Colour-blind casting
Encyclopedia
Colour-blind casting, non-traditional casting or integrated casting is the practice of casting
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...

 a role without considering the actor's ethnicity. It derives its name from the medical condition of colour blindness. A representative of Actors Equity has disputed the use of the term "color blind", preferring the definition "non-traditional casting is defined as the casting of ethnic minority and female actors in roles where race, ethnicity, or sex is not germane."

Examples include:
  • I, Claudius
    I, Claudius (TV series)
    I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...

     cast Darien Angadi
    Darien Angadi
    Darien Angadi was an English actor.Darien was born in Stoke Newington, and attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School where he was a prolific performer in school plays. In 1965 whilst at the school, he was a member of the school team for BBC Television's Television Top of the Form...

     and Sam Dastor
    Sam Dastor
    Sam Dastor is an actor best known for his appearances in British television series.He is perhaps best remembered for playing Cassius Chaerea in the 1976 BBC adaptation of I, Claudius...

     in key roles with Renu Setna
    Renu Setna
    Renu Setna is a Pakistani actor, perhaps best known for his appearance as the shopkeeper Mr. Kittel in In Sickness and in Health.Setna made an appearance in the british BBC Sictom Only Fools And Horses, in the episode "Cash and Curry", where he played a con-artist who cons Del and Rodney out of Two...

     and Roy Stewart
    Roy Stewart
    Roy Stewart , originally from Jamaica, began his career as a stuntman and went on to work in film and television, at a time when there were few working black actors....

     in smaller speaking roles.
  • Will Smith
    Will Smith
    Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...

    's portrayal of Jim West in 1999's movie Wild Wild West
    Wild Wild West
    Wild Wild West is a 1999 American steampunk action-comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline , Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek.Similar to the original TV series it was based on, The Wild Wild West, the film features a large amount of gadgetry...

     based upon the 1960's television series
    The Wild Wild West
    The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....

     of the same name where the main character was played by white actor Robert Conrad
    Robert Conrad
    Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...

    .
  • A musical adaptation of Neil Gaiman
    Neil Gaiman
    Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...

    's book, Coraline
    Coraline
    Coraline is a horror/fantasy novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers...

    , with an adult playing the child.
  • David Oyelowo
    David Oyelowo
    - Background :Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons.Oyelowo first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied Theatre Studies for A level and his teacher...

    's playing of Henry VI of England
    Henry VI of England
    Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...

     in the RSC's This England: The Histories
    This England: The Histories
    This England: The Histories was a season of Shakespeare's history plays staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2000-2001. The company staged both of Shakespeare's tetralogies of history plays so that audiences could see all eight plays over several days...

     cycle in 2000. Oyelowo was the first black actor to play an English king in a major production of Shakespeare and his performance won the Ian Charleson Award.
  • Josette Simon
    Josette Simon
    Josette Patricia Simon OBE is a British actor of Antiguan descent. She trained for the stage at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.-Career:...

     playing Maggie in Arthur Miller
    Arthur Miller
    Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...

    's After the Fall
    After the Fall (play)
    After the Fall is a play by American dramatist Arthur Miller. The original performance opened in New York City on January 23, 1964, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Barbara Loden and Jason Robards Jr., with an early appearance by Faye Dunaway. Kazan also collaborated with Miller on the script...

     at the London National Theatre
    Royal National Theatre
    The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

     in 1990. The role is widely supposed to have been based on Miller's former wife, Marilyn Monroe
    Marilyn Monroe
    Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

    . Simon's performance gained the Evening Standard
    Evening Standard
    The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...

    s Best Actress award
    Evening Standard Awards
    The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...

    .
  • The Batman film series
    Batman (film series)
    The fictional character Batman, a comic book superhero featured in DC Comics publications, has appeared in various films since his inception. The character first starred in two serial films in the 1940s, Batman and Batman and Robin...

    , where Billy Dee Williams
    Billy Dee Williams
    William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...

     was cast as Harvey Dent
    Two-Face
    Two-Face is a fictional comic book supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. and is an enemy of Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #66 , and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger....

     in Batman
    Batman (1989 film)
    Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...

     (however, the character was later portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones
    Tommy Lee Jones
    Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....

     and Aaron Eckhart
    Aaron Eckhart
    Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...

    ), and Colin McFarlane
    Colin McFarlane
    Colin McFarlane is an English actor and voice artist. He has appeared in several TV series, including The Fast Show, Judge John Deed, Jonathan Creek, Randall & Hopkirk , Jeeves and Wooster, Black Books and The Thin Blue Line. He is also known for portraying Police Commissioner Gillian B...

     was cast as Gillian B. Loeb in the Christopher Nolan
    Christopher Nolan
    Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...

     films.
  • Grey's Anatomy
    Grey's Anatomy
    Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

    , during the creation of which none of the characters was assigned a race and the best actors were chosen, leading to a racially diverse cast.
  • Smallville
    Smallville (TV series)
    Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...

    , which has African American
    African American
    African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

     actor Sam Jones III
    Sam Jones III
    Samuel L. Jones III is an American actor, best known for playing Pete Ross on the first three seasons of the television series Smallville.-Career:...

     portraying Clark Kent
    Clark Kent
    Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....

    's childhood friend Pete Ross
    Pete Ross
    Peter Joseph "Pete" Ross is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comic books published by DC Comics. He was introduced in Superboy #86 .-Pre-Crisis:...

    , that, in the comic books, was Caucasian
    Caucasian race
    The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

    ; Kristin Kreuk
    Kristin Kreuk
    Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...

    , from Dutch and Chinese descent, cast for the originally red-headed character Lana Lang
    Lana Lang
    Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...

    ; and Allison Mack
    Allison Mack
    Not to be confused with Alison MacAllison Mack is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Chloe Sullivan on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Early life:...

    , whose character Chloe Sullivan
    Chloe Sullivan
    Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. Series regular Allison Mack has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series...

     was intended to have an ethnic background, before casting.
  • The 2008 BBC television series Merlin
    Merlin (TV series)
    Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...

    , which employs several actors of colour in roles traditionally described in the legends as white, most notably Guinevere
    Guinevere
    Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...

     and Lancelot
    Lancelot
    Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...

    . Africans were not unheard of in Medieval Britain and that indeed, a Moorish knight, Morien
    Morien
    Morien or Moriaen is a 13th-century Arthurian romance in Middle Dutch. A 4,720-line version is preserved in the vast Lancelot-Compilatie, and a short fragment exists at the Royal Library at Brussels...

     was even written of in the original legends.
  • The 1973 film version of "Jesus Christ Superstar
    Jesus Christ Superstar
    Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...

    " had African American actor Carl Anderson
    Carl Anderson
    Carl Anderson may refer to:*Carl Anderson , American college football coach*Carl Anderson , American art director*Carl Anderson , North Dakota State Treasurer...

     cast as the lead role of Judas Iscariot
    Judas Iscariot
    Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...

    , successive to Ben Vereen
    Ben Vereen
    Ben Vereen is an American actor, dancer, and singer who has appeared in numerous Broadway theatre shows. Vereen graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts.- Early years :...

     essaying the role in the original 1971 Broadway production.
  • Pippa Bennett-Warner played Cordelia in the 2010 Donmar Warehouse
    Donmar Warehouse
    Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...

     production of King Lear
    King Lear
    King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...

     starring Derek Jacobi
    Derek Jacobi
    Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...

     in the title role. Her performance earned her a Ian Charleson Award nomination.


The Non-Traditional Casting Project was founded in 1986 to examine problems of racial discrimination in theatre, film and television. Actors Equity is a co-founder.

Further reading

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