Perfect Casting, part 2

[Murphy's Stunt Double]

Yeah because white people never get a break in holywood...

Racism aside, I'll bet you I can name more black men who have played characters who were written white than you can name white men who have played characters who were written black.

[Snowleopard]

Racism aside, I'll bet you I can name more black men who have played characters who were written white than you can name white men who have played characters who were written black.

Morning MSD. 
 

[Murphy's Stunt Double]

Morning Snowy!

[Snowleopard]

Morning Snowy!

How's the thundering horde.  AKA - the kitten Diamond.  At that age they sound like a herd of pygmy elephants even if there's only one.

[MoSeS]

Racism aside, I'll bet you I can name more black men who have played characters who were written white than you can name white men who have played characters who were written black.

I only can think of one right now, Will Smith in I Am Legend.

But I am curious to read your list. I will take you up on the challenge.

And Robert Downey, Jr in Tropic Thunder.  

[MoSeS]

You might be suprised by how many white men have played black roles though if you go back to when they wouldn't hire blacks, and so white men would were black make-up to play the roles.

Whites who performed in blackface in film included Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple and Judy Garland.


Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903) all of the major black roles were whites in blackface.

D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) used whites in blackface to represent all of its major black characters.

Taking all of that into consideration, you might be hard pressed to find an era when whites were played by blacks.



Sorry MSD, had to take you up on this offer.

[Snowleopard]

Blackface was usually done to make fun or stereotype the blacks, very much different than a white actor playing a part written for a black actor.  Very much different.

[Jaeh]

I only can think of one right now, Will Smith in I Am Legend.

But I am curious to read your list. I will take you up on the challenge.

And Robert Downey, Jr in Tropic Thunder.  

you set yourself up for this one, MSD. xD teeheehee.

I found Tropic thunder hilarious as heck. xD I loved it, lol

[MoSeS]

Harry - Will Smith
Thomas - Tyrese Gibson
Morgan - Taye Diggs
Kincaid - Wesley Snipes
Michael - Forest Whitaker
Marcone - Denzel Washington
Ebenezar - Morgan Freeman
Nicodemus - Samuel L Jackson
Carlos - Don Cheadle
The Merlin - Danny Glover
Rashid - Laurence Fishburne
Injun Joe - Carl Weathers
Waldo Butters - Chris Rock
Don Ortega - Jamie Foxx
Hendricks - Michael Clarke Duncan
Sanya - Topher Grace

Susan - Sanaa Lathan
Murphy - Halle Berry
Lea - Tyra Banks
Mab - Angela Bassett
Charity - Vivica Fox
Luccio - Gabrielle Union
Lara - Zoe Saldana
Molly - Alicia Keys

BTW here is the perfect cast.

[MoSeS]

Blackface was usually done to make fun or stereotype the blacks, very much different than a white actor playing a part written for a black actor.  Very much different.

No, it was only done to make fun of later, it started off as serious roles, but just like back in the day when women weren't allowed to act, so men would dress as women in plays, the same goes for blacks in early film, they didn't do it to make fun of the stereotypes until much later.

Anyways, that's besides the point, those roles are "black roles" played by "white actors" no two ways about that.

Also "written for a black actor" was never part of the equation.
Besides, you don't write a role for an actor you write a role for a character.

[Warden John Marcone]

Not necessarily.  Old Man River was originally written in Showboat specifically for Jules Bledsoe.  Just one example of a role (or song in this case) being written for a specific actor.

[MoSeS]

I stand corrected.

I should have said "usually don't write...."

[Warden John Marcone]

Good enough.

[MoSeS]

I see what you mean though, I could totally see writting a role just for Clint Eastwood or Chuck Norris regardless of the character.

But if the character is Clint Eastwood, I would cast Viggo Mortensen. 

[Murphy's Stunt Double]

Dagnabbit, I just don't have time to do the research required for this right now.

But Will Smith has done a bunch more, too... like the guy in Wild Wild West. He apparently likes to do that, and he does it well.

And honestly, I was thinking more along those lines of race bending like Smith does than racist blackfacing. Smith doesn't white his face to take on the role, he becomes the character and erases the race.

So I will concede this one.