James Franco Cast as Fidel Castro, And Fans Are Not Okay With It
If you had an issue with Ana de Armas playing Marilyn Monroe, how about this one?
After fans learned that James Franco has landed a role of Cuban revolutionary idol Fidel Castro in the independent movie 'Alina of Cuba', all hell broke loose.
There are several different issues about Franco landing the role. Aside from Franco clearly not being a Latino, the actor has also been accused of sexual harassment and discrimination against his former students. Despite Franco reaching a settlement in the 2019 class action lawsuit, not everyone is ready to move on about the allegations.
Aspiring actor Jeff Torres took to Twitter to complain about how Franco lands a role of Castro while he, an actual Latino actor, ends up "auditioning for another generic Latin-American drug dealer".
He is not alone in mocking the casting decision.
"Ah yes. Who else can’t wait to watch the Fidel Castro biopic starring the celebrated, Latino actor… hope I pronounce this right… James Franco?" – @davyperez
However, a lot of social media users were quick to refer to another controversial casting – Ana de Armas ' Marilyn Monroe portrayal in Netflix 's upcoming movie 'Blonde'.
"The people who were defending Ana de Armas' accent and casting as Monroe in Blonde out here crying about THIS casting. They even used the Monroe estate's comments to defend that casting, while conveniently overlooking that Castro's daughter is backing Franco's casting." – @mlcom28
It's true: Franco's casting for the role of Castro was supported by the real life Alina Fernandez – the revolutionary's daughter whose life is going to be the center of the movie. She will be portrayed by Ana Villafañe. The real-life Fernandez is a part of the movie's production, serving as an on-set creative as well as a biographical consultant.
'Alina of Cuba' is slated to kick off production later on August 15. The premiere date is yet to be revealed.