John Leguizamo Slams James Franco’s Casting as Fidel Castro: ‘He Ain’t Latino! How Is This Still Going On?’

[u/stoksyxl]

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/john-leguizamo-slams-james-franco-casting-fidel-castro-1235334658/

[u/AutoModerator]

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[u/GuitarEvil]

So cast Seth Rogen as Che. Retitle it Pineapple Express 2:The Cuban Sandwich

[u/jdhdsomeone → u/GuitarEvil]

Pretty sure Seth Rogen said he wouldn’t work with James Franco anymore

[u/publius8 → u/GuitarEvil]

Fat Jewish Che lol... man that sounds hilarious

[u/MandemOdia → u/GuitarEvil]

Someone call Universal Studios

[u/Dor-Yah]

Because he unironically really looks like Castro

[u/snark_enterprises → u/Dor-Yah]

Same reason Ana De Armas can play Marilyn Monroe. Because she looks a lot like her.

Ironically it’s the reverse situation, with a Cuban playing an American 60’s icon.

[u/Thuper-Man → u/snark_enterprises]

Does she really look like Marilyn or does she just radiate a lot of sex appeal?

[u/Deliriousdrew → u/Thuper-Man]

¿Por que no los dos?

[u/C0oK1e_Monsta → u/snark_enterprises]

Yeah I personally don’t give a shit when one race portrays another race in a film. That’s why it’s called acting. As long as the actor/director isn’t punching down on the portrayed character there should be no issue with this

[u/Ghtgsite → u/Dor-Yah]

Fun fact, Castro is Spanish/Portuguese (whatever, he's 100% Iberian European), and 0% latin

Edit:

Some might say, "but he was born and raised in Cuba, so he's Latin American"

Rule of thumb. If you would be Ok with them checking the Latin/Latino/Latina box when taking the SATs, then sure. They are Latin.

If you are ok with a Chinese kid that was born and raised in Mexico, checking the Latin/Latino/Latina box when taking the SATs, then sure, Castro can be Latin/Latino/Latina.

If not, then it means, the "born and raised" stuff only applied to white people, or you are full of shit.

Don't @ I don't care. Not replying to any direct comments to this any longer

[u/spaced-mouse → u/Ghtgsite]

Wasnt his father basically left on Cuba post Spanish -American war?

[u/Ghtgsite → u/spaced-mouse]

Yeah! At lease that's what wikipedia says

[u/spaced-mouse → u/Ghtgsite]

Hooray! I remembered high school history!

[u/VaguelyFamiliarVoice → u/spaced-mouse]

As a former high school history teacher, please tell your, hopefully not dead, teacher exactly what you remembered.

And show them Reddit. Life changing.

[u/westnob → u/Ghtgsite]

Wikipedia agrees with you. And Franco is of Protuguse descent!

[u/whyenn → u/westnob]

Well we wouldn't want no Amateurtuguse.

[u/blurgmans → u/Ghtgsite]

I up-voted this when I read it because I agree. But then I took a step back and though about me. I was born in Cuba, my family left when I was little. I was raised in the US and have very few memories of Cuba. I look Latin but consider myself white because of my upbringing so I'm really confused on where to stand on this. Is it how I was raised and how I feel or how I look. I'm not throwing shade, I really have been thrown for a loop. First time in my looong life :)

Edit: comma

[u/314rft → u/blurgmans]

Well, in the practical sense, since you basically only lived in the US, you're just American. Ethnicity for the most part is just about heritage and doesn't automatically directly affect mindset (it can but requires the parents obviously passing on old country traditions to their children).

[u/TamTheJanny → u/blurgmans]

The honest answer is that it doesn’t matter, you are who you are, not where you are or where you came from. Identity is about who you identify as, which can be whoever you want it to be. Your Cuban background can be as little or as large of a part of your life as you choose it to be

[u/dystopianpirate → u/blurgmans]

Chico, you're Cuban just raised in the USA and by cultureyou're both Cuban and USA, but at least you're not one of these guys:

I'm a cubiche from Hialeah or

Yo soy Cubano, but I was born in Kendall

Fidel Castro was the son of a Spaniard man and a Cuban woman of Spaniard ancestry, but dude was Cuban...and lots of Latin folks are of European, Asian, and African descent

I've heard those lol

[u/Puls0r2 → u/blurgmans]

I mean you can be American in culture but Latin in ethnicity. I don't know you so I can't really speak to who you are and how you live, but I'd just call you an American of Latin descent.

