g-r-e-n-d-e-l asked: Whats this ”whitewashing ” everyone is talking about? Dont be afraid to spoil me.

  Very inarticulate comments following:

Pedro Pascal was cast as Oberyn Martell. The character is not described as white, and the actor chosen looks white. Therefore the complaints from the fandom are targeting that issue, and some of them are quite baffled by GRRM's comments on the issue as well. He pretty much is backing up the show's decisions, when he has previously said the character, and the dornish people in general, are not white. On the other hand, there were people who started criticizing the actor for taking the role, and started picking apart his heritage, and trying to say that because he looks white, he can't be chilean or latin american. I'm completely against this type of comments. Like I said before, the actor should not be blamed for taking a big chance for his career, and his heritage is his, not anyone else's. He gets to decide how he identifies himself, not the fandom.

"Some of the complaints read as if it was okay to be racist, but only as long as you target Hispanics." I don't agree at all with the complaints regarding Pedro's casting that were picking apart his heritage and ethnicity because he looks white. Like I said before, we don't get to decide how he identifies himself, he does. Not you, not me, and not the people who targeted him with those kind of comments that were disgusting. He gets to decide to which part of his heritage he identifies with. That being said, the casting of Pedro Pascal is whitewashing for the role of Oberyn. Oberyn is not white, Pedro looks white. People seem to not get that a latin american can be white, black or mixed raced. He can easily be mixed, and look white. The problem here is that, not only people in the fandom don't get that, but D&D don't either. They think using the a latin actor is proof enough they are bringing diversity to the show. It's not such thing. It's about the look of the character, rather than the nationality of the actor playing it. For example, my first choice for Oberyn was Oded Ferh. I'm quite aware he looks like Pascal in that sense, so, I would have understood people's complaints if he had been cast. Yet, I think that actor had a particular feel that suited the character, imo. Fehr is israeli and his family is of Jewish heritage. He looks kinda white, so he didn't suit the role either in that sense. I can't give the same specifications about Pedro Pascal, other than he's chilean and latin american, but I don't know much about his parents. Yet the complaints with his casting, have to do with the fact that he looks white, and therefore doesn't suit the role. I agree with that, but I don't agree with people picking apart and trying to deny he's chilean. Like his heritage doesn't matter because he's white. That I don't agree with at all.

Indira Varma is an english actress of indian and swiss descent, she's not white. I've seen photos in which she looks "whiter" (whitewashed), and imo those are the industries tendencies of whitewashing with some photoshop. Even Beyonce gets that sometimes. I've seen photos of Pedro Pascal in which he looks whiter, or darker. But still, he looks white. And for sure white compared to her.

As a simple example. Oona Chaplin is a woman of colour. She was born in Spain. Her father is chilean, not a white chilean, and her mother is white american. 

Anyway, there's no need to dig in the parents looks or background to figure out if the casting is a good choice or not. I'm just doing it to prove it doesn't really matter (I'm sorry if it was rude of me to do it. Just trying to disprove the point of the comments some people in the fandom made). The colour of the skin is what makes the casting whitewashing, not the heritage or background, and clearly not their parents'.

I have never seen Rome but Indira looks the part. I hope she gets some quality screen time.

She had her good moments in the show.

Rome had a lot of actors, and a lot of storylines, not like GOT, but still, therefore there weren't as many scenes as I'd have liked of her.

She has also done a couple of movies which were not so known, or heard of. Some tv movies as well, and she was better in them. Her skills definitely exceed the role's requirements (speaking about the book here, since Ellaria is definitely a "very" secondary character), and I hope they expand the role giving her more opportunities.

Indira Varma cast as Ellaria Sand!

I already love Rome actors for so many reasons, and of course I love this casting news.