The right actor can elevate a role or tank it; they shape narratives, define characters, and influence audience perception. Sometimes filmmakers take risks by casting actors who challenge conventional norms or push boundaries; it can lead to groundbreaking performances and memorable cinematic experiences, but it can also open the door to criticism, scrutiny, and allegations of whitewashing, cultural appropriation, and insensitivity. Moreover, the rise of social media and clickbait culture has amplified public opinion, giving everyone - both good and bad - a platform for their voices.
This has been made especially clear in recent months with the release of the live-action The Little Mermaid, with African-American actress Halle Bailey playing the fictional mermaid. But Bailey is only one of many dubious casting calls. Here are fifteen controversial casting decisions made during the 2010s.
15 Matt Damon - The Great Wall
Directed by Zhang Yimou, The Great Wall is a 2016 Chinese historical-fantasy film set during China’s Song dynasty. Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal star as European mercenaries who travel to Ancient China in search of gunpowder, but in the process become entangled in a centuries-long war between an elite group of Chinese warriors and monstrous creatures known as the Tao Tei. The Great Wall serves as a massive defense structure, and the only thing keeping the Tao Tei from overrunning the entire country.
The movie garnered a lot of controversy around the casting of Matt Damon as a lead, with critics accusing the production of “whitewashing” a role meant for a Chinese actor for the sake of reaching a wider audience. But director Yimou has dismissed any whitewashing claims, saying that the role was always intended to be for a man of European / Western descent. Yimou similarly waved off any claims that The Great Wall was perpetuating a white savior narrative:
“For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tentpole scale for a world audience. I believe that is a trend that should be embraced by our industry.”
14 Scarlett Johansson - Ghost in a Shell
Rupert Sanders’ English live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s popular Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell is a visually-stunning film. But Scarlet Johansson’s casting sparked a lot of controversy and reignited the discussion around whitewashing in Hollywood.
Johansson was cast as Major Mira Killian (originally Motoko Kusanagi), a cyborg counter-terrorism operative living in a futuristic Japan. Many critics and fans argued that casting a white actress as a traditionally-Japanese character was a prime example of whitewashing; it’s not only disrespectful to the source material, but was a missed opportunity to highlight a talented Asian actress in the role. The film’s ending - where it’s revealed that the cyborg Killian was originally a Japanese girl - only seemed to add fuel to the whitewashing fire.
The film's producers defended their decision, citing Johansson's star power and box office appeal as factors that would help bring a wider audience to the film.
13 Ben Affleck - Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice
When Christopher Nolan first announced Heath Ledger would don the Joker’s famous purple sports coat for The Dark Knight, fans were in an uproar; how could a rom-com heartthrob portray Batman’s greatest foe? Of course, when the film came out, the critics were proven wrong; to this day, Ledger’s role as the Joker is probably the most influential performance in a superhero film of all time.
While Ben Affleck never received such unanimous praise for his turn as the caped crusader in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, news of his casting was met with a similar mix of skepticism and controversy from fans of the comics. For starters, Affleck’s last performance in a superhero movie - 2003’s Daredevil - didn’t instill a lot of confidence that he could pull the role off. Coupled with Snyder’s trademark bleak tone, and many feared the worst.
Alas, though the film has its critics, it’s widely believed that Affleck's version of Batman is a highlight (despite how different he may be from the comics).
12 Anne Hathaway - The Dark Knight Rises
Speaking of Batman movies, one cannot forget the initial fan backlash to Anne Hathaway being cast as Selina Kyle / Catwoman in Nolan’s trilogy caper, The Dark Knight Rises. The main detractors? Misogynistic comic book fanboys who took to Twitter to express their displeasure. They viewed Hathaway as a “try-hard” and “cringey,” and thus not appropriate for the role.
Of course, the controversy amounted to a whole lot of nothing: Hathaway gave a fantastic performance as Bruce Wayne’s foe and sometimes-flame.
11 Johnny Depp - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Colin Farrell plays the film’s antagonist, Graves. But at the end of the movie, Graves is revealed to be a different person entirely: the infamous dark wizard Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp. Fans of the series were quickly disappointed to see Colin Farrell - the film’s promising and incredibly-watchable villain - replaced by Depp, whose recent performances have started to feel like vaguely different variations of his Jack Sparrow character.
