Before ‘Ghost in the Shell': 15 Notorious Cases of Hollywood Whitewashing (Photos)
It isn’t just “Ghost in the Shell” — whitewashing in Hollywood casting goes back to the beginnings of Hollywood itself. And, despite vastly changing values, it remains a problem to this day. It’s more controversial than ever now, but some examples remain particularly galling. Read on for some of the most notorious instances of Hollywood whitewashing.
Katharine Hepburn as Jade in “Dragon Seed” (1944)
As morale-boosting propaganda featuring one of the greatest actresses of all time, this war film based on the novel by Pearl S Buck is extremely effective. But four time Oscar-winner Katharine Hepburn’s performance is marred, thanks to the excruciating yellowface makeup she donned to play Chinese woman who convinces the men in her village to rise up against their Japanese oppressors.
Yul Brynner as the King of Siam in “The King and I” (1951)
Russian-born Swiss star Yul Brynner not only played the decidedly non-Russian king of Siam 4,625 times on Broadway, followed by a hugely successful movie career, he won two Tony Awards and an Oscar for his performance. Whitewashing did double duty here, giving a white actor his big break while denying it to someone else.
And speaking of double duty, Brenner’s second most famous role was also whitewashing: he played Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses in “The Ten Commandments.”
John Wayne as Genghis Khan in “The Conqueror” (1956)
Yes, perhaps the personification of white masculinity during Hollywood’s golden age starred in the title role as the most famous Asian of all time. As absurd as that sounds, the film overall is worse, with a cast so whitewashed it borders on parody. Even the shooting location was whitewashed: c’mon, the Utah desert looks nothing like Mongolia.
In a rare twist, critics panned the film, in part because of its casting. That’s something that never happened then and rarely happens now.
On an unrelated but equally infamous note, despite assurances at the time from the Atomic Energy Commission, the shooting site was 100 miles downwind from a major U.S. nuclear testing site. By 1980, 46 people who’d worked on the film died of cancer – including Wayne.
Natalie Wood and George Chikiris as Maria and Bernardo in “West Side Story” (1961)
The musical retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” went further than many productions of its era, casting actual Puerto Rican actors in significant roles, most notably the legendary Rita Moreno as Bernardo’s lover, Anita. The story also focuses on the prejudice faced by immigrants trying to assimilate into American society.
On the other hand, it features Ukrainian-American Wood and Greek-American Chikiris playing Puerto Rican siblings in brownface and speaking in… we’ll charitably say not very good accents.
Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
Mr. Yunioshi, pervy neighbor to Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn), a hard to look at makeup-and-prosthetic-riddled parody of an older Japanese man, went mostly unremarked when the film was released. The film itself was a huge hit, one that went on to be considered an all-time classic. But since the early 1990s, the character has been increasingly – and rightly – seen as one of the most offensive ethnic caricatures ever filmed, leading to the cancellation of public screenings or, at least, serious disclaimers included with them.
For the record, director Blake Edwards and producer Richard Shepherd have both said they regret adding the character to the film.
Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal in “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)
One of the most important supporting roles in film history, the future Obi-Wan Kenobi plays Prince Faisal,a real-life leader in the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire who was briefly king of Syria and went on to become the first king of Iraq. Suffice to say, Alec Guinness may have been one of the greatest-ever actors with an uncanny resemblance to Faisal, but he was not an Arab.
The role was supposed to go to famed British actor Laurence Olivier, who went on to take another whitewashed role in the 60s.
Laurence Olivier in “Othello” (1965)
Yes, Othello was usually portrayed by white actors in blackface well into the 20th century, an unfortunate practice that occasionally continues. But Olivier’s performance as Shakespeare’s Moorish General whose life is destroyed by the racism and bitter envy of his rivals, and his own jealous heart, remains one of the most notorious examples. He actually earned an Oscar nomination, but while Pauline Kael was a fan of the film, other critics blasted Olivier’s absurd, shoe-polish blackface makeup and his made-up accent and mannerisms, comparing the performance to racist camp. Progress?
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in “Scarface” (1983)
It’s difficult to overstate the extent to which “Scarface” remains one of the most beloved films of all time, a cultural touchstone for generations of crime film fans and the inspiration behind a thousand rap songs. It also features Italian-American Al Pacino and one of the most ridiculous fake accents in film history as Cuban drug lord Tony Montana.
Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico in “Starship Troopers” (1997)
With his hyperviolent 1997 cult favorite, Paul Verhoeven provided a rare example of whitewashing used deliberately to make an effective satirical statement. While Johnny Rico was Filipino (and named Juan) in Robert A. Heinlein’s military sci-fi novel, Verhoeven made Rico and the entire cast white as part of his effort to turn that novel into brutal satire of fascism, propaganda, and the way xenophobia is used to fuel pro-war patriotism.
Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan in “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (2010)
The “Prince of Persia” video game series is not renowned for historical or cultural accuracy, but it is definitely supposed to take place in Persia during a fantasy time period. One thing scholars agree on, Jake Gyllenhaal is not remotely of Persian descent.
Johnny Depp as Tonto in “The Lone Ranger” (2013)
In a clear sign of changing times, Johnny Depp‘s casting as The Lone Ranger’s crime-fighting partner Tonto sparked a huge controversy many months before the film hit theaters. Depp for his part claims he has Native American ancestry, though it’s impossible to prove. He was even made an honorary member of the Commanche nation. No matter, the bad publicity helped sink this attempt to launch a franchise at the box office.
The entire cast of “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014)
In another sign of changing times, Ridley Scott’s biblical epic drew protests for selecting a cast of white A-listers to play Hebrew characters. Scott didn’t help his case when he told those with grievances over the casting to “get a life” and that he wouldn’t be able to get his $140 million film financed if “my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such.” The film was still able to make its money back, grossing $268 million at the box office, but it was savaged by critics.
Emma Stone in “Aloha” (2015)
Casting Stone as “Allison Ng,” a half white, one quarter Chinese, one quarter Hawaiian U.S. Air Force pilot, sparked a massive controversy. Director Cameron Crowe says he based the character on a real-life red headed woman he met in Hawaii, but apologized nonetheless. So too did Stone, who said that the backlash she experienced opened her eyes to the problem. Those apologies weren’t enough to keep the film from flopping, but the matter did bring criticisms against whitewashing into the mainstream.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Geoffrey Rush, Gerard Butler, Brenton Thwaites, etc, “Gods of Egypt” (2016)
On paper “Gods of Egypt” looked like a recipe for a solid hit. It combines ancient mythology, a story about superpowered beings fighting for control of the universe, and an absolutely crazy setting, things American audiences tend to love. But it’s set in a fantasy version of Ancient Egypt, and primarily white actors were cast in prominent roles. A backlash ensured almost as soon as Lionsgate started marketing the film – and this time the studio apologized immediately. The controversy doomed the film’s box office prospects, and it took in only $150M off its $140M budget.
Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in “Doctor Strange” (2016)
Marvel was arguably between a rock and a hard place on this one. in the original comics, The Ancient One is a prime example of the discredited trope of the wise Asian man who teaches a white man to become superior. Makes sense the studio would want to change it up to avoid criticisms of cultural tourism and appropriation. However, changing the character to a white woman played by Tilda Swinton invited whole new criticism that a role which could have gone to an Asian actor was instead handed to a white actor. The controversy didn’t hurt the film’s box office, but it’s likely Marvel will be developing characters for “Doctor Strange 2” carefully.