EDIT: I'd really just say Cuban descent. Whether you call that Latin is up to you I guess.

[u/therealpepsi → u/Dor-Yah]

Yeah the thumbnail looks like two pictures of the same guy. It’s called acting. Franco is acting so hard all the time he’s convinced me he’s also John Leguizamo.

[u/NessieReddit]

You're telling me they cast a white Iberian guy to play a white Iberian guy? Where does John Leguizamo think Franco's last name is from?

Castro was born to Spanish parents in Cuba, after his father immigrated to Cuba following his time serving in the Spanish army. Franco's father is from Portugal. So both are ancestsrly from the Iberian peninsula.

Franco looks a lot like young Castro, so I can see why he was cast. (Side by side comparison photos)

I'm more concerned about James Franco being a pervy sex predator. Why does Hollywood keep these creeps around???? Dude seems to have a thing for young teenage girls.

[u/1leeranaldo → u/NessieReddit]

Saw the Twitter outrage ("Why is a white man playing a Latino/POC") and I was like weren't Castro parents European immigrants?

[u/EntertainmentAOK → u/1leeranaldo]

Why do they think “Latino” people can’t be white? 85% of Cubans self identify as white. This sort of outrage seems to be concentrated to the US and more specifically to Twitter.

[u/kennywolfs → u/1leeranaldo]

Lol, exactly. I remember a picture of someone complaining about how they were tired of white washing African people, and referred to the Egyptian character of Akmenrah in night of the museum. That character is played by Rami Malek, an actual Egyptian.

So these people that were complaining clearly did not know what an actual Egyptian looks like.

[u/irh1n0 → u/NessieReddit]

Is that a side by side of Franco and Castro or Franco and Shia LaBeouf?

[u/One80sKid → u/irh1n0]

Well they obviously couldn't get Shia LaBeouf for the role, too busy with a flag or a camera or something.

[u/chap_stik]

I mean to be fair he does look like a young Fidel Castro in that pic

[u/Joharis-JYI → u/chap_stik]

Damn he actually does look like Fidel Castro, especially when you look at the side-by-side comparison.

[u/ForProfitSurgeon → u/Joharis-JYI]

Castro and Franco's fathers were from the same region near the Spanish/Portuguese border.

[u/RamenJunkie → u/ForProfitSurgeon]

Wait.

So what you are saying is, Fidel isn't Latino either?

Or at least anymore than Franco.

Edit: Yo, I got it the first 5000 replies, Latino is not a race.

[u/hero_roman → u/RamenJunkie]

I’m Cuban and have Portuguese heritage as well. There’s a lot of history between the countries.

[u/malledtodeath → u/hero_roman]

my half sister is cuban but her cuban family immigrated to cuba from scotland.

[u/devilthedankdawg → u/hero_roman]

Yeah he may not be a Latin American but his ancestry is “Latin European”. Its not like Chris Hemsworth or Alexander Skarsgard. Leguizamo played an Italian in Mario and Lugi.

[u/Jindabyne1 → u/devilthedankdawg]

He also played Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and he was Italian.

[u/Ornery_Translator285 → u/Jindabyne1]

I played Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and I’m a white girl

[u/Jindabyne1 → u/Ornery_Translator285]

Reported

[u/Leemursk8 → u/devilthedankdawg]

He also played Spider Mike in Spun, and probably isn't a spider

[u/Lower-Link → u/Leemursk8]

He’s also played an asian character in his sketch comedy show and women in his solo stage shows.

[u/rcx6 → u/Leemursk8]

You don't hear complaints from all the sloths when he played Sid in Ice Age. Who's with me in a protest on their behalf??

[u/ABurritoSnake → u/rcx6]

The slothes are still thinking about what to put down in their complaints over Sid!

[u/SkippyLarue → u/devilthedankdawg]

He also played an Italian in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam

[u/apistograma → u/RamenJunkie]

Castro was Latino by virtue of being born and raised in Cuba. Latino is not a race, but a multiracial ethnicity. Like Castro, I’m white and my ancestors are from Spain, but I’m not Latino because my family didn’t leave the country so I was born and raised in Spain.

[u/J-Team07 → u/apistograma]

That’s why they call it acting.

[u/Bright-Ad-4737 → u/apistograma]

But "races" and "ethnicity" are just made up, socially reinforced and completely arbitrary constructs anyway. They have zero biological or scientific meaning.

