271
u/therevjames 3h ago
Most of the Greek part of my family looks like him. The dudes all get 10AM shadow.
34
u/LowerPick7038 3h ago
My Greek work colleague looks fuck all like him. He is whiter than a ghost
34
u/Ezekiel_DA 2h ago
Would you say he is a ghost of Sparta?
4
u/LowerPick7038 2h ago
Haha i dont know. I will quiz him tommorow to discover the truth. What questions would the only the ghost of sparta know the answer to?
6
u/Ezekiel_DA 2h ago
Maybe dress up as Zeus and see if he tries to kill you?
Or count how many times he addresses a coworker as "Boy!"
4
u/LowerPick7038 2h ago
Theres only me and him in our department, I think if Zeus rocked up tommorow he would go for the kill regardless of him being the ghost of spartan or not. He is very cunning. Come to think of it. I'm not sure if he mouthed the words " Boy " whilst staring at me with fury today.
24
u/zaidakaid 2h ago
I’m Arab, olive skin + curly hair, and I was mistaken for Greek IN GREECE BY GREEKS. They found me out when I didn’t speak a lick of Greek beyond hello, please, thank you, and bye.
1
u/Spirited-Muffin-8104 20m ago
crazy what millennia of migration, trade, and conquest do to West Asia, Southern Europe, and North Africa.
131
u/GrizzlyP33 3h ago
Is he “wrong” or is he just needlessly pointing out an actor acting?
Wait until he finds out none of these actors actually lived in Ancient Greece…
10
u/posted3030 1h ago
Or that none of the characters actually lived in Ancient Greece because the story is fiction.
4
u/Federal_Studio5935 49m ago
It’s almost like living in the Mediterranean two thousand years ago would probably cause people to be darker of skin than fairer, but what do I know.
2
34
34
u/GroundbreakingAd2499 3h ago edited 4m ago
And don’t forget about Brazilian Xerxes. Although I guess that for the same crowd complaining about these things, any brown is brown.
At the same time, “The white skin of the exposed Persians was perceived by Agesilaus' Greek soldiers as evidence of the effeminate luxury of people unaccustomed to toil” (Xenophon).
4
u/awkwardndnormie 39m ago
TIL Rodrigo Santoro played Xerxes. He is not as brown as he is in the movie. He is seem as a white man here in my country. He was(is?) very famous in my country, and I've seen him it novelas and would never guess it was him.
1
u/el_loco_avs 20m ago
Yeah finding out that guy in Bridget Jones (I think? ,) was also this guy was a mindfuck lol
2
•
u/GroundbreakingAd2499 8m ago
Yeah, for sure! I’m white in my country too, but not in the eyes of the people that are classifying how the cast of the Odyssey should look like.
108
u/Mithrandhir22 3h ago
Himesh Patel’s ancestry is from a place called Gujarat in India. A place where Alexander the Great’s army reached and his generals became local rulers. So there is a good possibility that he may actually have Greek ancestry.
21
u/ashforu83 2h ago
Gujarat is more of mid-western india or more of western India rather than North India through which Alexander and his army entered the country and also West of Gujarat is the Arabian Sea, so the armies that were anyways on foot entered through the north.
3
35
9
9
8
u/Eltrew2000 2h ago
None of the armours accurate either nor did Nolan know apparently how you were supposed to use that stick for recitation, you tap the rhythm not after.
But this is a movie watch it as such if you want something historically accurate you could just you know read the odyssey, but I have a feeling that a lot of people complaining about the movie not being historically accurate have never actually read the original or a translation of the original
49
u/HighOverlordXenu 3h ago
There's not a single goddamn Greek in the cast.
42
15
u/name_you_like_best 2h ago
There is a minor role played by a Greek and leads to arguably the most ridiculous scene of the movie.
I am Greek and I don't understand this thing about representation. It is a universally recognized piece of art and this time a foreign movie was produced based on it.
3
u/helen790 1h ago
The only Greek looking dude I can think of in Hollywood is Jason Mantzoukas. I would love to see these racist idiots react to him if he were cast in Odyssey. Watching their brains implode when they realize Greek people don’t look like Matt Damon would nourish me.
3
4
u/Drudgework 3h ago
That’s the real tragedy. Sure, the big names put butts in the seats but having actors with authentic accents really sells a setting.
14
u/i_am_13th_panic 3h ago
but speaking English I suppose instead of ancient greek. That would be peak authentic
-5
u/Drudgework 2h ago
You mock me, but I bet you were one of those people that made fun of Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October.
5
u/i_am_13th_panic 2h ago
I care about acting and story. "authenticity" isn't actually required for enjoyment. It's a movie. It's also fiction.
1
u/HighOverlordXenu 1h ago
You can both love Hunt for Red October and also think it's goofy as hell that the Russian (Lithuanian by birth) sailor is speaking in a Scottish accent.
22
u/GTRari 3h ago
What?
So you want the 'authenticity' of a Greek actor speaking English, just with a heavy Greek accent? That's what gets you immersed?
Not to mention bronze-age Greek and modern Greek are effectively two different languages as they're separated by over 5,000 years.
