How Whitewashing has Shaped Films Through the Decades

From early Hollywood to today’s blockbusters, casting decisions have played a major role in shaping a film, including how stories are told and whose voices are heard. Whitewashing, the practice of casting white actors as characters of color (or altering characters to remove their cultural identity), has a long history in the film industry. While some assume this controversial practice was merely a problem of the past, modern cinema continues to forego authentic representation in favor of white American performers.

What makes whitewashing especially influential is how it alters public perception, career opportunities for people of color, and visibility of certain cultures or ethnicities. Even though audiences want greater diversity on screen, financial pressures and studio traditions usually reinforce familiar casting choices. This article examines how whitewashing continues in today’s films, why it keeps happening, and how it shapes both storytelling and society.

To assemble a list of how whitewashing continues to shape modern films, 24/7 Tempo consulted numerous articles on the subject in publications including The Huffington Post, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, and other sites, as well as using editorial knowledge of film casting through the years. This list only comprises films from the latter part of the 21st century and doesn’t showcase movies made before 1950.

Laurence Olivier: “Othello” (1965)

• Actor’s ethnicity: British
• Role he portrayed: Moorish commander Othello

Marlon Brando: “Viva Zapata!” (1952)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata

Burt Lancaster: “Apache” (1954)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Apache warrior Massai

Yul Brynner: “The King and I” (1956)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Russian
• Role he portrayed: King Mongkut of Siam

Marlon Brando: “The Teahouse of the August Moon” (1956)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Japanese interpreter Sakini

Ricardo Montalban: “Sayonara” (1957)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Mexican-American
• Role he portrayed: Japanese Kabuki performer Nakamura

Curd Jürgens (Curt Jurgens): “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness” (1958)

• Actor’s ethnicity: German
• Role he portrayed: Chinese-Dutch army officer Lin Nan

Charlton Heston: “Touch of Evil” (1958)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Mexican special prosecutor Miguel Vargas

Mickey Rooney: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Japanese photographer I.Y Yunioshi

Natalie Wood: “West Side Story” (1961)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Russian-American
• Role she portrayed: Puerto Rican teenager María Vasquez

Joseph Wiseman: “Dr. No” (1962)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Canadian-American
• Role he portrayed: Half-Chinese villain Dr. Julius No

Anthony Quinn: “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Mexican-Irish
• Role he portrayed: Bedouin sheik Auda Abu Tayeh

Alec Guinness: “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)

• Actor’s ethnicity: British
• Role he portrayed: King Faisal I of Iraq

José Ferrer: “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Puerto Rican
• Role he portrayed: Turkish general Hajim Bey

Elizabeth Taylor: “Cleopatra” (1963)

• Actor’s ethnicity: English-American
• Role she portrayed: Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt

Peter Sellers: “The Party” (1968)

• Actor’s ethnicity: British
• Role he portrayed: Indian actor Hrundi V. Bakshi

Elvis Presley: “Stay Away, Joe” (1968)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Navajo rodeo rider Joe Lightcloud

Jack Palance: “Che” (1969)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Ukrainian-American
• Role he portrayed: Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara

John Gielgud: “Lost Horizon” (1973)

• Actor’s ethnicity: English
• Role he portrayed: Tibetan lama Chang

Max von Sydow: “Flash Gordon” (1980)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Swedish
• Role he portrayed: Emperor Ming the Merciless

Joel Grey: “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins” (1985)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Chiun, master of the fictitious Korean martial art Sinanju

Alfred Molina: “Not Without My Daughter” (1991)

• Actor’s ethnicity: British
• Role he portrayed: Iranian doctor Sayyed Bozorg “Moody” Mahmoody

Al Pacino: “Carlito’s Way” (1993)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Italian-American
• Role he portrayed: Puerto Rican criminal Carlito Brigante

Meryl Streep: “The House of the Spirits” (1993)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role she portrayed: Chilean psychic matriarch Clara del Valle Trueba

Glenn Close: “The House of the Spirits” (1993)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role she portrayed: Chilean patriarch Esteban Trueba’s sister Férula Trueba

Jeremy Irons: “The House of the Spirits” (1993)

• Actor’s ethnicity: English
• Role he portrayed: Chilean right-wing family patriarch Esteban Trueba

Winona Ryder: “The House of the Spirits” (1993)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role she portrayed: Clara del Valle’s Chilean daughter Blanca Trueba

Madonna: “Evita” (1996)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role she portrayed: Argentinian first lady Eva Perón

Anthony Hopkins: “The Mask of Zorro” (1998)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Welsh
• Role he portrayed: Spanish-born Californian Don Diego de la Vega (Zorro)

Jake Gyllenhaal: “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (2010)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: Prince Dastan of Persia

Antonio Banderas: “Black Gold” (2011)

• Actor’s ethnicity: Spanish
• Role he portrayed: Arabian emir Nesib

Mark Strong: “Black Gold” (2011)

• Actor’s ethnicity: British
• Role he portrayed: Arabian sultan Amar

Johnny Depp: “The Lone Ranger” (2013)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role he portrayed: The Lone Ranger’s Comanche companion, Tonto

Emma Stone: “Aloha” (2015)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role she portrayed: Hawaiian-Chinese-Swedish U.S. Air Force officer Allison Ng

Rooney Mara: “Pan” (2015)

• Actor’s ethnicity: American
• Role she portrayed: Native American princess Tiger Lily

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.