Hollywood's most controversial movie castings

Singer Sia's directorial debut 'Music' came under fire as it cast a neurotypical actor, Maddie Ziegler (who previously appeared in Sia's music videos), as the lead role of Music, an autistic character. Autism advocacy groups, like the National Autism Association, called for industry members to boycott the awards shows that might honor Sia’s film, such as the Golden Globes and Oscars. The singer herself got into Twitter spats defending the film.

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Kate Hudson - 'Music' -

Kate Hudson plays Music's older sister and guardian, and following the backlash she spoke to Jimmy Kimmel and said she believes the conversation around representation in media is "important" and that she encourages it. She added, "For me, when I hear that there's anybody that feels left out I feel terrible."

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Added controversy -

Sia had also previously apologized for including a scene in which Music is physically restrained, a dangerous practice which many in the autism community have criticized. And if that weren't enough, one scene appears to have Ziegler in blackface, using very dark makeup and braids.

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Halle Berry -

Halle Berry was hit with backlash after announcing that she was planning to play a transgender person in a new film. That alone was cause for concern, but Berry went on to explain, "[It's] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she's a woman that transitioned into a man." She continued to misgender the role by calling him a woman, and claimed the film was a "female story." Trans activists took to social media to explain why her statements were wrong, and Berry backed down from the role.

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Halle Berry -

The actress was a perfect example of how to respond in a situation like this. She wrote on Instagram that, after some discussion, she decided to step down from the role. Berry apologized for her remarks, agreed that a trans person should have the role, and expressed gratitude for the guidance she'd received. She also vowed to be an ally and use her voice to promote better representation in Hollywood.

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Scarlett Johansson - In 2018, the actress was heavily criticized for accepting to play the role of a transgender man in a film called 'Rub & Tug.' The actress heard people's qualms, however, and dropped out.

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Scarlett Johansson - 'Ghost in the Shell' - Unfortunately, it was not the first time that Johansson faced criticism for taking on a role. The year prior, she was accused of "whitewashing" for playing Motoko Kusanagi (Major), a character who's originally Asian in the Japanese manga series.

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Matt Bomer - ‘Anything’ - Bomer plays Freda Von Rhenburg, a transgender woman. Executive producer Mark Ruffalo had to apologize after receiving backlash from the trans community.

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Matt Damon - 'The Great Wall' - The 2016 movie has been criticized for its narrative, which is based on a heroic white man protecting the Great Wall of China. Damon defended the casting, claiming he "didn't take a role away from a Chinese actor."

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Jake Gyllenhaal - 'Prince of Persia' - In the Disney movie, Gyllenhaal plays the main character, who is actually supposed to be Middle Eastern.

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Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet - 'Call Me By Your Name' - Although it's been critically-acclaimed all over the world, the Oscar-nominated movie was under fire for the decision to cast two straight actors to play the two main gay characters.

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Ben Affleck - 'Argo' - 'Argo' may have won the Best Picture Oscar, but Affleck's decision to cast himself as Tony Mendez, who is Hispanic in real life, didn't please many.

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Eddie Redmayne - 'The Danish Girl' - The British actor, who's cisgender, was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of transgender icon Lile Elbe.

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Jeffrey Wright - 'Westworld' - 'Westworld' might be one of the best television shows around, but one thing didn't sit well with the viewers—the fact that the main black character, Bernard, ends up being a servant with no free will.

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Elle Fanning - '3 Generations' - The actress was cast as Ray, a transgender teen transitioning from female to male, a decision that garnered some criticism.

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Angelina Jolie - 'A Mighty Heart' - In the 2007 film, Jolie plays the role of Mariane Pearl, who is mixed-race. The real Pearl is the daughter of a Dutch-Jewish man and an Afro-Chinese-Cuban woman.

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Sean Penn - 'Milk' - Sean Penn was the winning choice to play Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay public official.

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'Twilight' cast - Although it was praised at first for casting Native American actors, fans of 'The Twilight' saga were quick to point out how their characters were portrayed as violent savages (the wolf pack).

