Talk about feeling the pressure. Ed Skrein was excited to announce that he would be playing the character of Major Ben Daimio in the upcoming Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen. In the comics, the character is of Asian heritage and there was an immediate backlash from the APA community. Today, Skrein took to Twitter responding to the public outcry saying, “I must do what I feel is right” and announced that he would be stepping down from the role.
Hellboy producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin and Lionsgate & Millennium made a statement saying, “Ed came to us and felt very strongly about this. We fully support his unselfish decision. It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material.”
Ending his tweet with “I hope it makes a difference,” Skrein made it clear that he was listening to the APA community and is aware of the importance of inclusion and proper representation in the arts. His thoughtful response and decision to leave the project may be the start of more projects to follow suit when casting roles meant for people of color.
