15 Times Actors Faced Received Backlash For The Roles They Took

“It was certainly a question that I had before I accepted the role,” Helen told Daily Mail. “I said, ‘Look Guy [Nattiv, the film’s director], I’m not Jewish, and if you want to think about that, and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand,'” she continued. “But he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went.”

“I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive,” Scarlett told Marie Claire.

After being called out, Scarlett told Bustle that detractors should “direct [their attention] to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.” She apologized for that comment, telling Vanity Fair, “In hindsight, I mishandled that situation. I was not sensitive, my initial reaction to it. I wasn’t totally aware of how the trans community felt about [Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman] playing —and how they felt in general about cis actors playing —transgender people.”

“There was a lot of contention around the role, understandably now,” Cumberbatch told Variety in a recent interview. “I think in this era, my role would never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor,” he said. “But I remember at the time not thinking of it necessarily in that regard, and it being more about two dinosaurs, two heteronormative clichés not understanding this new diverse world. But it backfired a little bit.”

“I wouldn’t take it on now,” Redmayne told The Sunday Times. “I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake.”

“I’ve learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It’s ignited a conversation that’s very important,” Emma told News.com.au.

James did not respond to the backlash, but he did receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

Whitehall did not respond to the backlash. He did end up playing the role of McGregor Houghton, and though the character was implied to be gay, the movie did not specifically state it.

When Jared was heckled by a trans activist at the 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Awards about the controversial casting, he said, “Because I’m a man, I don’t deserve to play that part?” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “So you would hold a role against someone who happened to be gay or lesbian — they can’t play a straight part? Then you’ve made sure people that are gay, people that aren’t straight, people like the Rayons of the world would never have the opportunity to turn the tables and explore parts of that art.”

“Since cinema has been around, Native Americans have been treated very poorly by Hollywood. What I wanted to do was play Tonto not as a sidekick — like, ‘Go fetch a soda for me, boy!’— but as a warrior with integrity and dignity. It’s my small sliver of a contribution to try to right the wrongs of the past,” he said to Indian Country Today. 

Reflecting on the controversial role to Variety, “I spend a lot of time trying to be very thoughtful about the roles that I pick, and why I’m picking them.”

Elizabeth had not commented on the controversy. 

Kevin has not commented on the controversy or apologized.

Angelina has never apologized or commented on the backlash.