Ed Skrein’s casting into and then exit from the new Hellboy movie was a surprising, but necessary act of solidarity with his non-white comrades in the movie industry. Skrein admitted, in his statement, that he wasn’t aware that the character in question, Major Ben Daimio, was a person of color in Mike Mignola’s comics, and also said that he hoped the movie could find a different actor who better fit the bill.

Thankfully, they have, in Lost star Daniel Dae Kim. Skrein’s move is (unfortunately) somewhat unprecedented, but is much appreciated by the rest of us. And, as a matter of fact, by Rogue One star Riz Ahmed, who gave big ups to Skrein during the Emmys.

Something that happened recently that I found really, really moving and I really applaud is the British actor Ed Skrein recently, kind of, turned down a role that was a lucrative role. I know him personally, he’s a great guy and he just felt that he wanted to respect the cultural [ethnicity] of that particular story and that character in Hellboy. So, I think when you see examples of that what you’re seeing is just more awareness around this conversation and I think awareness is the first step towards change.

Hopefully this means that more and more actors will start paying attention to the roles they pick, so that we don’t get another awkward situation like this.

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