A new movie about the life of Alina Fernandez, the daughter of Fidel Castro, has gone into pre-production amid controversy about the actor picked to play the infamous Cuban dictator..Fernandez did not know she was Castro’s daughter until the age of 10, said The Hollywood Reporter. She was always critical of her father’s rule and fled to the United States, where she was granted political asylum in 1993..She will be portrayed by Cuban-American actress Ana Villafañe, while Argentine actress Mía Maestro will play Natalia ‘Naty’ Revuelta, Fernandez's mother..James Franco has been chosen to portray the dictator, which did not sit well with fellow actor John Leguizamo, who lashed out at Hollywood and streaming platforms, calling Franco’s selection cultural appropriation.. James FrancoJames Franco .Sharing a screenshot of an article announcing the casting decision on Instagram, Leguizamo added a caption complaining both Hollywood and streaming platforms often cast non-Latino actors to play iconic Latino roles..“How is this still going on? How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers!” Leguizamo said. “Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement which would be wrong! I don’t got a prob with Franco, but he ain’t Latino!”.In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the film's producer, John Martinez O'Felan, said he respected Leguizamo, but ultimately disagreed with his remarks.."A guy like John Leguizamo has historically been looked up to by Hispanics as one of America's earliest actors of Latin descent since the ‘90s and I've always admired him as a fellow underdog,” said O’Felan. “But his comments are culturally uneducated and a blind attack with zero substance related to this project.".O’Felan defended the decision by pointing out Franco, whose ancestry includes Portuguese along with Russian, Jewish, and Swedish, shared a similar facial structure to Castro, who was born in Cuba, but of Spanish (European) descent..“To get there on such a tough look to cast, we used Fidel Castro’s ancient Galician heraldry as our focal compass, and then combed through the entire ranks of actors with Latin roots in Hollywood to find someone who has a similar facial structure,” he said. “In executing a close search into our hopefuls through the eye of Spanish and Portuguese genealogy which the Galicians held, we found that James, by far, had the closest facial likeness.”.Fernández approved the casting decision as well, saying, “James Franco has an obvious physical resemblance with Fidel Castro, besides his skills and charisma.”.She added nearly the entire project, in front of the camera and behind, is Latino..“I find the selection of the cast amazing,” she said. “Ana Villafañe is extraordinarily talented. I’m sure that Mía Maestro, an actress I admire, will understand and interpret Naty, my mother, in a unique way and I can’t wait to see her building her character.”.Leguizamo followed up with a video explaining his complaint comes from his own experience with what he described as ‘brown face’, white actors like Charlton Heston and Ben Affleck, being made up to look Latin in order to play certain roles..“Brown face in Hollywood ain’t new! Imagine all the Latin stars who could’ve been made in these roles!!! But we weren’t allowed. We have been the largest ethnic group in America since the birth of the Nation and the most excluded from the good and riches of our labor and sacrifice!” he added in a second follow-up, along with a list of 22 “White actors playing Latino!”.The list included Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and Jack Palance, who played Castro in the movie ‘Che’..If I had been on the selection committee for the lead role, I would have recommended someone with acting experience as a drama teacher, familiar with dictatorial procedure, as well as "brown face.". Fidel castro holds Justin Trudeau on a trip to CubaFidel castro holds Justin Trudeau on a trip to Cuba