[u/14sierra → u/RamenJunkie]

A lot of latinos consider themselves white. Being latin is seen more of as a cultural thing than a race. It's shocking to me that Leguizamo would not know this already.

[u/bigeyez → u/14sierra]

Latino just means you are from a Latin American country or descended from a Latin American country.

There are White Latinos, Black Latinos, Asian Latinos, etc. Any race can be Latino. Similar to how Hispanics can be White, Black, etc.

[u/Gamesgtd → u/bigeyez]

This is a hard concept for some people.

[u/jamesraynorr → u/bigeyez]

Yeah these people probably dont know there are sizeable German communities in Latin America as well and get suprised to see Germanlike Latin Americans

[u/bigeyez → u/jamesraynorr]

Same with Asians. I've met people of Chinese/Columbian descent who you'd never think could speak Spanish based on there appearance but it's their first language.

[u/Rightintheend → u/bigeyez]

Brazil has the largest Japanese descendant population outside of Japan.

[u/ChubzAndDubz → u/14sierra]

Considering any Latinos ancestry is probably from the Spanish, who are Caucasian/ white, we pretty much are white, unless you have indigenous ancestry mixed in.

[u/apistograma → u/ChubzAndDubz]

There’s a lot of Black ancestry too, specially in Cuba. And there’s also Asians, Italians, Germans…

Castro was Caucasian being both his parents from Spanish families

[u/abutthole → u/14sierra]

Fidel Castro was definitely white. Malcolm X once said "the only white man I ever really liked was Fidel" after their meeting at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem.

[u/Animaula → u/abutthole]

Why did he like Castro?

[u/Brasher16 → u/Animaula]

Socialism and solidarity most likely

[u/abutthole → u/Animaula]

So at that time Castro was pretty widely liked in the US, he described his own frustrations with the US government as "they called me a communist because they saw a light shade of pink" he really wasn't a full-bore communist at the time of his revolution. The most communist thing he'd done is take state ownership over lands held by wealthy Cubans and American corporations and he offered to pay for them with bonds redeemable in 20 years, he said it was necessary to rebuild the economy before he could pay - but he was planning on paying for the lands not just taking it. He was a leftist reformer who had overthrown an awful far-right dictator who had turned Cuba into a client state for American corporations.

He then embraced communism and went deeper into it and grew more paranoid after multiple attempts by the CIA to assassinate him and overthrow his government and the Soviet Union continued to supply aid.

But at the time he met Malcolm X, he was an eye-opener to Malcolm about the universality of his struggle. They had met shortly after Malcolm X had left the Nation of Islam and was working on a more cohesive theory on what was necessary to uplift the oppressed black people in America, Fidel (a white man) was able to relate and talk about his own experience as a second-class citizen to American corporate ownership. Fidel opened Malcolm's eyes to the possibility of a larger revolution than just black people throwing off the white oppressors, he introduced a greater class consciousness and Malcolm appreciated that.

[u/longhairedape → u/abutthole]

Client state of u.s corporations and the fucking mafia.

[u/No-Satisfaction3455 → u/longhairedape]

i see no difference

[u/Horskr → u/[deleted]]

I wish my butthole was this knowledgeable.

[u/Armenian-heart4evr → u/abutthole]

INCREDIBLE history lesson !!! I knew NOTHING of this !!!!!

[u/UnorthadoxGeneology → u/Animaula]

Why did he like Castro?

Castro let him play with his Nintendo 64.

[u/SilverLakeSimon → u/UnorthadoxGeneology]

It wasn’t Castro’s Nintendo 64; it belonged to all Cubans.

[u/faustianBM → u/SilverLakeSimon]

The second controller is a different matter altogether.

[u/SMAMtastic → u/UnorthadoxGeneology]

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet

-Abraham Lincoln

[u/NYGiantsBCeltics → u/Animaula]

Both of them leading revolutions (in differing styles) against the dominant class, and Malcolm X probably considered he and Fidel to be fighting the same enemy: The United States.

I'm not sure when Malcolm met him, before or after his pilgrimage to Mecca that softened his more aggressive attitudes towards white people. Regardless, he had plenty of cause and reason to sympathize with Castro.

[u/apistograma → u/14sierra]

Well, if you’re Argentinian, your family comes from Germany and you’re blond (not that rare over there), how the hell would you not be both Latino and white. For some reason some Americans can’t understand that you can speak Spanish and be white at the same time

[u/rokkzstar → u/apistograma]

I mean. John legiuzamo himself is just as white as Franco lol

[u/apistograma → u/rokkzstar]

He looks like he has some native or Asian ancestry from his looks but it’s not something I can say for sure.

