7 Cases Of Ridiculous Racism In Film Casting

5. John Wayne €“ The Conqueror

John Wayne The strangely brilliant case of just having to stuff a star into a role, John Wayne once played Genghis Khan. Yes, that Genghis Khan. There€™s nothing I can say after that which makes it sound any better. I realise that it was the 1950s and there probably wasn€™t a hope in hell of having a ethnic Mongolian take the part, but putting John Wayne in just seemed like a huge insult which duly overshadowed the entire film. It really was just the epitome of ridiculousness. Produced by well-known eccentric Howard Hughes, it was just surreal to see a The Duke €“ a man most at home in a Stetson €“ decked out in full Mongol regalia and pretending to have come from the Steppes. Yes, actors are meant to be versatile, but this isn€™t Daniel Day-Lewis we€™re talking about here €“ it€™s Wayne, fully known to be quite wooden (If awesome) in most of his roles. The fact he can€™t even be bothered with the accent just rams this home €“ I wouldn€™t be surprised if he said €˜pilgrim€™ at any point, I really wouldn€™t. All in all, a giant farce from start to finish which was summarily thrown out and savaged by the critics.

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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.