Oftentimes, the only way to get a role in Hollywood is to don a mask. Whether that mask is a wig, a prosthetic, or a different skin tone, it’s all part of the job. That’s why you won’t see any actors complaining about having to wear blackface or yellowface just to get their big break in the industry.
But how can you maintain your own unique brand identity while wearing makeup and costumes? How can you prevent yourself from being typecast as whoever you’re playing on screen? These are all questions that have been plaguing my brain for the past few months.
I’ve had many roles in which I play characters of various ethnicities and races. “What’s my ethnicity?” has become a question I ask myself almost daily. In order to stay on track with my brand identity, I’ve had to come up with some creative solutions for transforming back into my true self off-screen.
I have been working in the acting industry for a while now. I love my job, but it can be hard to stay on track with my brand identity.
When you work in Hollywood, you’re always taking on new roles and playing different parts. Often times I would find myself getting so caught up in becoming that character that I would forget who I really was. Sometimes it’s easy to forget your brand identity when you’re trying to become someone new.
But then one day, I remembered that it was important to stay true to who I really am. After all, people hire me because they know what kind of actor I am, and they like how I do things.
I have a friend who is an animator at Pixar. He told me that one time he got so caught up in his work that he forgot his daughter’s birthday. That sounds crazy to me! But it does happen sometimes, when we get so used to being someone else for a living.
So this blog will hopefully help you remember your brand identity when you’re working on changing your character for a part!
One of the largest concerns when changing ethnicities is maintaining a brand identity. Many people enter the industry with a certain image of themselves, and it takes time to build that image up to a level where they are comfortable with it. Changing appearances can challenge this image and put the actor in an unfamiliar position.
“Changing your appearance can force you to rethink your brand identity,” said Melissa Minton, career coach at The Actors Fund’s Career Center. “If you have built up an identity for yourself, but you are being cast in roles that are much different from your own self-image, you may have to do some soul searching as far as what type of work you want to be doing.”
Minton suggests that actors who have trouble negotiating their brand image should speak with a professional career counselor or coach. These professionals can help you identify where conflicts may lie and help you decide on the best steps forward.
“When people come into my office and tell me that they want to change their image to expand their jobs, I always ask them if it’s because they personally want to do it or because someone else has suggested it,” said Minton. “I also ask how important their current brand is to them.”
“I work with a lot of actors who
It’s quite simple, really. Stay true to who you are, what you believe in, and the work that you do. If you are a white actor and you are offered a role as a person of color that is not written as someone of color, take the role. Obviously it’s not as simple as I make it sound, but if we want to stop the Hollywood whitewashing problem then we have to start somewhere.
I know many of you might be thinking why would an actor take a non-written role for another race? The answer is simple, money. It doesn’t matter your color or background when an offer from Hollywood comes knocking on your door with millions of dollars behind it. But there are other reasons too: maybe the script is amazing; maybe the character has depth that hasn’t been seen before; maybe this is the first time an Asian-American character was ever written; maybe this is your dream role that you’ve wanted since you were a little kid; or maybe this is your chance to show people that yes you can play roles outside of your race and ethnicity.
There are few things more exciting than being cast in your first major film, and the thrill of seeing yourself on the big screen is a dream come true. One of the most interesting things about acting, and working in the entertainment industry in general, is that it’s not always what you look like that gets you the part.
With movie magic available to enhance your appearance or even transform it completely, acting can be an opportunity to be someone else. Still, it requires some serious acting chops to pull off a new look or character on screen. There have been many actors throughout history who have defied stereotypes and played against their type. These are just a few of them:
1. Jennifer Beals – Flashdance
2. Charlize Theron – Monster
3. Jake Gyllenhaal – Brokeback Mountain
4. Haley Joel Osment – The Sixth Sense
5. Naomi Watts – King Kong
The old Hollywood stereotype of being a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty is a dying breed. The film industry is becoming more accepting and open to people of different races and ethnicity which is a good thing. Unfortunately, some people are taking advantage of this openness with white actors wearing blackface and even full-body makeup to portray characters of another race.
This practice has been present in Hollywood for decades but there are new discussions about it every year or two. It’s not something that we can sweep under the rug and just let happen. These roles are being given to white actors who are making a mockery of other races and cultures by putting on makeup to change their skin tone. Those casting directors need to put in the work to find authentic actors for those roles because white actors should not be wearing blackface or full-body makeup unless they are playing a character who is not human, such as a space alien or animated character.
We have seen this practice in many movies throughout the years, some examples include: Al Pacino in Scarface (1983), Johnny Depp in Black Mass (2015), Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (2010), Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder (2008), Charlize Theron
Recently there has been a lot of talk about “whitewashing” in movies and TV. This is when productions casting white actors to portray characters who are not. In this article I want to look at the other side of the coin: Those actors who play a variety of ethnicities.
I am talking about white actors who play Asian, Latino, Native American and Arab characters. Some of these roles have gone to very famous actors and others have gone to lesser known but still accomplished performers.
Here is a list of white actors who have had major roles where they played characters not of their ethnicity:
Chris Pine- Star Trek (Kirk)
Zoe Saldana- Star Trek (Nyota Uhura), Avatar (Neytiri)
Dougray Scott- Mission Impossible II (Sean Ambrose)
Matt Damon- The Great Wall (William Garin)
Tom Cruise- The Last Samurai (Nathan Algren), Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher)
Christian Bale- Exodus: Gods & Kings (Moses), The Newsroom Season 3 Ep 2 & 5 (Jerry Dantana)
Henry Cavill- Immortals (Theseus)
