Gemma Chan is weighing in on the backlash to her casting in Mary Queen of Scots.
The Captain Marvel actress has a supporting role in the historical drama about Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I's rivalry as Bess of Hardwick, an actual confidant of both queens.
Her casting has caused some controversy because the real Elizabeth Hardwick was white, not Asian. In an interview with Allure, Chan argued that her playing Bess of Hardwick cannot equate to the decades of whitewashing in Hollywood.
"Why are actors of colour, who have fewer opportunities anyway, only allowed to play their own race? And sometimes they’re not even allowed to play their own race," she said.
"In the past, the role would be given to a white actor who would tape up their eyes and do the role in yellowface. John Wayne played Genghis Khan. If John Wayne can play Genghis Khan, I can play Bess of Hardwick."
Mary, Queen of Scots also changes history by presenting the white ambassador Lord Thomas Randolph as black, played in the film by Adrian Lester. Chan likened both choices to the colour-blind casting made famous by Hamilton.
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"I feel like Hamilton opened minds a lot," she added. "We have a black man playing George Washington. They describe it as ‘America then, told by America now'. And I think our art should reflect life now."
That sentiment echoes comments Chan made to Digital Spy about the importance of representation when her movie Crazy Rich Asians opened last year.
"When I was growing up, I didn't see many faces that look like mine or my family's on screen. And it feels like this is overdue," she told us.
"The reason for me why it's so important is because I feel the representation – or lack thereof – of not just Asians but other minorities in popular culture, in film, on TV, et cetera directly impacts how these minorities are treated in life, and vice versa. It directly affects whether they are normalised or whether they are otherised in society."
It's also worth noting that these casting choices aren't the only alterations made to history in Mary, Queen of Scots — one of the film's climactic moments never actually happened.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
