Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Back in August, British actor Ed Skrein quit his role in the Hellboy reboot as Major Ben Daimio. Skrein stated that he didn’t want to participate in the whitewashing of the character, since Daimio was portrayed as an Asian man in the original Hellboy comics. According to Buzzfeed, Daniel Dae Kim will be taking Skrein’s role in the upcoming film.
The Hellboy producers gracefully accepted Skrein’s decision to leave the role, and apparently took his words to heart by hiring Kim, an Asian-American actor. Concerns over the whitewashing of Asian characters have circulated in other recent films, including this year’s Ghost In The Shell, a live-action film based on the popular anime, starring Scarlett Johansson. Skrein stepping down generated a lot of praise and became an example for how white actors can use their privilege to address whitewashing in the industry.
The new Hellboy film is a reboot of the 2004 film directed by Guillermo del Toro. Kim is famous for his roles in Lost and Hawaii Five-0.
Daniel Dae Kim has been a big advocate for Asian American representing on film and TV. https://t.co/GBDSIJRFGp
— Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) September 11, 2017
Just saw the news that @danieldaekim is replacing the exceptionally classy @edskrein in #Hellboy and I literally screamed of happiness. pic.twitter.com/pmIuXJCjqN
— Emma Fyffe (@EmmaFyffe) September 12, 2017
SEE IT'S NOT HARD https://t.co/axl3VTmQ0P
— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) September 11, 2017
That's more like it. Also, Daniel Dae Kim should be in everything, imo. https://t.co/3g7ggKq8UU
— Nicole Chung (@nicole_soojung) September 11, 2017