Hollywood Whitewashing ‘Goes a Lot Deeper’ Than Odessa A’zion, Leaving Latinos Weighing What’s Next

The Odessa A’zion miscast in Sean Durkin’s “Deep Cuts” sparked a call to action from Hollywood Latinos on the urgent issue of the community’s mis- and underrepresentation on screen. For many working in the industry, the moment merely exposed a problem that has long been hiding in plain sight. 

White actors have been recognized for portraying Latino characters for generations, from Warner Baxter winning an Oscar in 1929 for his role as the Cisco kid and William Hurt as Luis Molina in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” in 1986, to Ben Affleck as CIA Officer Tony Mendez in “Argo” in 2013. The practice of whitewashing may look less overt today, but Latino creatives say its effects remain deeply embedded in modern casting decisions.

Talent manager Brandon Guzman told TheWrap that whitewashing is not a thing of the past. The founder and Head of Talent at Valor Entertainment said that on several occasions he has sent Latino actors out for roles only for them to be rejected for not looking Latino enough, or for the roles to be changed completely when the studio claims they “don’t have enough Latinos.”

“What they really mean is, ‘we don’t have any Latino of recognizable name,’” he said. “Which can be true sometimes, but how are you going to create a recognizable Latino name when you’re not creating the characters and roles for them to build a resume to create that name recognition?

A’zion’s casting as Zoe Gutierrez — a character who was originally half-Jewish, half-Mexican in the source material — in A24’s upcoming film “Deep Cuts” “exposed a troubling pattern,” according to an open letter signed by 145 Latino creatives and counting. While the letter commended the actress for pulling out of the film, the incident illuminated a greater issue of representation in Hollywood.

What the backlash to A’zion’s casting exposed, Latino creatives say, is not a one-off mistake but a systemic problem — one in which Latino roles are scarce, authenticity is deprioritized and decision-making power remains largely absent from the communities being portrayed.

“It’s already hard enough for the average actor,” actress-producer Karrie Martin Lachney told TheWrap. “And now you’re really going to take it away from an already marginalized demographic? That’s where it becomes time to say something.”

“Hats off to Odessa for understanding the context and jumping off, but the issue goes a lot deeper than that,” Guzman added. “It goes into producers and studios and casting directors.”

Latinos only represent 6% of on-screen broadcast TV talent despite making up 20% of the U.S. population, according to a study from the Norman Lear Center. Senior researcher Soraya Giaccardi Vargas surmised this discrepancy is due to the lack of Latinos in the decision-making rooms. 

Vargas also noted that there is no hard-and-fast rule for casting authentically. A minor role with a single line referencing a country of origin may not require a person of that same origin to play them, but when a character’s identity shapes the narrative — particularly in leading roles — that specificity becomes essential.

“The idea of it being a case-by-case basis, I think, makes some people nervous,” she told TheWrap. “It really frightens some folks, but that’s where it becomes important to have Latino talent behind the scenes. Because the Latino talent are the ones that can help you determine when that really matters.”

She echoed that the “Deep Cuts” responsibility does not lie on the actor, in this case A’zion, to make that call. It is in the hands of the studios to advocate for Latino talent and elevate those voices. 

“We need systemic solutions, not individual solutions,” she added.

Lachney said she has turned down roles that didn’t align with her own background, refusing to rely on accents or stereotypes simply because she is Latina. 

“There are Latinos who can portray that experience authentically,” she said. “Bring them in. They’re going to have the flavor to do that character justice.”

“There is no shortage of Latino talent,” Vargas said. “What there is, is a shortage of opportunity.”

Vargas stressed that while, in theory, actors should be able to play a wide range of roles, that ideal breaks down in practice when access is uneven. Guzman echoed this sentiment saying that the characters being ethnically ambiguous often works in the favor of white actors and not people of color. 

“When there’s parity, that wouldn’t be an issue,” Guzman said. “But it usually goes in one direction. It usually doesn’t happen that a Latino or African American or Asian plays a white character. It’s usually that the white actor plays an ethnic character.”

The open letter calls for Hollywood to prioritize Latino actors by hiring them in a diverse range of roles, including non-stereotypical leads, inviting more Latino executives into the greenlighting rooms, including Latino voices as consultants and producers in early stages of development and creating more mentorship opportunities that expand the entertainment ecosystem. 

“It’s about the change happening when Latinos aren’t just being cast, but trusted to lead projects to shape our own narratives,” Lachney said.

“We’re not asking for favors. We’re just asking the industry — the same way it’s done in so many other ways — to actually reflect the world that we’re serving.”

The post Hollywood Whitewashing ‘Goes a Lot Deeper’ Than Odessa A’zion, Leaving Latinos Weighing What’s Next appeared first on TheWrap.