Despite the film's release being five months away, Paul King's highly anticipated Wonka is already encountering backlash.
After the film received its official trailer a few weeks ago, it was revealed that Hugh Grant is going to be playing an Oompa Loompa - a fact that didn't sit well with the little people community.
"A lot of actors [with dwarfism] feel like we are being pushed out of the industry we love," George Coppen, an actor with dwarfism, told the BBC. "A lot of people, myself included, argue that dwarfs should be offered everyday roles in dramas and soaps, but we aren't getting offered those roles. One door is being closed but they have forgotten to open the next one."
George, renowned for his portrayal of Sweet Cupid in Netflix's The School for Good and Evil, openly shared his dismay at the lost chance to cast an actor with dwarfism for the role, just as it was done in the 1971 and 2005 films.
A few weeks after Wonka received its official trailer, it received criticism for casting Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa
Image credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
Image credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
Image credits: coppen1412
George Coppen, a British actor with dwarfism, has channeled his frustration on his Instagram
Image credits: coppen1412
Jason Acuña, better known by his stage name "Wee Man", wasn't silent about the controversial casting as well
Image credits: Sakibomb222
Jason Acuña, better known by his stage name "Wee Man", also expressed his disappointment in Grant's casting as an Oompa Loompa.
"Hugh Grant is now playing an Oompa Loompa? So I guess, Hugh Grant, you're now identifying as a little person? Interesting," Jason said in the video.
While it remains uncertain if there will be additional Oompa Loompas in Wonka, director Paul King has justified his choice to cast Hugh. "I was really just thinking about that character; somebody who could be a real [thing], and then — ah! Hugh! Because he’s the funniest, most sarcastic [guy] I’ve ever met," King stated in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
The upcoming origin story featuring Hugh and Timothée Chalamet will be the first time an Oompa-Loompa character is portrayed by an actor without dwarfism in any of the film adaptations of Roald Dahl's 1964 timeless classic, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
The eagerly awaited movie is scheduled to hit theaters on December 15.
Certainly, it's not uncommon for individuals who are not little people to portray dwarf characters on screen or stage, as it happened before
Isabelle, renowned for her roles in The Hunger Games and The Novice, took on an award-winning portrayal in the 2009 horror film, Orphan, where she played an adult woman who pretends to be a nine-year-old girl. The film's major twist reveals that Isabelle's character, Esther, suffers from a rare form of hypopituitarism, leading to stunted growth and proportional dwarfism.
Isabelle Fuhrman in Orphan
John Rhys-Davies, for example, gained fame for his exceptional portrayal of Gimli in all three The Lord of The Rings movies, despite being the tallest among the main cast. Although praised for his performance, it's worth noting that his stunt and size double, Brett Beattie, who measures 4'10, played a significant part in bringing the character to life on screen. Beattie has spent an impressive 189 days, equivalent to 2,300 hours, in the role of Gimli, according to Polygon.
John Rhys-Davies in The Lord of the Rings movies
Image credits: Eva Rinaldi / IMDb
James Nesbitt, a 58-year-old actor from Northern Ireland, who had an "incredible", yet "frustrating" time playing one of the 13 dwarfs in The Hobbit trilogy, also expressed concerns regarding the opportunities offered to actors with dwarfism.
"There will only ever be 13 dwarves in The Hobbit - and I was one of them. If I had my time again, would I do it? Yeah, I would," Nesbitt told Radio Times magazine. "At times it was frustrating. Just in terms of the acting, in terms of what you were given the opportunity to do."
In 1999, meanwhile, Peter Jackson, the director both of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogies, had this to say about casting regular-sized actors versus people with dwarfism: "I know casting authentic little people is the way that some people have thought we'll go but it just doesn't fit what Tolkien wrote. So we are casting normal-sized actors and using prosthetics, computer tricks and other less complicated trickery to reduce them in size," he told the Guardian.
James Nesbitt in The Hobbit movies
In the bygone days before motion caption suits and eye-watering CGI, John Lithgow's voice-over role as Shrek's comically villainous Lord Farquaad, who is a half-dwarf, is also notable.
However, when Disney's animated classic received a Broadway adaptation years later, a particular theater-goer, Bill Nicholson, voiced dissatisfaction with the casting choice for Lord Farquaad.
The production had cast a 6-foot-tall actor, Samuel Holmes, who portrayed the character by spending the entire show on his knees for comedic purposes.
In response to the criticism, the producers of "Shrek The Musical" addressed the concern and stated their commitment to "proactively" consider hiring an actor of "short stature" for the next season of the production.
John Lithgow in Shrek
Image credits: Rubenstein / FanCaps
Not every member of the little people community is agreeing with Coppen and "Wee Man," however. Emmy-winning actor Peter Dinklage, famous for his role in Game of Thrones, has taken a firm stand against accepting stereotypical roles typically designated for little people.
“They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but you’re still making that [annoyingly] backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together," Dinklage said on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast last year.
On the day the interview was published, Disney expressed its intention to seek input from members of the dwarfism community regarding the film. However, a day later, the studio altered its approach and decided to transform the dwarf characters into "magical creatures" using CGI.
Eleven years ago, an updated version of "Snow White and the Huntsman," featuring Kristen Stewart, faced considerable backlash upon its release. The cause of the controversy was the casting of actors of average height, such as Bob Hoskins and Ian McShane, to portray the dwarves. Their faces were then digitally transmuted onto smaller bodies.
However, most people didn't mind seeing Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa
