Peter Dinklage, the Emmy-winning actor who played the part of fan-favorite Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, has something to say about the portrayal of dwarf characters in Disney’s upcoming remake of classic live-action movie ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’
The topic came up as the actor was discussing on the podcast “WTF” – hosted by comedian Marc Maron – the effects of politics on comedy and the differences between woke and anti-woke comedy.
As someone suffering from dwarfism himself, Dinklage is critical of the new Snow White film still portraying the seven dwarfs as living in a cave. He said that it was hypocritically woke that they cast a Latina actor as Snow White but still kept the backward story of the dwarfs.
“Well, you know, it’s really progressive to cast a — literally no offense to anybody, but I was a little taken aback by, they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White,” he said. He continued by saying, “It makes no sense to me, because you’re progressive in one way and then you’re still making that f*cking backward story of seven dwarfs living in a cave. What the f*ck are you doing, man?”
The upcoming Disney remake of Snow White is expected to be released in 2023. It casts Rachel Zegler, a Latina actress, as Snow White. Zegler rose to fame through Steven Spielberg’s romantic drama flick West Side Story. Gal Gadot, who portrayed Wonder Woman, is taking on the role of the evil queen.
Some people are critical of the casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White, saying that Disney is once again displaying woke virtue signaling. Unlike other Disney stories, Snow White explicitly says that the leading character is white – just read the title. Moreover, it’s a safe bet to say that if the races were reversed – if a white actor played the role of a non-white character – the woke crowd would throw a tantrum about ‘cultural appropriation.’
As a matter of fact, Peter Dinklage himself was under attack for so-called ‘whitewashing.’ Peter played Hervé Villechaize, a renowned dwarf actor in the 1980s, in the 2018 HBO biopic named My Dinner with Hervé. Woke critics did not waste any moment in claiming that Villechaize was half French and half Filipino, blasting Dinklage, who is white, for taking on the role.
Dinklage schooled his woke critics, correcting their factual inaccuracies by pointing out that Villechaize was not actually half Filipino but of French, German and English descent – Dinklage actually met the family members of Villechaize, so there’s merit in what he’s saying. He says Dwarfism manifests differently in people and says that it gave Villechaize his unique look, which got him mistakenly labeled as Filipino.
It is interesting to note that Dinklage himself is of German descent. So it would seem that Dinklage is more apt to play the role than the woke critics first assumed.
