Odessa A’zion recently announced she would be backing out of an upcoming film based on the novel “Deep Cuts.” Apparently her casting in the role of Zoe Gutierrez generated some social media uproar due to the fact that the character is half-Mexican, while A’zion is not at all Mexican.
TheWrap’s article on this story quoted a few of those complaining on X over A’zion’s casting: One said, “I can tell you right now there are thousands of beautiful, talented and passionate Mexican actors out there waiting for their big break … To see a white woman steal that opportunity in the current political climate is not only disgusting but also disheartening.”
Another suggested Melissa Barrera and Eiza Gonzalez as far better choices for the role, “over white girl Odessa A’zion,” since both are of Mexican descent.
None of those quoted mentioned that, while the character is half-Mexican, the character is also half-Jewish. And Odessa A’zion is Jewish.
Then, after A’zion backed out of the role, over 100 Latino creatives, including Eva Longoria and John Leguizamo, signed an open letter to Hollywood commending A’zion for exiting the project and condemning the system that cast her in the first place, saying it “exposed a troubling pattern.”
I agree with many of the points that the letter makes about the need for better Latino representation in Hollywood. But regarding this particular case of the casting of “Deep Cuts,” the letter did not mention that the character is half-Jewish and that A’zion is Jewish.
Why is the character’s Mexican half considered determinative, while her Jewish half is so inconsequential it doesn’t even bear mention?
Why is a Mexican actor more qualified (or is it more deserving?) than a Jewish actor to play a half-Jewish, half-Mexican character?
I am reminded of a similar incident that occurred with the character of Missy Foreman-Greenwald on Netflix’s “Big Mouth.” The character of Missy was half-Black and half-Jewish. She was voiced for three seasons by Jenny Slate (who is Jewish but not Black).
In 2020, following the death of George Floyd, the role was recast with Ayo Edebiri (who is Black but not Jewish).
Nick Kroll (the series’ co-creator and executive producer at the time) wrote on X (Twitter at the time): “We made a mistake, took our privilege for granted, and we are working hard to do better moving forward.”
Why is it doing “better” to erase a character’s Jewish half in favor of her Black half?
Replacing her with a non-Jewish actor will send the clear message that the character’s Jewish half does not matter.
To be clear, I would have no problem if a Latina actress had been cast originally in “Deep Cuts,” or if Ayo Edebiri had been the original Missy in “Big Mouth.”
I was even fine with Bradley Cooper playing Leonard Bernstein and Helen Mirren playing Golda Meir, since both actors gave powerful, layered performances honoring the legends they portrayed.
But the original choices of both “Deep Cuts” and “Big Mouth” were Jewish actors. Both were chosen as the best actors to play the roles and, in the case of “Big Mouth,” the actor did play the role successfully for three seasons.
Both actors were then replaced because “Jewish” does not count as an identity in Hollywood.
(The Motion Picture Academy’s insistence on excluding Jewish identity in its DEI requirements is but another example, if one is needed.)
I don’t know what went into A’zion’s decision to drop out of the project – whether she was pressured to do so by the film’s producers, was unable to stand up to the online criticism, or truly believes that a half-Mexican, half-Jewish character cannot be played by a non-Mexican Jewish actor.
And I have sympathy for her as a young actor navigating the insanity of online vitriol.
But the ball is now in the court of Sean Durkin, the director of “Deep Cuts,” and A24, the studio behind the project. They must recast the role.
So I call on them to replace A’zion with another Jewish actor — not because the character’s Mexican half does not matter, but because, after initially casting A’zion, replacing her with a non-Jewish actor will send the clear message that the character’s Jewish half does not matter.
Because when a Jewish actor is cast and then replaced solely because the character’s Jewish identity is deemed irrelevant, that is not progress, it is erasure.
Michael Kaplan is a TV writer-producer, playwright and children’s book author. For his TV work, he has been nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one.
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