Disney is apparently struggling to cast their new live-action “Aladdin,” and we can’t possibly imagine why.
The studio is attempting to avoid a whitewashing catastrophe by casting the classic tale with authentic actors, but apparently that’s really, really, hard to do. Hollywood has been riddled with backlash after several films hired white actors to play characters that are traditionally ethnic.
Matt Damon’s lead in “The Great Wall of China” tanked at the box office after months of bad press. Native Hawaiians were in an uproar after Emma Stone was cast as a half-Asian woman in “Aloha,” which is based on a true story. And only months ago Paramount admitted that the highly-anticipated “Ghost in the Shell” film flopped because the studio used Scarlett Johansson to whitewash the Japanese tale.
Asian actors have a hard time nabbing roles, even in their own stories.
About 75 percent of film actors in 2014 alone were white, according to a study by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications. The study found that over half of the 400 films and television series studied did not feature an Asian person in a speaking role at all. And most of the roles featuring Asians perpetuated stereotypes.
It’s just so difficult to find actors to play Aladdin and Jasmine, right? Don’t worry Disney, HuffPost scoured the entertainment industry and came up with a great short list.
Here are seven actors who would be great as “Aladdin.”
And here are seven women who could definitely play Jasmine.
You’re welcome.