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The Most Notorious Cases of Whitewashing in Films

The Most Notorious Cases of Whitewashing in Films

Updated: by

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Laurence Olivier: "Othello" (1965)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Marlon Brando: "Viva Zapata!" (1952)

Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Burt Lancaster: "Apache" (1954)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Yul Brynner: "The King and I" (1956)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

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

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Ricardo Montalban: "Sayonara" (1957)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

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

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Charlton Heston: "Touch of Evil" (1958)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Mickey Rooney: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Natalie Wood: "West Side Story" (1961)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Joseph Wiseman: "Dr. No" (1962)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Anthony Quinn: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Alec Guinness: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

José Ferrer: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Elizabeth Taylor: "Cleopatra" (1963)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Peter Sellers: "The Party" (1968)

Source: Courtesy of United Artsts

Elvis Presley: "Stay Away, Joe" (1968)

Source: Coutesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Jack Palance: "Che" (1969)

Source: John T. Barr / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

John Gielgud: "Lost Horizon" (1973)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Max von Sydow: "Flash Gordon" (1980)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Joel Grey: "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" (1985)

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

Alfred Molina: "Not Without My Daughter" (1991)

Source: Michael Kovac / Getty Images

Al Pacino: "Carlito's Way" (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Meryl Streep: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

Glenn Close: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

Jeremy Irons: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

Winona Ryder: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

Madonna: "Evita" (1996)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Anthony Hopkins: "The Mask of Zorro" (1998)

Source: Courtesy of Tristar Pictures

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

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Antonio Banderas: "Black Gold" (2011)

Source: Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Mark Strong: "Black Gold" (2011)

Source: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / via Wikimedia Commons

Johnny Depp: "The Lone Ranger" (2013)

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Emma Stone: "Aloha" (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Rooney Mara: "Pan" (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Laurence Olivier: "Othello" (1965)
Marlon Brando: "Viva Zapata!" (1952)
Burt Lancaster: "Apache" (1954)
Yul Brynner: "The King and I" (1956)
Marlon Brando: "The Teahouse of the August Moon" (1956)
Ricardo Montalban: "Sayonara" (1957)
Curd Jürgens (Curt Jurgens): "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (1958)
Charlton Heston: "Touch of Evil" (1958)
Mickey Rooney: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
Natalie Wood: "West Side Story" (1961)
Joseph Wiseman: "Dr. No" (1962)
Anthony Quinn: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)
Alec Guinness: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)
José Ferrer: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)
Elizabeth Taylor: "Cleopatra" (1963)
Peter Sellers: "The Party" (1968)
Elvis Presley: "Stay Away, Joe" (1968)
Jack Palance: "Che" (1969)
John Gielgud: "Lost Horizon" (1973)
Max von Sydow: "Flash Gordon" (1980)
Joel Grey: "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" (1985)
Alfred Molina: "Not Without My Daughter" (1991)
Al Pacino: "Carlito's Way" (1993)
Meryl Streep: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)
Glenn Close: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)
Jeremy Irons: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)
Winona Ryder: "The House of the Spirits" (1993)
Madonna: "Evita" (1996)
Anthony Hopkins: "The Mask of Zorro" (1998)
Jake Gyllenhaal: "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010)
Antonio Banderas: "Black Gold" (2011)
Mark Strong: "Black Gold" (2011)
Johnny Depp: "The Lone Ranger" (2013)
Emma Stone: "Aloha" (2015)
Rooney Mara: "Pan" (2015)

The standards and practices of today are significantly different from what they were years ago. What was once a common practice is now highly taboo. There is no better place to see these changes than in the film industry, a business that has been around for almost 150 years and began at a time when restrictions were in place on who could and couldn't be hired for roles. Racial discrimination was widespread, and studios came up with interesting ways to create lead roles that called for persons of color. This led to the most notorious cases of whitewashing in films.

Many of these methods and techniques were highly inappropriate by today's standards and although the business has evolved quite considerably, there is still much room for improvement. Whitewashing took many different forms but the most common, and most prevalent, was blackface which gave way to yellowface. While the use of this method is on the decline, in Hollywood the practice of casting white actors in non-white roles is still fairly common.

To assemble a list of the most notorious cases of whitewashing in 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 doesn't showcase movies made before 1950. (These are character roles that have garnered the most Oscar nominations.)

Here are the most notorious cases of whitewashing in films:

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