Every single lead actor in the ‘Gods of Egypt’ is white
Last Wednesday, creation of Alex Proyas’ Gods of Egypt began. The $150 million film centers on the showdown between the evil god Set and Horus.
The issue? All of the lead actors are white. Gerard Butler stars as Set and Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldeu plays Horus.
It also stars “our own” Geoffrey Rush as the sun god Ra and Brenton Thwaites as a “common thief” who joins the mythical figures on their magical quest.
In other words, it’s a film set in Egypt with Egyptian characters, but (with the exceptions of Chadwick Boseman and Elodie Yung in minor roles) a white cast.
Non-white characters are often played by white people in black, yellow or brownface, or left out altogether.
The biblical blockbuster Noah, now in theaters, stars Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson, all white actors. Christian Bale will play Moses in the upcoming adaption of the exodus story.
How can we break the time-honored tradition of whitewashing in Hollywood?
Sound off below!
