character. I am waiting for him to get his shine and get a leading role instead of supporting though. He is very talented.
I agree about Michael Peña, only small thing I dislike about him is that he’s a scientologist.
A few decades ago several Mexican actor were recluted by this organization, I bet the promise to help them with roles was too juicy. As far as I know, only Michael has had success, I attribute that to his versatility and talent.
Wow. It’ so good to know that Hollywood is hearing what minorities have to say. Looks like they are really trying to change things up, you guys! Up next, Kristen Stewart as Charo. (please make this happen somehow).
I think Eugenio Siller, Diego Boneta, Ryan Guzman, James Roday, Nicolás Riera, Diego Cadavid or Alexander Da Silva would have been better options if they had actually made an effort to look for Latin American actors.
What irks me the most about this project is the fact that the only stories about Latinos are about Narcos, again. More than 100,000 victims in Mexico in less than 10 years, but OK Hollywood keep on glamourizing Narco Culture…
Even Saul Canelo Alvarez is a better choice lol
I disagree on Nicolás Riera. I still remember him when he started out and even though he’s always been very professional, he is not a good actor.
I watched Diego Boneta personify Matthew McConaughey in Scream Queens and he was hilarous and spot on. That’s when I realised he’s actually quite the good actor.
Well, if he was light skinned and blue eyed, he was quite possibly a white Latino. Hispanic refers to an ethnicity, not a race. This being said, there are no shortage of Latino actors in this country, so it’s still kind of glaring.
Ummm, you all need to come to Miami where 80% of people here are Latin and there are many whiter then I am ( I’m Russian and Polish) with light eyes. Not all Latinos are dark hair with dark eyes.
true true
Non-Latinos have been portraying Latinos in films for many many years. This really needs to change. Hellooo…anyone remember Scarface? The Cuban drug kingpin named Tony Montana was played by Al Pacino, an Italian actor ! Also, remember when Madonna played Eva Peron? I can list so many more but why bother? It feels like no one is listening.
But at the same time, Pacino in Scarface is iconic, right? This is one of his greatest performance.
I’m not talking about his acting ability. I’m simply mentioning the fact that he is Italian yet played a Cuban.
Yes, but the movie is a classic. The ethnic argument would have been stronger if the movie wasn’t good because he’s italian, that’s not the case, he is what make the movie good, so the argument he is not cuban just fall flat to me, this is call acting.
So a white guy play a white hispanic guy, is that really far fetch? I prefer judging a movie by the quality of that movie, so we will see.
Another example, a straight guy playing a gay and you will always found people to whine about it. But imagine if gay could only do gay roles, it will be a riot.
It’s the double standard in same situations that piss me off.
In the same way I don’t mind Denzel Washington being the half-brother of Keanu Reeves in Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, crazy choice, but I totally love it. I just don’t care as long as it works in the end.
@Nance
How hard is it to understand what we are all complaining about is non-white actors simply don’t have the same opportunities? Al Pacino nailed Scarface. Nobody will deny that. But how many times are latin actors given a chance to shine like that? It’s always in stereotypical roles, and even for those roles, they don’t get picked.
I feel like a broken record here. Why do people simply not see the field is so uneven?
Nance, I wish more Latin American actors were chosen to play white roles and not the other way around. Do you have more examples
Like those and not like this Scarface one? Real colorblind casting, not casting Euro-white- Americans in roles for other cultures, but people from other cultures getting traditionally “white roles”
@ Nance – I don’t agree. The movie being “good” or not has nothing to do with this particular argument. The movie may have been just as successful had they hired a Cuban actor to play the role. But I guess we’ll never know that. Yes, an Italian playing a Cuban is very far fetched to me. The character was supposed to be CUBAN. The argument about straight/gay is not relevant in this particular conversation.
@Nance- I think Shakespeare is an exception. It is expected for directors to go out of box with Shakespeare. Therefore, race/ethnicity shouldn’t be a factor. But in the case here & in other movies, where there is a specific race/ethnicity to be portrayed, Hollywood should get it right.
