10 Most Awkward Instances Of Hollywood Whitewashing

9. Jake Gyllenhaal - Dastan - Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

Jake Gyllenhaal isn't Persian. That has always been fairly obvious. Why, then, was he hired to play Dastan, the titular royal in the filmic adaptation of video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time? Even Mike Newell said during the lead up to the film's release that he was worried it was "a little homogeneous" - and he's the director! It's not really surprising that there was a backlash with regards to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, because Jake Gyllenhaal - great actor as he is - doesn't even come close to being the right for Dastan. And neither do the rest of the cast, though admittedly Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley are of mixed ancestry. Gemma Arterton, on the other hand, who plays the film's female lead - a Persian Princess - is white and very English indeed. Once you release you're watching a film set in Persia, with Persia in its title, and no Persian actors in the main roles... well, it all gets a little awkward, to say the least.