Remember that embarrassing period in Hollywood when two white actors played Moses and Ramses in a biblical epic set in ancient Egypt? No, I'm not referring to Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 work, The Ten Commandments. Moviegoers will watch history repeat itself as Christian Bale (a Welshman) and Joel Edgerton (an Australian) star in Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods & Kings this December. So much face, not enough palm.
The lack of representation for actors of color in film is still a problem. Whitewashing—the complete erasure of characters of color from their own stories—continues to infect narrative. Yet, progress has been made. There's an emerging class of young actors of color who are ready switch up the Hollywood game.
Erik Abriss is a contributing writer. He tweets here.