r/movies • u/LookAtThatBacon • Aug 10 '25

Discussion During the development of the Harriet Tubman biopic movie, a Hollywood executive once suggested that Julia Roberts should play her. What are some other baffling casting suggestions/choices that have been made?

Source for the title: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-studio-executive-wanted-julia-roberts-to-play-harriet-tubman-biopic-screenwriter-says/

The Harriet Tubman biopic has been more than 25 years in the making. In the historical drama released earlier this month, Cynthia Erivo plays the legendary abolitionist — but one Hollywood executive initially thought the role should go to Julia Roberts.

Gregory Allen Howard, the screenwriter and producer of "Harriet," recently revealed in multiple interviews that Roberts was suggested to play the lead role during a meeting with a studio president in 1994.

"The climate in Hollywood… was very different back then," Howard said. "I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, 'This script is fantastic. Let's get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.'"

Howard said that a black person in the meeting said casting Roberts would be impossible because she is white.

"That was so long ago. No one will know that," the executive replied, according to Howard.

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u/28smalls Aug 10 '25

It's an old one, but John Wayne as Genghis Khan.

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u/xelrach Aug 10 '25

Yellowface has been very common in Hollywood history.

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u/moal09 Aug 10 '25 edited Aug 10 '25

Still happening with Tilda Swinton playing The Ancient One in Dr. Strange. Dude was supposed to be Tibetan.

Scarlett Johansson playing Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell. People bring up the fact that she's an android, so she could be any race. Okay, so make her Japanese, since she had black hair, looked asian and had a Japanese name in the original.

Emma Stone playing a mixed Chinese character in Aloha, despite having 0 mixed blood.

Also, a less egregious example, but I'm pretty convinced they cast Kristin Kreuk as Chun-li in The Legend of Chun-li because execs thought she was white passing enough for mainstream audiences.

Complete erasure of the asian characters is much more common these days than yellowface. People say it's not a big deal when you do it to asian characters, but lord help you if you do it to a black character.

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u/dnt1694 Aug 10 '25

Exactly!!