Actor Ed Skrein has quit the upcoming Hellboy reboot after the film faced accusations of whitewashing from comic fans.
The former Game of Thrones actor was announced last week to be playing Major Ben Daimio in the new blockbuster based on the DC Comics franchise.
Excited to join the #Hellboy cast as Ben Daimio. All praise due to the creator @artofmmignola 🙏🏼 #BPRD pic.twitter.com/Ev0JDS03H5
— Ed Skrein (@edskrein) August 21, 2017
But the news was quickly met with anger from many fans of the series, who were quick to point out that the original character was of Asian descent.
https://twitter.com/paulengelhard/status/899976257429012481
https://twitter.com/Wheeler/status/899779931474993152
@Lionsgate I'm sure there are "many sides" to story behind casting a white actor to play an Asian character.
— Alex Chu (@therealalexchu) August 24, 2017
Oh come on, guys. The character's last name is literally the Japanese word for a lord and vassal of the Shogun. This is bad.
— John Polanin III (@JohnnyP3rd) August 22, 2017
Ed shared a statement on his social media account following the backlash, where he revealed that he would not be continuing in the role – and wouldn’t have agreed to it if he had known the character’s ethnicity.
His lengthy statement read:
“I accepted the role unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage.
“There has been intense conversation and understandable since that announcement, and I must do what I feel 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 tenency 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 the role can be cast appropriately.”
— Ed Skrein (@edskrein) August 28, 2017
And while the Deadpool actor said he was “sad” to leave Hellboy, he was hoping that his decision would make a difference when it came to “equal representation”.
He added:
“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.”
Featured image via Ed Skrein/Instagram.
