Should Jews be the only ones to portray Jews on film is the question being bandied about, particularly with the recent release of Golda (played by Dame Helen Mirren), and Maestro, the biopic of Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper), at the Venice Film Festival.
South African theatrical experts believe the best person for the role is the best person, no matter what religion they follow.
There are many instances in which non-Jewish actors have been cast to play characters in which Judaism is a large part of their story. Some notables are Luke Kirby as the iconic Jewish comedian Lenny Bruce in The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel; Felicity Jones portraying the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the film On the Basis of Sex; and Michelle Williams as Mitzi Fableman in The Fabelmans. Many of these actors have received critical acclaim for their portrayal of these figures.
Criticism of non-Jews playing these roles is based on the belief that they don’t have the cultural knowledge to be able to play the characters authentically.
One of the biggest advocates – and in turn critics of “inauthentic casting” – for Jews being used to bring Jewish stories to life is Jewish-British comedian David Baddiel. Baddiel says in his book, Jews Don’t Count (2021), and a subsequent piece in The Guardian in 2022 that, “In the current culture of uplifting minority stories being told authentically, the same doesn’t seem to apply when it comes to Jews. There seems to be a general rule in Hollywood these days saying that minority roles are allowed to be played only by that minority. It seems to be that the one exception to this rule is the Jewish community,” Baddiel says.
“Casting a non-minority actor to mimic that identity carries a sense of mockery, and this can thus reduce the complexity of that experience,” Baddiel says. “This also becomes an issue because that non-Jewish actor wouldn’t know the lived experience of being a Jew, and thus it’s a disservice to Jewish culture and history.”
Elysa Koplovitz Dutton, the producer of the recent Adam Sandler film, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah told JewishUnpacked that the casting of Jewish Actors (Sunny, Sadie, and Adam Sandler; Idina Menzel; and Jackie Hoffman among others) in Jewish roles and having a Jewish director showed dedication to the authenticity of the story.
Rabbis were brought in to help ensure that the Batmitzvah was shown authentically, according to JewishUnpacked. The show’s popularity and the fact that it’s now Adam Sandlar’s highest rated show is attributed to this authenticity.
Daphne Kuhn, the producer and owner of the Theatre on the Square, says, “As much as I would like to believe that a Jewish actor would resonate more and be able to interpret a Jewish role in a better way for a play or movie, this isn’t necessarily true at all.
“A consummate actor is trained and should have the emotional intelligence, technical skill, and intellect to play different parts,” she says.
“Dame Helen Mirren excels as Golda, and she’s not Jewish. This is a good example. Ultimately the best person must get the role or job.”
“Acting is pretending,” says Megan Choritz, South African writer, actor-director, and improviser. “A good actor is committed to playing a role, and an actor doesn’t have to be exactly like the character they’re playing. An actor’s cultural or religious heritage shouldn’t play a role in the casting of a character. Casting directors should be choosing who can do the role in the best way. If that’s not the case, this needs to be investigated”.
Vicky Friedman, a performer, choreographer, director, and the owner of Fame Academy, agrees, and reminds us that casting is a director’s decision. “One shouldn’t hold an actor back because they don’t fit into a certain box when the actor can portray a character in a way in which the director would be happy,” she says.
“Many factors go into casting a character, but ultimately it’s the director’s job to decide what factors are most important for their production,” Friedman says. “The fact that an actor doesn’t share a background with a character shouldn’t preclude the actor from being able to play that part.
“You have to be careful, the situation depends on the context – of the director, the character, the production.”
Says Kuhn, “Most producers, directors, and casting agents believe that they are free to cast actors regardless of their background, as long as the portrayal is respectful and well-researched.”
On the use of prostheses when bringing a character to life, Choritz says, “Prostheses are used all the time for many different reasons. It might be an issue because it seems as if Jews nowadays are very sensitive to antisemitism, but this isn’t antisemitism,” she says, while conceding that it’s a controversial topic.
“If we say that Jews are the only ones who can play Jews, it becomes dangerous. It would mean that Jews wouldn’t be able to play non-Jewish characters,” Choritz says.
Leonard Bernstein’s children supported Cooper in his portrayal of the late composer, prosthetic nose and all, telling Insider, “It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley [Cooper] chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well”.
The Anti-Defamation League has stated that the use of the prosthetic nose isn’t antisemitic. Similarly, Mirren said in an interview with the Daily Mail that she had concerns about the decision to cast her as Golda Meir, approaching director Guy Nattiv and saying that she would leave the project if he thought it would be a problem According to Mirren, “[Nattiv] very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went.”
Though there’s no clear answer to this question, it seems that the overwhelming opinion locally is that insisting that only Jews play Jewish roles is a dangerous road to take.
