15 Actors Who Have Opened Up About Their Casting In These Popular Shows And Movies

1.First, in 2016, Zendaya landed the lead role of MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Speaking about her casting, she said she didn't even know which character she was auditioning for because it was initially presented as just "girl in Spider-Man movie." Following online criticism of her casting, Zendaya said, "People are going to react over anything."

Dominique Charriau / WireImage / Getty Images, Marvel / Sony

She continued, saying, "I'm like, “I don’t know what America you live in, but from what I see when I walk outside my streets of New York right now, I see lots of diversity and I see the real world and it’s beautiful, and that’s what should be reflected and that’s what is reflected so you’re just going to have to get over it.'"

2.Looking back on her casting in Cinderella, Brandy said she knew in the moment how important it was. Reflecting on the impact of the movie, she said, "That movie changed the way Black little girls believed in themselves. I hear to this day, 'I believe I can be a princess now because of you.'"

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She added, "I knew that this was so great for the world to see, especially Black people. She represented a culture that is beautiful, and I just so appreciated that because that was so much a part of what I wanted to bring to Cinderella." Debra Martin Chase, who executive produced the movie alongside Whitney Houston, said Whitney knew how important this casting would be for future generations, recalling, "[Whitney] totally understood the value and the importance, the significance of having a Black Cinderella."

3.Chadwick Boseman's casting as T'Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was an important step for representation in media, with numerous pieces being written about how huge it was. Speaking about his casting and Black Panther overall, Chadwick said, "I knew just from the comic book what a Black Panther movie could be, the type of impact it could have, I knew it would be a revolutionary idea. I didn't necessarily know that people would buy out [the seats in] theaters."

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He continued, saying, "I'm still a kid, you know, there's a kid in each one of us and so I just know what it's going to mean to you when you see it that it can give you a certain type of confidence when you walk through the world. It also makes people that look like you see you in a different light and not judge you in a particular way."

4.After being cast as Rue in The Hunger Games, Amandla Stenberg, who was only 12, faced racist backlash from fans, who refused to get behind Rue being portrayed by a Black actor, despite her being described as having dark skin in the book. Reflecting on the backlash they faced, Amandla said they used what they learned to consciously pick roles going forward. They said, "I realized that I had a platform that could be impactful if I harnessed it."

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"Now is one of the first times we're getting really good Black roles for Black women that are leading roles, and projects where Black women are at the helm and Black people are at the helm. I think that’s really exhilarating, and I feel lucky to come of age at a time when that’s really happening," Amandla added.

5.Ncuti Gatwa recently stepped into the iconic role as The Doctor on Doctor Who, making him the first openly queer, Black actor to play the role. "As a Black man and as an immigrant, it feels quite symbolic to take on this role," he began. "I'm a good actor [but] this is a 60-year-long British institution and I’m a Black man, so I never thought that I’d be chosen to front something that is basically the heart of the BBC. Your existence when you’re a marginalized person is political. So you, and the world, are aware of that, and people make decisions accordingly," Ncuti said.

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Ncuti does feel the weight of the legacy of Doctor Who as well, adding, "And yet, there is a 60-year-long legacy to honor, and 14 other actors that have come before, and a writer [returning showrunner Russell T Davies] that knows the show like nobody else. There's a high bar to clear, a lot of weight to carry. But it's fun to do so."

6.Viola Davis revealed in 2022 that before her casting as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder, she said she heard that some other Black actors reportedly didn't think she was "pretty enough" to pull off the role. She took the job anyway. Viola was the "dream" casting choice for Shonda Rhimes, too. She later became the first Black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

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In 2014, when her casting was announced, Viola called out people trying to compare her to Kerry Washington, saying, "There is no one who would compare Glenn Close to Julianna Margulies, Zooey Deschanel to Lena Dunham. They just wouldn’t. They do that with me and Kerry because we're both African Americans and we’re both in Shonda Rhimes shows. But they wouldn’t compare me to Ellen Pompeo. Because Ellen Pompeo is white."

7.Chandra Wilson's Miranda Bailey has become one of the most beloved Grey's Anatomy characters, however the role was initially described as being a "short, blonde, white female." Speaking about breaking barriers and the importance of her casting, Chandra said, "I was short and Black, so I was never gonna be in the chorus all the way, because I didn't fit in the chorus line. And I wasn't gonna be the ingénue, so I was the thing they always called 'non-traditional' casting. So I would just go in for anything and just say, 'I know that the role says this, but let me show you how I would do this.'"

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She continued, saying, "Just the fact that I came into the Grey's Anatomy audition at all because I wasn't 'ingénue.' I didn’t have whatever that look was, and casting always likes to give you a type." Chandra is now one of only two original cast members that is still a series regular on the show, alongside James Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber.

8.Amid initial online backlash to her casting, Leah Sava Jeffries, who stars as Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, spoke out about people comparing her to Alexandra Daddario, who played the role in the movies, and the description of the character in the books. Leah said, "'You can’t play her like Alexandra Daddario.' But you know what? They're right. I'm not her, and I cannot play like her. But I’m going to show you who I am, and how I'm going to play it."