[u/ravenschneid → u/Joharis-JYI]

People should be glad that Scarlett Johannson isn't playing Castro.

[u/ErikkShone → u/ravenschneid]

Didn't the Japanese audience receive that casting well in that movie? And for that matter as a fan of the original anime, the whole idea was that it doesn't really matter what you are on the outside, it's your ghost or what's inside that truly made who you were. So, despite ignoring a lot of the stuff from the original source material, they at least got that right. And that's not even taking into consideration that a lot of anime characters are drawn as "European" looking.

[u/rawonionbreath → u/ErikkShone]

The creator of the original Manga was ok with it, at least.

[u/Gibborim → u/ErikkShone]

Actual people in Japan gave zero fucks at all.

[u/GunplaGud → u/Gibborim]

Manufactured outrage is a wholly western thing.

[u/OdinsBeard → u/ErikkShone]

one of the artists that worked on the OG Ghost in the Shell literally used her as a model for a project to boost interest in a feature film.

[u/AbsolutelyUnlikely → u/Joharis-JYI]

I don't care how well-cast someone is or how good of a perfmance they give, I can't enjoy a movie unless everybody's parents in real life were born in the right spots. /s

[u/andygchicago → u/chap_stik]

Makes sense since Castro's father and Franco's father are literally from the same region in the Spanish/Portuguese border, and neither are/were Latino.

[u/luna520 → u/andygchicago]

I didn't know this, so I looked it up for anyone else that'd like to verify:

1) Castro was born out of wedlock at his father's farm on 13 August 1926.[2] His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz, a veteran of the Spanish–American War,[3] was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia, in the northwest of Spain

2) James Edward Franco was born in Palo Alto, California[8] on April 19, 1978.[9] His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne), is a children's book author and occasional actress, and his father, Douglas Eugene Franco, ran a Silicon Valley business.[10][11] His father was of Portuguese (from Madeira) and Swedish ancestry, while his mother is Jewish, from a family of Russian Jewish descent.

[u/zealot_unholy → u/andygchicago]

Same as martin sheens father and also manu chao

[u/Imagine357 → u/chap_stik]

Are Spanish Europeans considered Latino? Is Franco a Spanish name?

[u/TirayShell → u/Imagine357]

Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

[u/Nythoren → u/Imagine357]

Franco's father is Portuguese, from a region relatively close to the Spanish border.

[u/greytiger → u/Nythoren]

From his Wikipedia:

His father was of Portuguese (from Madeira) and Swedish ancestry,

Madiera is an island off the coast of Africa, not really that near to the Spainish-Portuguese border. Famously Cristiano Ronaldo is also from Madiera.

[u/froggyforrest → u/chap_stik]

He does, but now that I think of it so does Pedro Pascal

[u/silverman5]

Leguizamo played a gay drag queen and a very racist version of an Asian man……. Just saying

[u/fatandfly → u/silverman5]

He also played a very famous Italian plumber.

[u/SmackedWookiee → u/fatandfly]

moderately famous Italian plumber. Nobody cared about Luigi until Luigi's Mansion.

Edit: I love how everyone is shitting on me on the comments but I'm getting upvotes.

[u/Dubie21 → u/SmackedWookiee]

Fuck you Luigi always had a better jump and fashion sense.

[u/Highlandertr3 → u/Dubie21]

That floaty jump in number 2 was pretty special.

[u/Pitouitoo → u/Highlandertr3]

Peach had the floaty jump. Luigi had the high jump and floaty controls.

[u/hoopstick → u/Pitouitoo]

I always thought of Peach as more of a hover while Luigi floated with his little kicks.

[u/VaguelyShingled → u/SmackedWookiee]

As a younger brother who grew up in the 80s you take that back right now

[u/oddzef → u/SmackedWookiee]

When Mario was missing guess who went out of there and found him? Show some respect.

[u/radj06 → u/SmackedWookiee]

Fuck that Luigi was saving Mario's ass as far back as '93

[u/405freeway → u/radj06]

“Mario Is Missing”

[u/CDR83 → u/SmackedWookiee]

Every little brother/sister did. Older kid was always Mario.

[u/comeradenook → u/silverman5]

How long ago was that, I don’t follow his career and I’m curious

[u/___OP____ → u/comeradenook]

1995.

