John Leguizamo and other Latino actors call out James Franco’s casting as Fidel Castro

Most notably, the prolific John Leguizamo, who recently voiced Bruno in Disney’s “Encanto, ” blasted Franco’s casting on Instagram . Leguizamo contended that the role must have gone to a Latino actor instead.
“How is this still taking place? ” Leguizamo inquired on Friday. “How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives too? No more appropriation Showmanship and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously tough story to tell with no aggrandizement, which would (be) wrong! I shouldn’t got a (problem) with Franco yet he ain’t Latino! ”
Franco is placed to star since Castro in the upcoming “Alina of Cuba, ” with manufacturing set to start later this year, per reports . The movie follows the life span of Alina Fernandez, Castro’s daughter.
Leguizamo basically the only Latino superstar angered by the throwing.
“Wtf is…. ” wrote actress Jess Darrow, who else voiced Luisa Madrigal in “Encanto, ” in response to Leguizamo’s publish.
“I’m sorry but exactly what in the actual f**k? ” wrote professional Raúl Castillo within an Instagram story.
“Not me reading that Wayne Franco will have to ‘build’ an accent with regard to Castro, when my entire life I’ve been made enjoyable of for not talking English like an United states and been informed countless times to operate hard to get rid of this… ” wrote actress Terrain Rodriguez.
“I’m auditioning for another universal Latin-American drug seller and James Franco is dead a** playing Fidel Castro, ” wrote actor or actress Jeff Torres on Tweets . “Latinos gettin’ done dirty af out here plus everywhere. Damn lol. ”
Latino representation offers long lagged in Hollywood. Despite making up 18% of the ALL OF US population, only 5% of the speaking roles in 2019’s top 100 movies visited Latino actors, according to a 2020 study from the USC Annenberg Addition Initiative.
Franco also faced allegations of inappropriate and sexually exploitive actions in 2018 from five ladies, several of whom had been his students. In 2021, in the wake of settling the class-action lawsuit, he accepted to sleeping with students from the acting school he co-owned.