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Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone - 'La La Land' - As pointed out by The Guardian, a lot of the film's criticism had to do with the mainly-white casting in a movie about jazz, which has deep roots in black history.

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Johnny Depp - 'The Lone Ranger' - Depp was cast as a Native American and Comanche sidekick Tonto in the 2013 Disney adaptation.

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Jeffrey Tambor - 'Transparent' - Jeffrey Tambor's portrayal of transgender Maura Pfefferman has won him several awards, but even he recognized during an Emmy speech that "transgender talent" should be given a chance.

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Mena Suvari - 'Stuck' - 'Stuck' was based on the real life of Chante Mallard, an African American woman. However, she was portrayed by Suvari—who even wore cornrows for the part.

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'Aloha' cast - None of the 'Aloha' actors are Hawaiian, but at least most of them had the excuse that they were supposed to play white people. Stone's character, however, is meant to be mixed-race (her father is of half-Chinese and half-Native Hawaiian descent, and her mother is of Swedish descent).

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'The Last Airbender' cast - The movie was based on the animated series 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' which features Asian and Inuit characters. The film's cast is almost entirely made up of white actors, minus Dev Patel, who plays the villain.

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Rooney Mara - 'Pan' - Mara was accused of "whitewashing" after being cast as Tiger Lily, a Native American warrior.

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Charlize Theron - 'Monster' - Theron won an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of infamous serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was a lesbian.

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Hilary Swank - 'Boys Don't Cry' -

Swank won an Academy Award for her role as real-life transgender man Brandon Teena in the 1999 film. She was one of the first cisgender actors to portray the plight of a trans person.

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Jared Leto - 'Dallas Buyers Club' - Actor and musician Jared Leto won an Oscar for his role as a transgender woman, Rayon, in 'Dallas Buyers Club.'

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Adam Beach - 'Suicide Squad' - There was a big hype surrounding the fact that Native American actor Adam Beach had been cast as superhero Slipknot in 'Suicide Squad.' The movie ended up facing controversy after his character only had one laugh and was promptly killed off.

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Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal - 'Brokeback Mountain' - The classic movie starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as Ennis and Jack, two men who end up getting involved.

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The 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' cast - Ridley Scott faced extreme backlash for the movie's casting, which was mainly made up of white actors. The film tells the story of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, but Christian Bale played Moses and Joel Edgerton played Ramesses II.

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Michael Fassbender - 'Assassin’s Creed' - The 'Assassin's Creed' have featured all sorts of characters, from Italian, to Middle Eastern, and Native American. Yet the Irish-German actor was the winning choice for the lead character.

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Christopher Abbott - 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' - Abbott played an Afghan man in Tina Fey's comedy 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.'

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Liam Neeson - 'Batman Begins' -

Neeson plays Ra's al Ghul in the movie, but the character was originally of Arab descent in the comic books.

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Hollywood's most controversial movie castings

Lin-Manuel Miranda apologizes for lack of diversity in 'In the Heights'

16/06/21 | StarsInsider

MOVIES Backlash

Hollywood has come a long way, but it still has a long road ahead towards equality and inclusiveness. Casting choices are a particular sore spot, as white actors are cast as people of color, able-bodied actors are cast as disabled characters, and cisgender actors are cast in transgender roles⁠—putting marginalized actors out of work.

Even films aiming to show an underrepresented community stumble with issues like colorism—prejudice or discrimination against darker skin tones within the same racial group. Such is the case with Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical film adaptation of his Broadway hit 'In the Heights,' which received criticism after failing to adequately represent Afro-Latinos in a story centered on New York’s Latino communities. The director, who also starred in the film, posted a statement on social media on June 14 acknowledging that casting for his project, set in the diverse neighborhood of Washington Heights, had fallen short.

"I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling unseen in the feedback," Miranda wrote. "I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy. In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short,” he continued, before apologizing, thanking people for their criticism, and promising to do better.

Click through to check out some of the most controversial movie castings in Hollywood's recent history.