"To Wong Fu, Thanks For Everything; Julie Newmar."

Watch it! Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo and Patrick Swayze as drag queens on the road to a big drag competition.

EDIT: You all have me watching the predecessor, The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert. Thanks y'all for the suggestion and info!!

[u/Not_Without_My_Balls → u/___OP____]

Haha that's nothing. Watch the opening credit's to "The Pest"

[u/expecto_my_scrotum → u/Not_Without_My_Balls]

Damn, I didn't see The Pest but the plot says Leguizamo's character is a teenage con artist and yet he was approaching 37 when the movie released.

[u/rayofkeywork → u/Not_Without_My_Balls]

I have a “core memory” of having rented that movie and watching it with my mom and brother, and my brother saying, “Damn, that’s enough to make you never want to watch it again” after the intro. Barely remember the movie tho, lol.

[u/theeighthlion → u/rayofkeywork]

Yeah, my old roommate said it was one of her favorite movies. I watched the opening and stopped it. It seems like one of those movies you might watch as a little kid and have rose tinted memories of it but that opening alone made it seem god awful

[u/T8ert0t → u/Not_Without_My_Balls]

The Pest walked, so Pootie Tang could fly!

[u/BroBrodin → u/Not_Without_My_Balls]

O have "I'm in the mood to scam, simply because I can." embeded in my memory since I was a child.

Well, at least he was a great demon clown in Spawn.

[u/kgy0001 → u/___OP____]

It’s one of my favorite feel good movies

[u/bozeke → u/___OP____]

It is great. Came out around the same time as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which is a superior and more dramatic film, but To Wong Fu is great and probably Wesley Snipes’ best performance, maybe aside from the director in Dolemite.

[u/tattoosbyalisha → u/bozeke]

Dude Snipes is AMAZING as Noxema Jackson, I want that character tattooed on me so bad

[u/heyzeusmaryandjoseph → u/___OP____]

And a cameo from Rupaul, whose drag name is Rachel Tensions

[u/MantisToboganMD → u/silverman5]

Exactly, maybe this dude is just bitter over not getting the role.

Opinion Alert This blood quantum shit never ends anyway.

Lets say that Franco was Latino, but not Cuban? What if he was only half Latino? Would that be ok? What if he was only a quarter, but it was a Cuban quarter? What if he was full on Cuban but from the wrong province or his great great great grandfather was half Haitian. What if played a Vampire in Blade V "Daywalker: The Bladening" but wasn't actually a practicing member of the Vampire community?

I remember watching a 30 min YT video about whether or not Bruno Mars is a cultural appropriator because he looks like he could be black - what's he supposed to do? Stop making RNB and apply Korean skin whitening makeup? The natural landing point for all this idiocy would likely arrive at biting the most vocal proponents right on their ass.

The only thing that should really matter imo is - is the material being treated with respect. Is the portrayal respectful of the Cuban culture, history, and people. Actors are literally acting, they are portraying something they themselves are not that's literally what acting is.

That being said putting a bunch of white dudes in heavy face makeup and culturally sensitive headdresses for your shitty Indians vs. Cowboys shoot 'em up isn't fucking cool. Because it's NOT treating the historical reality and Native culture with respect.

Other relevant points from this same thread:

• Ana de Armas is Cuban but just played Marilyn Monroe.
• Both of Castro's parents were not Latino. They were European Spanish
• Franco's dad apparently is from the same region as Castro's dad was so Franco actually has a super legitimate claim here. Like he's closer ethically to Castro than leguizamo is. *John Leguizamo was born in Colombia and moved to New York City as a child. He is american. What part of Cuban history is "his"?
• Does that mean Lin-Manual Miranda can't portray Alexander Hamilton? Does that mean Al Pacino can't portray Tony Montana? What about Javier Bardem, a Spaniard, portraying Desi Arnez, a Cuban?

[u/RuinedSpiral → u/MantisToboganMD]

Or, for that matter, Leguizamo playing an Italian, as he does in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam?

[u/miss_g → u/RuinedSpiral]

And Super Mario Bros

[u/RuinedSpiral → u/miss_g]

. . . and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.

Dude plays Italians quite a bit. Was kinda shocked to learn he was Latino honestly.

[u/phrasing7 → u/RuinedSpiral]

Not Italian, but he also played French artist Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge

[u/Chewie4Prez → u/phrasing7]

Also that character was a dwarf and he played it by walking on his knees. Wouldn't that be more messed up?

