Identity politics has gone way too far.
An Asian actress is now being forced to defend playing a white character on screen. Responding to critics, Gemma Chan, “Crazy Rich Asians” star and British actress, justified playing a white, British woman in “Mary Queen of Scots.”
After the period piece came out in December, Internet trolls said Chan, who is Chinese, shouldn’t have been picked for the roll of Bess of Hardwick, Queen Elizabeth’s confidante. In a recent interview with Allure, Chan said there are so few roles available to Asians, the controversy makes no sense:
“Mary Queen of Scots” director Josie Rourke said she chose colorblind casting for the film. Rourke has a background in theater, where it’s common for actors of any race to play a character based on talent, not ethnicity.
Rourke told Bustle, “It’s a very straightforward thing for me to do because that’s what I’ve always done in my work in theater and theater, actually, I think is much further ahead in terms of representation in storytelling than perhaps the screen is when it comes to period drama at the moment.”
Hollywood has a growing identity politics problem, where actors are constantly slammed for taking roles that may be different from their ethnicity or level of privilege. But Chan is right about Bess of Hardwick.
If the entertainment industry wants to fix its “do you have the right level of privilege for this role” problem, it should act more like theater. Just let the best actor take the role, no matter who it is.