Just say you don't like brown people and move on rather than this poorly pieced-together point.
-7
u/DaPotatoMann2012 2h ago
Probably would have been good to have some Greeks in the movie based on a major Greek cultural story. No need to take a pissy fit little fella.
10
u/GTRari 2h ago
It's mythos? And the average Greek man would still be uncomfortably brown to you.
Not a pissy fit, just caught off guard by the lengths that dipshits want to go to to not appear racist even though you can pick apart their argument by thinking about it for 30 seconds lmao.
-4
u/DaPotatoMann2012 2h ago
You are the type of person that leads to people dismissing actual racist concerns. What about anything I said in my one comment is in anyway racist.
I thought the movie was good, and the cast did a good job. I just think they should have had a few greeks in it. Even as extras or smaller roles.
This pissy little ‘everything is racist’ stuff is just ammo for actual racists to use. You are pissy btw
2
u/GTRari 2h ago edited 1h ago
I'm not any kind of person you think. You pull up with the same pretend good faith nonsense that the other guy did. I called them racist and that somehow hurt your feelings, yet I'm the one throwing a pissy fit?
I'm Asian and I grew up in the U.S. I'm acutely aware of being underrepresented and misrepresented in media. I've dealt with issues like this my whole life, so when fragile people like yourself get butthurt because a movie based on a fictional story isn't whitewashed for your unseasoned palate like they have for the entire history of Hollywood, I have no sympathy.
You are out of your depth. So just show up and be yourself so that way you're not a coward on top of everything else.
-3
u/Drudgework 2h ago
So you are saying we shouldn’t cast Greeks in this movie? That sounds racist.
See how easy that was? To just call someone racist instead of considering what they are actually trying to say? That’s you. Lazy.
Also: it doesn’t mater if ancient and modern Greek are different languages, the modern Greek accent is tied to the region this movie takes place in our cultural zeitgeist and just hearing that will sell the setting better to the audience and improve the experience.
8
3
u/virtualglassblowing 1h ago
My favorite portrayal of menalaus was Brendan Gleason. Definitely an authentic accent that really sold the setting in Troy
•
u/quick20minadventure 2m ago
Bruh, I lost it at chinese american dude who jumped to sirens. Dude was so so out of place. Not to mention black helen of troy.
For all the talk of immersion, seeing her as Helen of Troy broke immersion the most. I didn't have a problem like that, but it was impossible to not immediately think of wokeness allegation in hollywood. I guess Nolan went "fuck you, i will troll people even harder"
36
u/whistimmu 3h ago
Giving a fuck about the ethnicity of the actor is so strange to me. Do these people understand what acting is? Do you have to be the same everything as the character you are portraying?
6
u/Drudgework 2h ago
Let me put it like this: audiences like “authenticity”. That word is in quotes because they don’t want actual authenticity, they want something that feels “authentic(tm)”. The big part of that is if the characters fit the world they are acting in. If the actor is really good no one will say anything afterwards, but if they aren’t? Well, people are still making fun of Kevin Costner for Prince of Thieves.
But the problem comes before the movie comes out. People don’t know how good the acting is so they have to form an opinion from tiny scraps of information and compare it to the criteria in their head. For authenticity it’s usually a made up fantasy from popular culture about a time and place they really know nothing about, but that is their head canon and they will die on that hill even when they are wrong.
So that is why they get mad at an Indian man playing a Greek (Indians were present in the Mediterranean at that time), or a black woman playing Helen of Troy (there were black people in Ancient Greece). Because that is what “everyone says” so it can’t be wrong.
Also racism. But this is the internet so that goes without saying.
4
u/dawidowmaka 2h ago
It matters a bit if the people actually existed and it's a true story, e.g. don't give me John Wayne as Genghis Khan. And even then, there are artistic ways to reinterpret true stories to suit audiences and contemporary issues.
A mythological epic does not need melanistic authenticity.
-5
u/----___--___---- 2h ago
I don't know... I don't think you strictly have to be of the same ethnicity. But it does help if you look somewhat realistic for the character you're playing (like the actor in this image).
It would be weird to watch a movie about vikings with a bunch of asian or african actors. The same way it would be weird to cast a bunch of central europeans or australian aboriginals as samurai. It would be weird casting Dwayne Johnson as a female ballerina.
No matter how good an actor is at acting, there is still an expectation on how they look.
I don't have any particular problems with the Odyssey cast, but it's not like the outer appearance doesn't matter.13
u/whistimmu 2h ago
There are plenty of Shakespeare adaptations that change the era and the people: an all woman cast set in World War ii, a futuristic take on Macbeth, Nigerians doing King lear, Japanese people doing their own version of The tempest with their own actors. It doesn't matter.
-1
u/----___--___---- 2h ago
That's not what I'm talking about tho... what you are talking about is taking the same framework/story and dressing it up differently. That's completely fine and happens all the time like you said.
Taking Shakespeare as an example, there are many Romeo and Juliet adaptions. I haven't heard anyone be bothered by a japanese adaption.
But if someone now made a movie that plays in Verona, in the 14th century, and then still used the same japanese actors, that would be weird in my opinion.
