Just this week, news broke out that "Hawaii Five-O" star Daniel Dae Kim was in talks with the producers of the "Hellboy" reboot to play the role of Ben Daimio. The role was vacated by Ed Skrein in August after whitewashing backlash ensued. Now, the former "Hawaii Five-O" actor has made an official statement about the role and how he feels towards the English actor, who unlike others did not take the whitewashing criticism lying down. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kim has officially been cast in the role, and he had a few words to share about Skrein.
Actor fights whitewashing
Back in August, English actor, Ed Skrein took to Twitter to announce that he was cast to play Ben Daimio in the "Hellboy" reboot. Just a week after the announcement, he once again took to social media to share that he was stepping down from the role to take a stand against the "worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories" in such films. This is the first time an actor took a stand against miscasting a role that was meant for someone of Asian ethnicity. Previously, big-budget films such as "Doctor Strange," "Aloha," and "Ghost in the Shell" received a lot of heat for casting white actors which characters in the original material were of Asian descent. Now that Ben Daimio has been appropriately cast in the upcoming reboot with Daniel Dae Kim, many are hopeful that this starts a revolution in Hollywood to eradicate whitewashing of roles.
Kim says Skrein addressed the issue 'elegantly.'
"Hawaii Five-O" actor Daniel Dae Kim isn't one to shy away from important issues like whitewashing, as the actor left the procedural together with co-star Grace Park after they found out they weren't getting paid as much as their white American co-stars. Now that he's cast in the "Hellboy" reboot, he had a few words for Ed Skrein, who vacated the role he now landed.
Screen Rant reported that Kim said, "I applaud the producers and, in particular, Ed Skrein for championing the notion that Asian characters should be played by Asian or Asian American actors. He could not have addressed the issue more elegantly, and I remain indebted to him for his strength of character."
Upcoming film has a 'very talented' cast
"Hawaii Five-O" actor Daniel Dae Kim also expressed his excitement to work with David Harbour, who plays the titular character in the upcoming Neil Marshall-helmed "Hellboy" reboot. He said that they have a "very talented cast" and that he's happy to receive the support of the public following the news of landing the role. The film doesn't have a release date as of press time.
