Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Over the weekend, Twitter tied itself in knots with multiple folks chiming in about the casting of actor Charlie Hunnam as a Mexican American Drug Lord.
Hunnam, of 'Sons of Anarchy' fame, is white and British.
To be fair, the narco he's been tapped to portray, Edgar Valdez Villarreal (pictured on the right), is light of hair, blue-eyed and nicknamed " La Barbie" because of his looks.
Still, this all comes at a time when a lot of people in Hollywood are talking, again, about the fact that not a single actor of color was nominated for an Oscar.
It raises a question that's been around for decades. Should actors always be of the same ethnicity as the character they play?
Or should casting directors have some creative license? We asked one.
Angela M. Hutchinson is a casting director for independent films and the founder of the nonprofit "Breaking into Hollywood".