When Swede Warner Oland was hired to play Asian characters Charlie Chan and Dr. Fu Manchu in the 1930’s, it was because at the time Hollywood was reluctant to hire authentic Asians as leads. You’d think in the years since, casting agents would leap at the chance to prove how much progress we’ve made. You’d [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Acting Against Type'
Ten Bizarre Ethnically-Challenged Casting Choices
May 4th, 2008 31 Comments
Tags: Akim Tamiroff · Al Pacino · Bernardo Bertolucci · Breakfast at Tiffany's · Charlton Heston · Christopher Lambert · Dick Van Dyke · Fu Manchu · Highlander · John Wayne · Keanu Reeves · Little Buddha · Marlon Brando · Mary Poppins · Mickey Rooney · Mike Myers · Pete Postlethwaite · Peter Sellers · Ricardo Montalban · Scarface · Sean Connery · Space Seed · Star Trek · Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan · The Conqueror · The Teahouse of the August Moon · The Usual Suspects · Tony Montana · Touch of Evil · Walt Disney · Warner Oland
Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Directors’ Cameos in Films
April 3rd, 2008 37 Comments
For whatever reason, be it a deep-seated desire to act, a lack of a casting budget, or just “if you want something done right, do it yourself”, many directors at some point in their careers have stepped out from behind the camera to act. This is typically in a smaller, cameo role, and often with [...]
Tags: Akira Kurosawa · Akira Kurosawa's Dreams · Alfred Hitchcock · Apocalypse Now · Bob Balaban · cameo role · Chinatown · Close Encounters of the Third Kind · Dustin Hoffman · Francis Ford Coppola · Francois Truffaut · John Landis · M. Night Shyamalan · Martin Scorsese · Mel Gibson · Oliver Stone · Pulp Fiction · Quentin Tarantino · Robert DeNiro · Roman Polanski · Signs · Steven Spielberg · Sydney Pollack · Taxi Driver · The Blues Brothers · The Doors · Tootsie