Although, now that I think of it, Jennifer Lopez a Puerto Rican played Selena, a Tejano.
Next toAl Pacino in Scarface was Steven Bauer, a Cuban young actor. Why do you think he chose to use the name “Steven Bauer” instead of Esteban Echeverria? He was OK for a sidekick, not the main role. Al was better known. He went to have a prolific career, and now acts as an Israeli in Ray Donovan. How many Juan Perez work as Jewish/Israeli? He changed his name for a reason.
Oscar Isaac uses his middle name, not his surname Hernandez. In music you have Bruno Mars, he is also a Hernandez.
There are many cases like this, where the actors prefer to somehow “hide ” their Latin roots and go for more ambiguous names or images, so they can get more work. This is shameful.
Some have gotten away with it, but others exploit the exoticness of their image, and sometimes end up stereotyped a-la Carmen Miranda.
meh, I’m Mexican American too and I’d pay to watch him in this. Shoot me, I like seeing him onscreen.
This is the reason why the #Oscarssowhite is coming to surface. These Hollywood Executives in these studios heads so far up their asses that they couldn’t see that people want diversity.. Jeez these Rich White people are stupid.
And this has now been topped. Joseph Fiennes is going to play Michael Jackson.
At first, I thought “you gotta be FKM”, then I googled it and found the Guardian article. SMH.
Orlando Jones @TheOrlandoJones “I’m TOTALLY on board with Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson IF AND ONLY IF Angela Bassett is cast as Elizabeth Taylor”.
If this came out a month ago it probably wouldn’t have raised many eyebrows…it is en vogue right now to be outraged about “whitewashing” roles. Perhaps some dentist will off a beloved lion to distract us in the near future. Yes, I accept the perfectly correct “outrage” coming my way.
Yes it would have. people were just as outraged by Emma Stone playing an asian character in Aloha.
“American Drug Lord”
Not to be confused with “New Zealand Dug Lorde”
But seriously, I always roll my eyes at titles that begin with “American” It’s stale.
I haven’t really followed Charlie Hunnam’s career, but I am familiar with what he’s done (Sons of Anarchy, Queer as Folk, Pacific Rim). So I’ve never seen him act before and I finally got to see him work on Crimson Peak. And wow, he was AWFUL in it. I thought he would blow me away because there’s so much media out there on him and his shows, but I didn’t find him good. What’s going on?!
This is bloody ridiculous. They could have found a lighter skinned Hispanic for sure. But no, they had to get the whitest British dude who burns in the sun to play him! Please fire whoever made that casting choice. The movie will bomb. Just like the lone ranger, pan and aloha. Stop whitewashing!!!
I feel sorry for Hunnam but this is a terrible idea. After all that’s going on, the disputes for other actors whitewashing characters, the Oscars, .. is he deaf, stupid, or does he just not care? Whatever the case, I hope he comes to his senses.
Not only I’m pissed off at the casting directors and all, but all these actors that accepts these roles.. how can you not think about it?
I will never understand this man’s appeal. He always looks like he smells bad.
Are they supposed to cast a little mayan? I mean really. Hispanics come in every shade. Blue eyed blondes in my family. and besides all that, He’s fine!
1. Get real. This is the sort of movie none of you would ever have gone to see, no matter WHO was cast. It would never be a big box office movie.
2. No, the studios DON’T listen to all of the outraged PC people on the internet because you all are doing exactly what they want…talking about their movie. There’s no such thing as bad publicity.
There are plenty of Mexican actors that could have played that role of Edgar Valdez. Why the hell would they hire a english boy to play a mexican villian? Can we say stupid? I am Mexican I pass for a white girl all the time. I have blue eyed blonde haired people in my family but my family comes from region in Mexico were they are very european looking. There are plenty of light skinned actors with blue eyes and very european to play him. This is really ridiculous.