What’s an Ethnic Actor To Do About Typecasting?
One of the big complaints I hear from ethnic actors is the problem of typecasting. A Latina actress friend of mine once told me about the problems she was having with a director. “He didn’t have to explicitly say it, but I knew that he wanted me to be that sassy, finger-snapping Latina with attitude,” she complained. “And I didn’t want to do it.”
As an actor of East Asian heritage, I have been well aware that East Asian men have historically been typecast as martial artists and gangsters, and are typically not romantically involved with anyone. East Asian women, on the other hand, are usually typecast as prostitutes or as the “hot” girlfriend of a Caucasian character. In the past few years though, roles for East Asian actors have become more varied to include professional characters such as doctors, lawyers, and scientists, but there is still a ways to go for the roles to truly reflect the full range of the East Asian experience.
As screen actors, I think it’s fairly safe to say that many of us want to land those major, meaty roles on film and TV. Some of us have had some success with under-5 and dayplayer roles, but ultimately what we really hope for is that “big break” that will thrust us into that league of being a “name” in the business. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were so recognizable that we didn’t have to audition anymore?
