Casting sucks.
Recent years have seen some progress for diversity on screen, but the fact remains: if you're any ethnicity other than white, you'll usually be stuck playing the stereotype dictated by your skin colour.
And that's if the part hasn't already been nabbed by a white actor.
*cough* Christian Bale *cough*
*cough* Emma Stone *cough*
*cough* Ben Kingsley *cough*
*cough* Rooney Mara *cough*
Arguably the lowest on the ladder of poor representation are the East Asians.
Don't believe me? Try and name 5 famous East Asian actors working in Hollywood today.
Or try and name 5 East Asian characters whose roles weren't defined by their ethnicity and the stereotypes that go with it. You know, who weren't maths geniuses, suppressed daughters, martial arts experts or working in a Chinese take-away.
Try and name 5 who didn't have a foreign accent.
So yes. Casting sucks.
Rebecca Boey has been on the hard end of this situation a fair few times. Rebecca's half Geordie, and half Malaysian. She speaks with a Kensington accent, doesn't know kung-fu and her only other language is French.
But she looks a bit asian, which means she spends half her auditions faking a Chinese accent and feeling a bit racist.
After getting more than a little frustrated she sat down and wrote a short satirical film about the whole situation. We made that film, and now you can watch it below.
It stars Daniel York, Anna Brophy, Stephen Hoo, Rebecca Boey, Rosie Revan and William White.
We shot it in a day, in a lovely Chinese take-away in Kew called China Pearl. The owner didn't even blink when we asked to film there.
Have a look:
*cough* Noah Ringer *cough* Scarlett Johansson *cough* Tilda Swinton *cough* *cough* Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey*cough* Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton *cough* Josh Hartnett *cough* Carey Mulligan *cough* Johnny Depp *cough*
God, this cough is awful.