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Around the same time of initial online criticism, Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan penned a note on his website titled "Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase." He wrote, "The response to the casting of Leah has been overwhelmingly positive and joyous, as it should be. Leah brings so much energy and enthusiasm to this role, so much of Annabeth’s strength. She will be a role model for new generations of girls who will see in her the kind of hero they want to be."

9.Similarly, Halle Bailey also faced online criticism over her casting as Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid. However, she tuned out the critics and continuously spoke about the importance of her casting. "I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they're special, and that they should be a princess in every single way," Halle explained.

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She continued, saying, "There's no reason that they shouldn't be. That reassurance was something that I needed." Following the release of The Little Mermaid, several viral videos of young Black girls reacting to Halle's version of Ariel, showed firsthand how important her casting is.

10.Brian Michael Smith, who made history as the first openly trans Black man to be a series regular on a network TV show with his role on 9-1-1: Lone Star, said he felt a "sense of honor" stepping into the role. He added, "When I booked 9-1-1: Lone Star, I thought, 'I am doing something that has never been done before.'"

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Brian continued, telling BuzzFeed, "It's been incredible knowing the impact on people who are trans like me, and for people who have always felt like an outsider. They get to see me play a character who has a full life and is successful. It's just a compounding force of positivity that I'm glad I can bring."

11.Candice Patton played the beloved Iris West-Allen in The Flash for nine seasons from 2014 to 2023. Reflecting on her journey on the show and casting, Candice said, "I learned a lot about myself and the business of being an actor, and being on a set and speaking up for yourself, and how to advocate for myself as a Black woman in this industry, which you don't really get a lot of education on the right way to go about that."

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Especially in the later seasons, Candice was very vocal about the racist backlash she experienced following her casting as Iris. She even considered leaving the series after two seasons, but ultimately stayed because she felt a responsibility to the fans she represented. She said, "It's getting easier, we're talking about it a lot more. But I had to learn a lot through trial and error, and I'm really proud of myself, of what I was able to accomplish, and how I was able to advocate for myself while I was there."

12.Jaquel Spivey starred as Damian in the 2024 version of Mean Girls. Speaking about his casting, Jaquel said, "I am nothing of what the past Damians have been. One, being a Black man, we can start there, obviously, but just also knowing that Damian, for me, as I got older, represented being able to be queer without the idea of putting on a show." He's also discussed how Daniel Franzese's work as Damian was important to him growing up, saying, "He was the only plus-size queer character that I had — plus-size queer boy — that I saw onscreen."

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He continued, saying, "I feel like sometimes we have to perform our queerness, because I think that's what keeps us the safest. It keeps you safe when you're entertaining someone. Damian is like, 'I am me. I happen to be queer. I happen to be plus-size. But none of this is for your entertainment. This is for my entertainment. You're in my show.'"

13.Rutina Wesley admitted she was terrified taking on the role of Maria in The Last of Us, namely because she was adapting a big character in the video games for TV. She added, "But I also was up for the challenge of playing her in my way and putting my energy on it to see what people would think of that."

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Rutina continued, saying, "Sometimes you can do an adaptation of something and it's a copy of a copy. Sometimes it's not so great. But I felt here with The Last of Us, they really have had a chance to fly with these storylines, even if they altered them a bit, because it's human people." Speaking about what initially drew her to the role of Maria, she said she loved how "fierce" she is and that she's "a born leader."

14.Jacob Anderson currently stars as Louis de Pointe du Lac on Interview with the Vampire, a role he said he's waited his entire career to find. He explained that his casting has allowed the show to tell an important story about Black Americans in the US, namely the South. "[Blackness] follows you wherever you go, because we don't live in a world that is post-racial. Wherever we find Louis, it’s going to be a part of his story," Jacob said.

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Like others, Jacob's casting was met with some criticism by fans of Anne Rice's original novel, however Jacob's brilliant performance has proven a lot of people wrong. Speaking more in depth about the importance of his casting, Jacob said, "No amount of magic can save him from a racist American, racist America, a racist society. He’s powerless in that way. He can’t operate with impunity just because he’s a vampire because he’s a Black vampire."

15.And finally, after being cast as Reva Sevander in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Moses Ingram stood up to the racist backlash she was facing. "Obi-Wan is going to bring the most diversity I think we’ve ever seen in the galaxy before," she began. "To me, it's long overdue. If you've got talking droids and aliens but no people of color, it doesn't make any sense. It's 2022, you know. So we’re just at the beginning of that change. But I think to start that change is better than never having started it."

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Disney, Lucasfilm / Disney+ / Everett Collection

Ewan McGregor also defended Moses, saying in a video posted to Twitter, "Moses is a brilliant actor, she’s a brilliant woman, and she’s absolutely amazing in this series…I just want to say as the leading actor in the series, as the executive producer on the series, that we stand with Moses. We love Moses, and if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind. There’s no place for racism in this world."

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