Morgan Freeman was not condemned for playing Nelson Mandela in Invictus. Forest Whitaker’s portrayal of Idi Amin in the The Last King of Scotland did not inspire backlash on the grounds of cultural appropriation; instead Whitaker won an Oscar for Best Actor.
But some actors have come under criticism for doing what ought to be banal, playing characters who come from a different background to themselves. The American actor Adam Driver has recently been denounced during the Venice Film Festival for playing Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s upcoming film about the Italian racing driver. According to Pierfrancesco Favino, Italian characters should be played by Italian actors. Casting Driver to play Ferrari constitutes an act of cultural appropriation.
