“Homeland” actor David Harewood recently ripped Hollywood’s fixation on making sure actors fit the identity of the roles they play, going so far as to say that White people should be able to “Black up” and play characters of color.
Harewood, who was recently appointed president of British acting school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) – succeeding actor Kenneth Branagh – blasted identity politics in casting decisions in a recent interview with The Guardian.
The actor told the UK outlet, “We’re at this strange point in the profession where people go: ‘Oh, you can’t play that role because you’re not disabled, or you can’t play that because you’re not really from there.’”
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“The name of the game is acting,” he declared.
Those who have pushed identity politics and diversity quotas in Hollywood casting in recent years have insisted that actors must match the roles they play in their real-life identities, particularly if the role is part of a minority group.
Various groups have called for ensuring that trans or disabled roles are only portrayed by trans and disabled actors, respectively.
Meanwhile, roles traditionally portrayed by White actors have been played by actors of color in several recent films.
Harewood’s solution is to have any actor play any role, provided they do a good job. This means a White actor should be able to play a Black character, in his opinion.
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“Yes, we’ve got to be representative, but I do think we have to be careful… That even extends to Othello in blackface. I say, if you want to Black up, have at it, man,” he said.
“It’d better be f—ing good, or else you’re gonna get laughed off the stage. But knock yourself out! Anybody should be able to do anything,” Harewood added.
The actor has played multiple race-swapped roles throughout his career. He starred as Romeo in a 1988 all-Black stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Rome & Juliet” – which he told The Guardian he got “slaughtered” for – and recently starred as White conservative political icon William F. Buckley in the play “Best of Enemies.”
Harewood is also the first person of color to head RADA. He commented on the reception he got upon getting the position, noting some of the hate mail he was sent among the fan mail.
“It was all wonderful and complimentary… except the second to last one that began: ‘The true patriots of England will be turning in their grave at your appointment…’ I didn’t read on, but I could see it was full of the usual,” he said.