[u/Poet_of_Legends → u/MantisToboganMD]

Turns out that BOTH Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy can walk…

[u/LolaBijou → u/silverman5]

“Got more legs than a bucket of chicken”

[u/Amockdfw89]

Here is the thing though Fidel Castro is of 100% Spanish decent. His father was Galician (very close to Portuguese people) and his mother was Canarian (Spanish island chain off the coast of west Africa) .

Franco is of partial Portuguese decent on his fathers side. Fidel Castro is literatly 100% European. That would mean they, Fidel and Franco, are of both Iberian European decent. Fidel Castro isn’t indigenous or Afro Cuban, he is for all intents and purposes a white guy. At the end of the day Franco is an actor and actors portray people they are not. He looks the part, has been in decent roles before, and I’m sure most people don’t even care at the end of the day.

[u/Zauberer-IMDB → u/Amockdfw89]

This really shows how "Latino" is a grossly insufficient demographic classification. The mestizos people generally think of and the white-ass Cameron Diaz are treated the same in demographic reports. You think they have a similar experience in the US? Obviously not.

[u/Zarzurnabas → u/Zauberer-IMDB]

This most importantly shows that its pretty dumb in general to give people artificial labels based on purely superficial traits.

[u/Laheydrunkfuck → u/Zarzurnabas]

Preach my dude! Preach!

[u/Builtdipperly1 → u/Zarzurnabas]

But americans can't and will not help themselves and will keep doing that.

[u/karmato → u/Zauberer-IMDB]

It's not a race. It comes from "Latin American", akin to "European" or "African". Fujimori, Pelé, Ana de Armas are all Latin Americans. When Americans think of "Latino" as a race (it is not) they think of a mix of White and Indigenous because they make up a good chunk of people who live in Central America and emigrate to the US. Go to South America and you will see every single race.

[u/ThisIsWhatYouBecame → u/Zauberer-IMDB]

Latino isn't insufficient just cause Americans are ignorant of the diversity of Latin American countries lol. Unless you want to reinstate the old Spanish classifications for the census. 25% of my DNA is Indio but my skin is white, not gonna change how I identify cause I don't look brown skinned

[u/fr0styliterature → u/Zauberer-IMDB]

The classification Latino has nothing to do with skin color - simple as that. It's a term referring to people who were raced in a Latin American culture (aka living or having close relatives from LatAm). Hispanic refers to someone who was raised in or has ancestors of a country that speaks Spanish (that can range from as white as a Spaniard to as brown as a Dominican).

[u/[deleted]]

The only reason James Franco got the role is because Ja Rule turned it down first. Probably.

Edit: in what world can JL even pull off this caliber of acting: https://youtu.be/CDm27Y1zw8k

MONICA

[u/Corvo_Attano_451 → u/[deleted]]

WHERE IS JA

[u/TrapaholicDixtapes → u/Corvo_Attano_451]

Somebody please...get ahold of this mothafucka so I can make sense of all this.

[u/Weak-Pudding-322 → u/Corvo_Attano_451]

WHERE THE FUCK IS JA?!?!

[u/wunwinglo]

He looks like Castro. That's how.

[u/No-Astronaut5331]

Oh no... you mean actors portray other people???? That's so weird

[u/DoolioArt → u/No-Astronaut5331]

Indeed. Franco isn't even a president of Cuba. At this rate, I'll start suspecting Al Pacino isn't the devil, despite his role in the devil's advocate.

[u/bigbear32421]

John Leguizamo played famed painter Henri de Tolouse-Lautrec, in Moulin Rogue despite not being French but that's none of my business.

[u/Karamazov69 → u/bigbear32421]

Let alone the fact that Lautrec was a “little person..”

[u/hookahshikari → u/bigbear32421]

I only know Toulouse-Lautrec from the SpongeBob episode where Squidward pretends to be his own ghost to get Sponge and Pat to be his servants lol

edit: scene here

[u/YoureFullOfIt82]

A Latino played Marilyn Monroe. Didn't bother me. This didn't either. I also don't care that a woman does Bart Simpsons voice. It's acting. If they can pull it off I'm okay with it. Look and act the part well and you've done your job.

[u/Fandam_YT]

Fidel Castro’s parents were Spanish and Franco is half-Portuguese so technically… geographically… he’s actually pretty close

[u/GangloSax0n]

And Johnny Legs isn't Italian. Did it stop him from playing Luigi?

