THE RESEARCH:
There are over 100,000 actors living in Los Angeles, and that does not include non-union actors. Of the roles offered, around 75% of speaking roles are given to Caucasians, 11% African-American, 4% Latino, 5% Asian, and 4% other (or mixed race) ethnicities. While it’s no secret that Hollywood tends to favor Caucasians in front of camera, many, many aspiring actors still feel slighted because of their heritage or color of their skin. But what if you fall into the minority category even though the way you look can pass for something different?
Alexis Bledel, Zoë Saldana, Cameron Diaz, Rosario Dawson, Bruno Mars, Oscar Isaac etc. fall into the “something different” pile. Most of these performers have enough of a physical difference that one would never question their lineage when appearing on screen. (Though, how many of us were shocked to find Alexis Bledel is of Argentinean descent?). What you may not realize about the last two, who look questionable, is that they felt compelled to change their names in order to be seen differently by the entertainment industry. Oscar Isaac, originally Oscar Hernandez, is of Guatemalan descent and, while living in Miami, changed his last name to avoid being typecast as simply a Latino gangster. Bruno Mars, who was born Peter Gene Hernandez (just a coincidence it’s the same last name as Oscar’s), who is only one quarter Puerto Rican on his dad’s side, changed his name as a way for the music industry to see him differently and to stop them for pushing him to do Latin music.
THE EXPERIMENT:
So, this got me thinking, in case you have yet to gaze at the forgiving pic of me, I have very light skin. My ethnic mix is essentially a box of Crayolas tossed into a boiling pot. But primarily, my father is half Guatemalan, half Irish and my mother is Mexican. Despite my light-skinness, as an actress, I have almost exclusively been called in for ethnic/Latina roles. Though, you will never find me in the roles I’ve auditioned for. It’s a double-edged sword, my last name is ethnic but I don’t look stereotypically ethnic enough for the roles I’ve auditioned for. It is because of this I have decided to put the way of Oscar Isaac and Bruno Mars to the test for myself.
So, I ask you to join me in this experiment I call “Becoming ‘White’”. I will use my same pictures and resume but will be changing my stage name to Kathryn White. As Kat Castaneda, I have only ever been called in for two television auditions, again, both for Latino roles. I auditioned for numerous commercials, 85% specifically for the “Latina Girl”. I even recall a time I entered an audition and there were two available roles that fit a similar physical description. Only difference was one called for “A Girl” and the other was for “Ethnic Girl”. I was asked what role I was there to audition for, I honestly answered that I didn’t know. They asked me my name, when I pronounced my name the Casting Assistant declared, “Oh, you must be here for Ethnic Girl”. While I won’t be doing any commercial auditions for this experiment, I will actively pursue theatrical roles and report back here with my findings.
JOIN ME!:
Would anyone out there like to join me in this experiment? If so, write a post and let me know so we can support each other! And keep checking back for new blog posts for updates on this and the creation of my web series, I will be writing about one or the other, whichever I have more news on at the time. Wish me luck!