But reactions only got worse as Johnny Depp’s allegations of domestic violence started making headlines. Although he starred in the series’ second film - the appropriately-subtitled The Crimes of Grindelwald - he was ultimately replaced by Mads Mikkelson in the third entry in the series, The Secrets of Dumbledore.
10 Rooney Mara - Pan
Pan, Joe Wright’s big-budget reimaging of Peter Pan, was - for the most part - a big swing and a miss for Warner Bros; it was poorly received by critics and tanked at the box office. But even before the film’s release, Pan sparked a lot of controversy around Rooney Mara’s casting as Tiger Lily, a character originally portrayed as Native American.
Mara’s involvement was seen as a missed opportunity to cast a Native American actor in the role, and raised further concerns of Native erasure in popular culture. It’s believed that, given past controversies surrounding the stereotypical nature of the character, Wright and the studio cast Mara as a way of avoiding repeat criticisms. While Wright has defended her casting, Mara has actually come out against it, saying: “I really hate that I am on that side of the whitewashing conversation…I can understand why people were upset and frustrated.”
9 Tilda Swinton - Doctor Strange
2016’s Doctor Strange was the world’s first introduction to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme, but the movie was almost overshadowed by the controversial casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, a character that typically appears in the comics as an elderly Tibetan man.
Like Ghost in the Shell, the controversy around Swinton’s casting stemmed from concerns of whitewashing. Director Scott Derrickson and Marvel Studios have defended their decision by stating they wanted to avoid potential racial stereotypes (of which there are many in the older comics) and modernize the character. They argued that Swinton's unique interpretation of the role made for a more interesting character, one devoid of any specific ethnicity. (Although Kevin Fiege has since admitted his regret).
Still, critics wondered if they couldn’t do the same thing with an Asian actor in the role, as a way to honor the character's roots and culture.
8 Michael B. Jordan - Fantastic Four
As we’ve seen most recently with the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, taking a traditionally-white fictional character and changing their race will evoke a massive amount of controversy. The same happened when Michael B. Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm in Josh Trank’s critical failure Fantastic Four (aka Fant4stic).
Some fans were upset by the departure from the character’s already-established appearance, arguing that it contradicted the source material. (Him and Sue Storm - played here by Kate Mara - are blood-siblings in the comics; in the film, they are adopted). Other fans saw the casting decision as a step in the right direction for inclusivity, and argued that it set the precedent that actors of color can take on other iconic white roles.
Fant4stic has since become one of those old-fashioned Hollywood horror stories; a production rife with conflict and over-inflated egos. The behind-the-scenes chaos has overshadowed not only the Jordan controversy, but the film as a whole.
7 Emma Stone - Aloha
It’s been close to a decade since celebrated director Cameron Crowe’s last film: the critically-maligned and controversial Aloha, an otherwise light-hearted (if bland) romantic-comedy that starred Emma Stone as Allison Ng, a character who is part-Chinese and part-Hawaaiin. Critics accused Cameron and Stone of whitewashing, and given the film’s underwhelming reviews and disappointing box office returns, the controversy overshadowed everything else, and became all the film was known for.
A few months after the film’s release, Cameron Crowe offered up a heartfelt response to the criticisms on his blog:
...Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng. I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice…Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud ¼ Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one. A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii. Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets. The character was based on a real-life, red-headed local who did just that…”
Sony Pictures has defended the casting decision, saying Aloha “respectfully showcases the spirit and culture of the Hawaiian people.” And although Stone has acknowledged that whitewashing is a widespread problem in the industry, she also defended her casting, arguing that the whole point of her character was that she looked nothing like her heritage.
6 Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games Trilogy
When Jennifer Lawrence was cast as Katniss Everdeen in the big-screen adaption of The Hunger Games, fans of the wildly-popular book series were skeptical. For starters, Katniss is described in the books as someone with “olive skin and dark hair” - characteristics the blond-haired, hazel-eyed actress doesn’t share. But to be fair, the make-up team did a fantastic job bringing those qualities to life in the film.
