In 1983, Italian-American actor Al Pacino starred as a Cuban named Tony Montana in the legendary crime film called Scarface, and 24 years later, an African American actor by the name of Giancarlo Esposito delivered an award-winning performance with his portrayal of a Black Chilean named Gus Fring on the lauded crime drama known as Breaking Bad. Both performances are considered highly pivotal roles in iconic Hollywood projects that have withstood the test of time, but in both instances, neither of the Latino roles were played by actors of Latino descent. This is a prevalent notion that has remained steadfast in Hollywood since the release of Viva Zapata! (starring Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata) back in 1952 and the original Westside Story film back in 1961.
Today, film production companies such as Disney and pay television networks like HBO have put forth a credible effort to diversify their content with films like Encanto and Soul, but the fact of the matter remains, LatinX shows like Gentrified and Gordita Chronicles are routinely terminated by Hollywood executives after one season, and lead roles for Latino actors and actresses have remained scarce. Last week, Warner Bros canceled Batgirl, a Latina-led project starring Leslie Grace, before it was ever released, even though a budget of $90 million had already been spent and the filming process was complete. And earlier this week, Deadline announced that James Franco, an American actor of Portuguese and Jewish descent, had been cast to play Fidel Castro in the upcoming film Alina of Cuba. This will be just another instance in a long recurring line of non-Hispanic actors making millions of dollars while playing the role of a Latino. When John Leguizamo caught wind of the casting choice, the award-winning actor reposted the news on his Instagram page along with a message for the director and producers who overlooked Latino actors in favor of tabbing Franco as the man for the job.
"How is this still going on?" the Colombian American actor wrote. "How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement which would b wrong! I don’t got a prob with Franco but he ain’t Latino!"
When some fans offered pushback against Leguizamo's commentary, citing that he once played the role of an Italian in a film called Summer of Sam, the 62-year-old actor hopped on Instagram to set the record straight about his filmography and to drop some knowledge on his followers about the obstacles that Latino actors/actresses are currently facing.
"Okay y'all c'mon, let's get real about this whole situation. Alright?" he continued. "Now, people say, 'Oh John played an Italian in Summer of Sam.' Dude, I was the exception. You think thousands of Latinos were getting Italian roles? No, we weren't. And we're the oldest ethnic group in America after Native Americans. We've been here for 500 years and not getting roles. We're thirty percent of the box office, I want thirty percent of the roles, okay? Thirty percent means out of every 10 moves, three of those should be Latin movies, and out of 10 actors in your Marvel movies, three of those should be Latin Actors."
James Franco's upcoming film, Alina of Cuba will be shot in Leguizamo's native country of Colombia this August, so perhaps there will come a time when he can voice his concern about how the roles were cast with the film's director and producers on location. Until then, the fight for equality and adequate representation, for everyone, in Hollywood wages on.
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Source: News Nation Now
