Ed Skrein Drops Out of Hellboy to Avoid Whitewashing

[Cyke]

From his Instagram:

Last week it was announced that I would be playing Major Ben Daimio in the upcoming HELLBOY reboot. I accepted the role unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage. There has been intense conversation and understandable upset since this announcement, and I must do what I fell is right.

It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts. I feel it is important to honour and respect that. Therefore I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately.

Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family. It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity. It is my hope that one day these discussions will become less necessary and that we can help make equal representation in the Arts a reality.

I am sad to leave Hellboy, but if this decision brings us closer to that day, it is worth it. I hope it makes a difference.

with love and hope,
Ed Skrein

Gotta say, if I didn't think much of him before, I've a newfound respect for him now.

[Frontier]

Well, this definitely looks better on him then it would had he kept with the role .

[JBatmanFan05]

I like his concern for the original comics. Definitely want more concern for the original comics.

[Angilasman]

Classy move. Gotta give props to him.

I went a bit ballistic when I found out Ben (a middle aged Japanese American man) was gonna be played by a white guy!

[Judge Dredd]

Interesting move not something you ever see, I hope they do not just cast another white guy who does not care about the source material this time.

[Arfguy]

Good on him. He was in line to get a paycheck, but opted to bow out due to the controversy. Hopefully, they'll try to replace the actor with someone who is racially accurate.

[Variant]

As an Asian American myself it sad to see how topics like this quickly degrades. I do have huge admiration for Ed Skrein. Because he's not an A-list actor/movie star. Mind you I think he has a bright career ahead of him and I think this will only help him. But at the moment he's a relatively unknown, and I don't begrudge any actor that needs the paycheck. But what it shows is that an Actor can say no, they're not powerless. And it's disappointing to me there have been bigger named stars who let's face it are not at risk of losing out on work or paychecks, that could have said no, but didn't.