10 Responses to “Doc Oc Spotted in Persia”

1. anonymous Posted: Jun 5th, 2008 at 10:34 am

   1 Jamie said “that’s like casting David Carradine to play a Chinaman.” and in all fairness that Isn’t quite true, David Carradine’s character in the Kung-Fu show was actually a white child orphaned in China and given to the monastery for training, he wasn’t a Chinese child, he was just a white kid raised by Chinese monks.

2. Jami Posted: Jun 5th, 2008 at 10:48 am

   2 Author Comment Ah, that’s fair. I misremembered. Still, I’d like them to at least try to cast someone of Arab ethnicity.

3. Richard "Pocky" Kim Posted: Jun 5th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

   3 Actually, Kwai Chang Caine was half-Chinese, half-Caucasian. Why do I remember this? @.@

4. D-W Posted: Jun 5th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

   4 Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure Persians aren’t considered Arab. Which is why I believe Iran isn’t a part of the Arab League (or at least one of the reasons). So I think you would actually be looking for someone of Persian decent.

5. Jack T Robyn Posted: Jun 5th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

   5 [useless fact] Freddie Murcury was of Persian decent.[/useless fact]

6. Taellosse Posted: Jun 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

   6 Yes, Iran has actors, but it also has a great deal of isolation in the international community, is really unpopular in the US at the moment, and it’s probably a little tricky to cast actual Iranians. That being said, I think there are people of Persian descent in Turkey as well, not to mention immigrants from all over the Middle East. You’re right, they almost certainly could find someone who at least looked the part if they tried.

7. Wayne Posted: Jun 6th, 2008 at 8:40 am

   7 This is America. We’re the ones who cast Chinese women in Last Samurai (suckfest that it was). We’re infamous for such casting. It’s going to have big bucks behind it, and as I’ve said in other posts, that requires big names in the cast. Hollywood doesn’t care about correct ethnic casting, all they care is about getting our butts in the seats with a soda and popcorn in our hands. Well, technically, they don’t care about the soda and popcorn, but the local theater has to make money some how. Read some of William Goldman’s books on Hollywood, and watch Altman’s The Player. It’ll give you a much better perspective on what Hollywood is and cares about. Goldman wrote Princess Bride and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, among others. He’s been a Hollywood insider and script doctor for a VERY long time, he’s also a very entertaining read.

8. Jami Posted: Jun 6th, 2008 at 8:53 am

   8 Author Comment @Wayne, sad but totally true. I keep expecting movies to get better, or at least more diverse in the new millennium, but to no avail. However, if I can remain a small voice of protest, I will.

9. Llama Posted: Jun 6th, 2008 at 7:00 pm

   9 Though not Persian, I always wanted to see Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan as the Prince. He certainly has the looks (imo), and he has such a large fan base world-wide that the movie would do well internationally. But then again, I would just be happy to see Hrithik in some Hollywood flicks. I’ve never been a huge stickler for proper ethnic casting for movie roles. To me, a GOOD actor can play and embody any type of character regardless of whether or not the two are from the same ethnic background.

10. Ajanhelendam Posted: Jun 7th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    10 Ethnicity and race are related but the groupings are not exclusive, for example most Arabs would be classified as Caucasoid (Caucasian) for census purposes. If you ever travel internationally and had to fill out your “race”, those of Middle East descent are listed under that section. When you think of the Asian racial group it’s comprised of many subgroups. South Asians are easily recognizable from East Asians for example. According to morphology South Indians share more in common with the people in the Middle East than people say in China. However, when it comes to ethnic groups the overlaps between groups really starts to get confusing as cultural aspects become more dominant than genealogy. As far as people identifying themselves as “Persian” or “Iranian” it’s more of a religious and political thing rather than bloodlines and race from the people I know who made such a distinction. The Islamic culture that defines the stories that inspired Prince of Persia or long gone just like the Renaissance culture of Italy no longer exists. Therefore, when portraying cultures that technically don’t exist anymore, I’m not so concerned about authenticity and even if the culture is still current aren’t some actors capable of becoming the role? I guess I’m not getting what type of diversity you’re looking for. Being racially Asian, but ethnically American who spent his 8 years of his childhood and teenage years in the Middle East, I would really suck at portraying an ethnic Chinese unless it was ordering dim sum or something that managed to get passed down from my ethnic Chinese parents. As my HK friends will attest, I speak Cantonese like a white boy and I walk like a white boy. I guess if I didn’t have to open my mouth I could pass myself off otherwise. @anonymous Carradine’s character is suppose to be half Chinese who grew up in China before fleeing to America after killing the Emperor’s nephew. Even though I’m a ABC, Carradine’s mannerisms and the like are not recognizable as ethnically Chinese nor as typical Shaolin. If they could get a Korean American (according to Wikipedia) to play the blind monk I’m sure they could have found a happa to play Caine. I’m starting to ramble. Let me wrap it up with a reminder that such casting is not just Hollywood. East Asians often play roles outside their ethnic groups. It’s not uncommon for a Japanese to play a Chinese or vice versa. Heck if you want to film a Chinese style pagoda these days, you normally go to Japan to do that.