But when the film was released, any hesitations or doubts that fans had were erased. If Lawrence didn’t match Katniss’s appearance to a tee, she was nevertheless able to effectively capture the character’s strength and resilience. Her strong performance in the first film ultimately became one of its biggest draws, and her presence throughout the franchise no doubt contributed to its nearly three-billion dollars in worldwide earnings.
5 Jake Gyllenhaal - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2010’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was the live-action feature adaptation of the popular video game series. Set in Ancient Persia, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the aforementioned Persian prince, Daston, who must stop the evil villain Nizam (Ben Kingsley) from destroying the world with a magic dagger that has the power to reverse time. The movie was intended to start a new franchise similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, but the failure of The Sands of TIme canceled those plans.
Although it wasn’t really a topic of discussion when it was released in 2010, Gyllnehaal’s casting in the film has since come under fire, given that he is a man of European descent playing a Middle-Eastern character. (The same goes for Gemma Arterton, who plays Tamina, Princess of Alamut). The film is also accused of presenting a stereotypical and ethno-centric view of Ancient Persia.
4 Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Jared Leto’s impressively committed performance as Rayon in the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club has earned him both acclaim and criticism. While his performance as a transgender woman suffering from HIV/AIDS was certainly powerful, a few critics believe that the role should have gone to an actual transgender woman.
Still, it’s important to recognize the skill, dedication, and nuance Leto brought to the role. His performance earned him a number of awards and accolades, including the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
3 Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
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Tom Hooper’s 2015 film The Danish Girl stars Eddie Redmayne as Einer Wegener, a Danish man who is notable for being one of the first-known recipients of gender-affirming surgery. The movie is loosely inspired by Einer’s transition into Lile Elbe, and how it impacted her relationship with her wife, Gerda (played by Alicia Vikander).
Although Redmayne earned an Oscar nom for his powerful performance, his casting in the role stirred some controversy, with critics arguing the role should have been given to a transgender actor, as it would have been a more honest representation of the experience, and could have provided a unique opportunity to showcase under-represented transgender talent. Redmayne has since gone on record stating his regret for taking the role.
Despite the controversy, fans of the film praise Hooper, Redmayne, and Vikander for bringing Elbe’s story to life with compassion and respect (even if it isn’t the most historically-accurate depiction of her life).
2 Johnny Depp - The Lone Ranger
Gore Verbinski’s big-budget film adaptation of The Lone Ranger has gone down in Hollywood history as one of the biggest box-office flops of all time, having lost the studio somewhere in the vicinity of $100 million. But the film also sparked a good bit of debate after Johnny Depp was cast as Tonto, John Reid’s Native American sidekick / partner.
Depp - who is of European descent - obviously didn’t fit the part, despite his attempts to by sporadically speaking Comanche throughout the movie. But he also accentuated some outdated Native stereotypes, like Tonto’s wears heavy face paint and the crow permanently affixed to his head. Even Quentin Tarantino - who considers the film one of the best of 2013 - found its portrayal of Tonto’s backstory tasteless:
“...I still have a little problem with the film. I like Tonto’s backstory—the idea that his tribe got slaughtered because of him; that’s a real comic-book thing. But the slaughter of the tribe, by gunfire, from the cavalry, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. The Indians have really been victims of a genocide. So slaughtering them again in an entertaining movie, Buster Keaton style… That ruined the fun a bit for me. I simply found it…ugly. Making fun of this, when America really did it, it bothered me...That doesn’t stop it from being a good film but they could have done without that.”
Regarding his casting Johnny Depp has commented that his portrayal of Tonto was his attempt “to try to right the wrongs of the past,” referring to past portrayals of Native American culture in the media
1 Zoe Saldana - Nina
Nina, the 2016 biopic of Nina Simone, the revered African-American musician and Civil Rights activist, was met with substantial criticism upon release for the casting of Zoe Saldana in the lead.
Not only was Saldana’s background a source of controversy (she’s Dominican and Puerto Rican), but make-up and prosthetics were also used to darken Saldana’s skin and make her look more like Nina Simone. The Simone estate was so displeased with the film that they refused to endorse it. Critics were equally harsh, not only critical of Saldana’s casting but also the film’s overall poor quality. Saldana has emphatically stated her regret for taking the role, believing she should have used her pull in the industry to help find a better actor for the part.
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