ARTICLE
Ed Skrein Quits 'Hellboy' Reboot after Whitewashing Controversy.
By Flora / 30 Aug 2017 (Wednesday)
The Deadpool actor, Ed Skrein steps down from his role in the upcoming Hellboy reboot that is slated for a 2018 release.
The British actor stated that he will be leaving the role of Major Ben Daimio in the film because he felt his casting was not in line with the character’s Asian-American heritage.
When the initial announcement of Skrein playing Daimio was released last week, there was an instantaneous backlash of yet another example of Hollywood’s ‘whitewashing’ its non-white characters with white actors.
Skrein clarified his decision with a post on social media, saying “it is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts.”
(See his post below)
Studio Lionsgate has released a statement in support of Skrein, and said it will recast the role with an Asian actor.
Lionsgate's full statement said:
Ed came to us and felt very strongly about this. We fully support his unselfish decision. It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material.