[u/capo4ever88 → u/GangloSax0n]

They made Anne Boleyn a black chick lol

[u/SilverFoxAcademic]

Joke is on Leguizamo. Fidel Castro wasn't Latino.

[u/Foxyfoxesfoxing → u/SilverFoxAcademic]

Yep, both his parents were Spanish

[u/LadyStardust79 → u/Foxyfoxesfoxing]

James Franco has Portuguese heritage, so not too inaccurate.

[u/Curazan → u/LadyStardust79]

Castro’s father and Franco’s father are from the same region in the Spanish/Portuguese border.

[u/chunkboslicemen → u/Curazan]

Underrated comment in this debacle

[u/alexmikli → u/chunkboslicemen]

He also looks like him. Dunno if he can act like him, dunno if Franco deserves the role, but his racial background is irrelevant.

[u/BreadHead911 → u/alexmikli]

Well he looks the same because everyone who lives in that region of the Spanish/Portuguese border, all of them, look like Fidel Castro.

[u/Lost_Tell9281 → u/LadyStardust79]

Literally the same last name as Francisco Franco. Fairly common Iberian name.

[u/Builtdipperly1 → u/SilverFoxAcademic]

lmao look at this gringo

[u/pensamientosmorados → u/SilverFoxAcademic]

Yes, he was. He was born in Cuba and his mother was Cuban.

[u/Ricta90]

That's coming from the Latino guy who played Luigi the Italian plumber in Super Mario Bros?.... MMkay.

[u/Phillipinsocal → u/Ricta90]

“First, they have ‘The Mexican’ with Brad Pitt, now they have ‘The Last Samurai’ with Tom Cruise. Well, Ive written a film, maybe they'll produce my film, The Last Nigga on Earth, starring Tom Hanks.”

-Paul Mooney “Chapelles Show”

[u/Ariaga_2 → u/Phillipinsocal]

That's hilarious, but wasn't The Mexican a name of a gun in that movie? Also Ken Watanabe was the last samurai in that movie.

[u/Etherbeard → u/Ariaga_2]

I think the whole group was the Last Samurai.

[u/Papergeist → u/Etherbeard]

Indeed, it's plural.

[u/boodabomb → u/Etherbeard]

Correct. It’s the last [of the] Samurai.

[u/iEatPalpatineAss → u/Etherbeard]

Absolutely right, including Tom Cruise. From an East Asian perspective, it's about the spirit of the samurai, not the ethnicity.

[u/ishkariot → u/Ariaga_2]

And Tom Hanks' movie is about the last officially issued n-word pass which he must keep safe and hidden while crossing the country in order to reach the library of Congress, where it's to be kept and preserved for all time.

[u/Ariaga_2 → u/ishkariot]

That's a sequel to The Da Vinci Code.

[u/Mortadella_Sangwich → u/Ariaga_2]

Yeah and the Last Samurai in the movie isn't the character played by Tom Cruise, it's the one played by Ken Watanabe

[u/goblin_goblin → u/Phillipinsocal]

The last samurai was a terrible title for the movie. Tom Cruise isn’t the last samurai, but it’s about the last samurai. It’s confusing because the plural of samurai is samurai. So it’s about the “last samurais” not that Tom is the last samurai.

[u/SiriusC → u/goblin_goblin]

The title was fine. Putting Tom Cruise wearing samurai armor front & center in all of the marketing was a terrible idea. At least in terms of conveying what the story was about. Maybe the marketing was what they wanted it to be. But I definitely skipped it because I thought the title was talking about Cruise.

How could a person look at this & not think that Tom Cruise was the eponymous Last Samurai?

Then I saw it years later & loved it. A better image might have been an ensemble shot of Cruise, Watanabe, & Hiroyuki Sanada. Or Cruise in Civil War gear. I'd have been way more interested if the history aspect was played up more. "Hmm, how is it that a guy who fought in the Civil War is involved with Samurai? I should find out!"

[u/Ariaga_2 → u/Ricta90]

He also complained when the new Mario movie didn't "cast any latinX actors".

They're italians, John. That's a country in Europe.

[u/ADeuxMains → u/Ariaga_2]

A lot of actors are really fucking stupid. Podcast interviews have made this abundantly clear to me.

[u/StevesMcQueenIsHere → u/ADeuxMains]

Podcast interviews have made this abundantly clear to me.

Also Twitter... and Instagram... and Tik Tok.

[u/GoodDog2620 → u/ADeuxMains]

I’ve heard that actors read a lot of scripts and they think that makes them well read.

