Twitter Tuesday - Cassie Clare on Magnus and Whitewashing

Godfrey Gao - a perfect Magnus

Cassie posted this a few days ago on her tumblr and I thought it was one of the best responses I've read to casting/fan-casting in general. I know we've seen a number of whitewashed covers on some of our favorite books and frankly, that disturbs me. So here's Cassie's thoughts on the subject, particularly re: Magnus:

This is an old post of mine, but I thought it bore reblogging (especially now that we do have a Magnus, and he is, as I hoped and prayed and insisted, going to be played by an Asian actor. A really talented, really handsome, really awesome Asian actor.)...

(Cassie's original post)
Okay, although I admit I am confused about the confusion. They want an Asian actor to play Magnus because Magnus is Asian. (Technically, Magnus is biracial. I would be perfectly happy with a biracial actor playing him — but otherwise the option is an Asian actor, not a white actor. It doesn’t matter if any of Magnus’ background is white. Casting him white would erase that part of his background that is Asian. And important. There are plenty of roles out there for white actors. Most roles are for white actors. This is not one of them. There is very little I have control over as regards casting. I cannot pick an actor for Magnus. I don’t have that ability. But I can say, and say strongly, that I want them to cast an Asian or half-Asian actor, and I did. It is pretty much the one ironclad demand as regards casting that I have made, i.e. : if you don’t cast an Asian actor, I’ll never talk about this movie again, nor will I see it.)

You can read Cassie's full post here and I encourage you to do so. In the mean time, I'll just keep googling images of Godfrey because boy, did the movie people cast him perfectly. I can see him with outrageous outfits and glitter and I can see him fighting with those he loves. Can't you?