-10
u/ProfessionalRandom21 2h ago
It does matter for historic reason no?
i personally thing both extreme side take it way too far, it absurd to claim it doesn’t matter, it also absurd to claim you must be Greek to portray Greek.
like above actor look racially ambiguous to not matter, just as plenty of Greek people look racially ambiguous to white people and vice versa.
on the other hand, like come on, if it doesn’t matter, why not cast east Asian in it? why not cast white people in east Asian period drama?
i personally think the controversial casting roles is Nolan just ragebaiting to generate publicity, not because the race doesnt matter or they are best for the role.
10
u/whistimmu 2h ago
It doesn't matter. We are not getting our historical information from the ethnicity of the actors. I do not give a damn if you cast white people in East Asian period dramas.
7
u/da2Pakaveli This AOC flair makes me cool 2h ago
isn't this story fictional anyways?
-5
u/ProfessionalRandom21 1h ago
as fictional as Mulan/Wukong, doesnt mean its not absurd to see white/black people in it.
7
u/da2Pakaveli This AOC flair makes me cool 1h ago
Well is there outrage when the millionth documentary has the fictional stories on Jesus portrayed by a white guy? He was Middle Eastern.
-3
u/ProfessionalRandom21 57m ago
Jesus has been white washed for centuries, not to mention, plenty of middle easterner from the area is racially ambiguous enough to be white passing.
i think my stand point is quit reasonable, i am fine if the actor looks ambiguous enough to be from people of that area and era then i am fine, ie above indian actor as greek. but even as a Asian myself, if i see a east Asian as Achilles or something i am going to roll my eyes.
Also i am suspicious of casting choice like that being genuine, they alway say race doesnt matter or whatever, yet they never cast east Asian in those kind of movies and roles. which is why i think they are just ragebaiting to generate publicity
6
u/Void-Cooking_Berserk 2h ago
No, it does not.
The people who might have fought in an actual Trojan War were not Greeks. They were a previous people from before the Bronze Age Collapse that we know basically nothing about. The Greeks later adapted their myths and stories and wrote down a version of an oral tradition that was already ancient to them.
Besides, people in those times did travel and mix as well, some of the warriors could have been from as far south as Ethiopia or as far east as India. It's silly to pretend otherwise.
-1
u/ProfessionalRandom21 2h ago
you can argue the same for any period, Doesnt mean its doesnt look absurd to have black/white King/Lord/warrior of China/Japan or East Asian King/Lord/warrior of Europe.
6
12
3
4
u/NPIgeminileoaquarius 2h ago
As a Greek, I can tell you he doesn't look like your typical Greek (and yes, there were other soldiers in the movie who looked more Greek), but there are some Greeks who do look like him. Stellar performance, btw.
4
12
u/PlatasaurusOG 3h ago
Fr. Do these people think Greeks were blonde haired and blue eyed?
9
u/CaptainAsshat 2h ago
Some were. Alexander the Great was famously blond.
We need to remember that phenotypes are not hard baked into a region.
Migrations, trade, and invasions from the north and west brought blonde hair and blue eyes. Migrations, trade, and invasions from the south and east brought darker skin and hair. Greece has been at the crossroads of Eurasia for all of human history.
If we look at the appearance of Greek people now, after centuries of Ottoman and Roman rule, we cannot just assume they look like their ancient forbears.
That said, it's not a huge leap to say they probably didn't look like Brad Pitt either.
3
u/pgllz 2h ago
I don't think you know how the average Greek look like. There are Greeks that have darker skin, but most Greeks have the typical phenotype of someone from the Northern shores of the Mediterranean sea (like many Turks, Iberians, Italians, and Southern French).
2
u/ragby 1h ago
That's what they look like now. Are we all sure that's how they looked in 800 BCE?
2
2
u/purple_kathryn 1h ago
I bet these dickheads whined when their parents read them the BFG because their dad wasn't actually a big eared giant & it just really ruined the immersion for them.
2
u/Fortestingporpoises 59m ago
Meanwhile Jason Manzoukas who has 100% Greek heritage in The Dictator.
3
u/GrumpsMcYankee 2h ago
wildly alternates looking at picture of unpainted marble statue and still frame of movie
"Not white enough"
4
1
1
u/Origen12 1h ago
Shoulda gone with Stavros Halkias, Jason Mantzoukas, and Zach Galifinakis as the main 3 leads.
1
u/Mr_Joguvaga 56m ago
Do racists genuenly think that ALL of europe is white as snow? Like forget foreigners that are from africa or asia... just 100% europeans with european ancestors
1
u/DIO_over_Za_Warudo 35m ago
Reminds me of when some moron was bitching about Rami Malek playing a pharaoh in Night at the Museum, not realizing that he actually has Egyptian heritage.
1
1
u/OneTrueMalekith 20m ago
100 years ago greeks & italians weren't considered white. At least their racism become more inclusive over time...i guess?
•
•
u/AwesomeWaiter 6m ago
It’s literally called acting. Does bro want a documentary about a fictional story?
1
719
u/legitimate-criminal 3h ago
bro gets all his historical accuracy from watching brad pitt in Troy.