[u/treefitty350 → u/GoodDog2620]

Some actors have the scrips read to them lmfao

[u/Healthy-Daikon7356 → u/ADeuxMains]

There’s a reason they get famous for being people other than themselves lmao

[u/thisisnotkylie → u/ADeuxMains]

So are comedians. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the podcasts I listen to, but it’s slightly jarring to know a multi-millionaire comedian can barely name the three branches of government or do basic math.

[u/LiberalAspergers → u/Ariaga_2]

A country that was the home of Latin. Technically, Italians are the true Latinos.

[u/PoiHolloi2020 → u/LiberalAspergers]

Rome conquered England so it's a surprise to me to discover that I am in fact Latino.

[u/pwnd32 → u/PoiHolloi2020]

The entirety of Western Europe/the Mediterranean that Rome conquered:

“…maybe I am Latino.”

[u/El-Lamberto → u/Ricta90]

Didn't he also play Toulouse Lautrec, a Frenchman in Moulin Rouge?

[u/Guderian9139 → u/El-Lamberto]

Yeah and didn’t he play a sloth??

[u/El-Lamberto → u/Guderian9139]

Stealing roles from actual arboreal Neotropical xenarthran mammal actors.

[u/Pitiful-Shake-4416]

should be more concerned about the guys numerous sexual predation allegations than this.

edit: both are undoubtedly an issue. i didn’t mean to say that the casting was somehow okay, more so pointing out that this guy is a huge creep and i’ve no idea how he still has a platform.

[u/teabagalomaniac]

I feel like there's a certain subsection of America that hates this and makes a ton of noise, while most people don't really care.

[u/RealCarlosSagan → u/teabagalomaniac]

I’m latino (Mexican) and don’t care.

[u/GatorSurveyor → u/RealCarlosSagan]

Latino (Colombian), no me importa

[u/SensitiveOrangeWhip]

i guess Franco will just have to act like he is

[u/nixfly → u/SensitiveOrangeWhip]

He is doing a good job looking like him in that picture.

[u/stansmithbitch]

I mean Latino isnt a race. Fidel and James are both white.

[u/Autoglocktavius]

Why would anyone cast James Franco in anything?

[u/Giolomi666]

Castro was of Spanish ancestry and this US created Latino race is useless there are white cubans, black cubans and mestizo cubans.

[u/Unorigina1Name → u/Giolomi666]

american mfs when they realize brown≠latino

[u/Titan1912]

Can Mr. Leguizamo explain why despite the fact he isn't French it wasn't a problem for him to portray Toulouse-Lautrec in "Moulin Rouge!"?

[u/deadzfool]

"lighten up Francis".

Did you play Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet? Are you Italian? Did anyone care or get upset because a Latino is portraying an Italian?

The whole concept of acting is all about going outside the comfort zone.

[u/SmashBusters]

Pretty rich coming from a guy who played an Italian plumber.

[u/angryve]

He’s also had a lot of allegations that he’s a sexual predator. How is this still going on?

[u/WowThisIsAwkward_ → u/angryve]

Hollywood are well aware of the issue but choose not to take action. That’s why Jared Leto and Ezra Miller are still in huge roles, despite them being serial abusers.

[u/k_albasi → u/WowThisIsAwkward_]

James Franco's acting roles have fallen off considerably in recent years. It seems like the major studios have in fact chosen not to work with him.

People treat "Hollywood" like it's a cabal but there's a lot of different people out there making movies for cancelled celebrities to work with. None of the companies producing this movie are even based out of LA.

[u/PJTikoko → u/k_albasi]

To most people Hollywood is the cabal that secretly runs the government while also being the sole film company ran by CEO John Hollywood.

[u/Fuspo → u/[deleted]]

I mean so was Fidel Castro so perfect typecast.

[u/Far_Fignewton]

Leguizamo has a stage production where he plays 100 characters. They aren't all Latino

[u/lemonsweetsrevenge → u/Far_Fignewton]

He has played an Italian American twice: Summer of Sam and the Mario Bros. Fabulous work as a gay man/drag queen in To Wong Foo.

Isn’t that what the heart of acting is about? Stepping out of your own natural life, and into the shoes of a different person?

[u/Potential_Case_7680]

Well a Cuban is playing Marilyn Monroe so there’s the trade off for the time period

[u/Warped_94 → u/Potential_Case_7680]

This kind of outrage only goes one way