Slumdog star says Hollywood is racist

[Jenn! 918]

Yeah, and he didn't say he wanted more Asian-themed films. Asian actors shouldn't be limited to "Asian-themed films".

You don't often see non-white actors in lead roles. One that comes to mind is Harold and Kumar - those were "regular" roles with two Asians cast as the leads.

It is what it is. Hollywood won't make those movies until America wants to see them. I'm fairly certain that a lot of money is spent on researching what America wants to see.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Can't be true. Most of them voted for Obama.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Look at Sex & the City...it was originally meant for 4 gay men. Does that mean SATC is sexist because it cast women? I think we're getting a little too PC here.

That's one show. The guy is talking about Hollywood as a whole. Why should people be pigeonholed in the acting profession because they aren't white?

[Fandango 1,439]

(I can't believe I'm saying this) but I'm going to springboard off what Steven said....he hit the nail on the head. Joe Pesci isn't going to make the next Mission Impossible, or star in Inception. He's always going to be the Italian guy, the Mob guy, etc. I don't think JP could pull off the lead in a summer blockbuster. Does that make me racist against Italians? Well, being that I'm of Italian ancestry, I sure hope not.

[Fandango 1,439]

That's one show. The guy is talking about Hollywood as a whole. Why should people be pigeonholed in the acting profession because they aren't white?

Yeah, but it's one example.

It's about the right look overall...this one's too short, this one's too fat, that one's too old, etc. If I was the best actress around, and they wanted a female role for Tom Cruise, would I say Hollywood is height-ist because I'd be too tall to work against him? Come on now.

Let alone the fact that Dev Patel acted in ONE movie...granted, a very successful one...but one movie, and he expects Hollywood to come bow at his feet with multiple offers? Cman now.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Theres a difference between being typecast and not being able to get decent roles as an actor because you are not ethnically "popular".

Perhaps Dev Patel simply isn't a good actor. However, there are plenty of US born Asian actors in the US. Do they get decent roles in Hollywood or do they have the same experience as Patel?

He isn't wrong, you tend to see Arab, Indian Actors playing villains or more specifically terrorists in much the same way that native Americans were only given roles as extras in 50s westerns.

[Fandango 1,439]

Theres a difference between being typecast and not being able to get decent roles as an actor because you are not ethnically "popular".

Perhaps Dev Patel simply isn't a good actor. However, there are plenty of US born Asian actors in the US. Do they get decent roles in Hollywood or do they have the same experience as Patel?

He isn't wrong, you tend to see Arab, Indian Actors playing villains or more specifically terrorists in much the same way that native Americans were only given roles as extras in 50s westerns.

and Italians as mobsters...what's the big dealio? We're not in the casting room, we don't truly know the whys and wherefores of the decisions. I wouldn't want Joe Pesci as the lead in Inception.

Furthermore, what's a 'decent role'??? Did anyone hold a gun to his head to make Airbender? I thought he did well in it, and he was one of my fave characters. The potential to be in a franchise of movies, even as a 'tortured villain' isn't a 'decent role'???

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Italians aren't always cast as mobsters

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

Italians aren't always cast as mobsters

darn, ruining that stereotype!

[SMR 368]

Theres a difference between being typecast and not being able to get decent roles as an actor because you are not ethnically "popular".

Perhaps Dev Patel simply isn't a good actor. However, there are plenty of US born Asian actors in the US. Do they get decent roles in Hollywood or do they have the same experience as Patel?

He isn't wrong, you tend to see Arab, Indian Actors playing villains or more specifically terrorists in much the same way that native Americans were only given roles as extras in 50s westerns.

You see Arab and Indian actors playing terrorists because terrorists are typically Arab (and Indians can sometimes pass as Arab). That doesn't mean you don't see them in other roles. "Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle" is a good example. Another example is the angel in "The Matrix." You might claim that an Asian was cast because it's a martial arts role, but that is sort of over-analyzing it since the movie is martial arts.

Inception has an Asian as Yussuf. While that may fit the "nerd" criteria, all the characters in the movie sort of fit the nerd criteria. Several of the actors in House are Asian (it's not movies but I still think it's relevant).

Dev Patel needs to look inward and ask what he could really expect. He isn't really handsome enough to play a romantic lead, doesn't have the build or demeanor for an action hero, and certainly isn't comedic. He's left playing in dramas when a role comes that fits.

[thongd4me 69]

I read Anthony Quinn's autobiography "One Man Tango"

His situation was that he was often portraying indians who got shot or Mexicans

(he was 75% Mexican, one grandfather being Irish).

On the film "The Plainsman" (CB Demille the director was his father-in-law),

he had a row with CB on the set because he wanted to portray his Indian

character more authentically.

Needless to say, Quinn won the argument.

Sometimes when an actor is presented a "stereotypical" role he or she can make it

his/her own by sticking by his guns. It's not always necessary to get the "plum"

roles which present the actor as a star to get good work.

[chri'stina 190]

There are lead actors that aren't white that have made it big as lead characters...like Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and many others.

I do see what this guy is saying though.

As for white people in Indian movies, whenever a Bollywood movie includes an out of India/UK/European storyline, there are white people but in the background mostly. India's culture is a lot different than America's so I don't think they can be compared in relation to movie making. America is much more ethnically diverse color wise.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The question surely is whether Asian actors are more marginalized and typecast in terms of acting roles than actors from other ethnic or social groups.

[slim 1,525]

So are you guys saying we should PC up Hollywood and "trick ourselves" into thinking that Indian dude is a black guy from Detroit or a hillbilly from West Virginia?

Aside from Robert Downey Jr.'s Oscar-worthy performance in Tropic Thunder (which couldn't be anything short of racist "what do you mean, you people?") it's not often a character both looks the part and speaks the part and we're able to believe in our minds that this person, this actor, is the real character in the movie.

I realize he's saying the institution as a whole is racist, but I don't see how he can say that since it's an industry built on looking a certain way for a certain role and nailing that perception of how people imagine that character. By saying Hollywood is racist, he's really saying "Hollywood makes racist movies for racist America." What he should really be saying is "America is racist."

Then he should remember India - which makes more movies than any other country in the world - doesn't have a lot of ethnic flair either. Nor does the UK for that matter.

[Fandango 1,439]

Italians aren't always cast as mobsters

I'd say the majority are.