After playing Dr. Henry Wu in this summer's Jurassic World, BD Wong is taking on another doctor, Dr Hugo Strange on Gotham, according to USA Today. Strange will be a recurring role on the Fox show and he will be a professor and psychiatrist set to head Arkham Asylum. While he's there to help, he'll also be experimenting on inmates to try to create super-humans for Indian Hills, which fans got to see this past week on the show.
No news yet on what episode we'll see Strange, but we'll keep you updated. Gotham appears on Mondays at 8/7c on Fox.
Where's the guy who asked "would you be alright with an Asian actor playing Batman?" This is the next best thing: A Batman character.
Eh they had a Latin Sarah Essen, it was not out of the question that they would racebend someone like Strange. Though considering how this seems to be such a popular trend in comic book adaptations now, I'm sure we're in for a treat when the castings for the high profile roles start rolling. Don't be surprised to see a black Mary Jane or Asian Harry Osborn in the Spiderman reboot.
I´m sad he probably won´t have the upside-down face, but I can see him as Strange. That electricity guy from the first season would have been perfect though.
There so worried about deversity that they dont say "well does he resemble the character? This isnt some c list character, hes got a rich background. Lets try and resemble the comics as much as we can with a good actor who looks the part"
@kalvinellis: Oivee...racial changes to comic book characters once again. I guess they will make some lame excuse saying a German man meant an Asian woman and hugo strange is their baby.
@stellar421: just like penguin was for a while the proto joker. Oh well. I can only hope a distinguished actor can play the cinematic version of hugo strange in the future.
Where's the guy who asked "would you be alright with an Asian actor playing Batman?" This is the next best thing: A Batman character.
Eh they had a Latin Sarah Essen, it was not out of the question that they would racebend someone like Strange. Though considering how this seems to be such a popular trend in comic book adaptations now, I'm sure we're in for a treat when the castings for the high profile roles start rolling. Don't be surprised to see a black Mary Jane or Asian Harry Osborn in the Spiderman reboot.
They cast Iris West as a Black Woman in The Flash and she's doing just fine. It's like race/skin color doesn't matter unless the character's background is tied to race/skin color or something.
Okay. I would be fine if it were a black actor playing Hugo Strange. But an Asian? Hugo Strange is not an Asian name.
Seriously? Maybe his ancestor's name was changed when they immigrated. Maybe he has white ancestry. Maybe he's adopted. Maybe he legally changed it. There are tons of ways to explain. But even then, do they have to? Strange is such a generic name anyway.
I come at this being an Asian with the least Asian name possible.
@lb70145: Do you have a problem with a black actor to play as Hugo Strange? Take a look at The Flash, the Suicide Squad, MOS, etc. The white characters from the comics are being played by black actors. No complaints there.
Besides, it may make sense for an Asian to be adopted and have their last name. But that just takes the character origins away from the comics. I just can't see him as Hugo Strange.
If you take a look at this image from the JLU series. You can easily tell a black actor can play him.
@lantern1210: Does it even matter!? Hugo Strange was made in a time where a comic character's race was always white. There are more than just white people on this planet, it's not crazy that they have someone not white play Hugo Strange. Also it's not like they changed his character for diversity, they changed it because the writers thought this character was a good fit for the personality of Hugo Strange. Hugo Strange's race was never the key part of his character, it was his personality. As long as this actor is like that then it shouldn't even matter.
@kid_jakeriv: That's because ALL comic books were created by....wait for it....WHITE males. And even still there were plenty of non white characters. Im all for diversity, I just feel they should be creating new characters to do it, not changing race and sexuality for no reason. Iris West, Jimmy Olsen, Hugo Strange, Johnny Storm, Nick Fury, Aquaman...if I'm so far off base, ask yourself this. What would the reaction be if a new shaft movie were made and Shaft was Mexican? Or if the Jefferson's were rebooted as a white family like what was done with the Honeymooners, one of THE most iconic TV series of all time. Or if Storm was suddenly a Native American Male. Leave long established characters backgrounds the hell alone and come up with something fresh and original. This is all insulting, and just lazy charachter development. And I say all this as someone who is 1/4 Algonquin. I know what it's like to have ancestors discriminated against, enslaved, and be victims of genocide.
@lantern1210: I get what you're saying but they didn't cast BD Wong as Hugo Strange for diversity. That's not how casting works, they don't care about that. They casted him because they liked his acting, I just don't like how everyone is making it seem like that they casted him because of diversity. I somewhat get why they change character's skin colors, I don't like it but i get it. Do you know how hard it is to make popular new characters in comics? It's not the 60s anymore where everyone reads comics. I don't think they should be changing skin colors (Wally West) but I get it.
@kid_jakeriv: I hear you man. Wong is an excellent actor and I'm sure he'll knock it out of the park. It just irks me when they change major aspects of long standing characters, that's all.
As to your comment about difficulty in creating successful new characters, you make a good point. However, on the flip side of that coin, shouldn't the people clamoring for these changes support the content which is created to appease them? Or is the point merely to get rid of white characters?
@lb70145: Do you have a problem with a black actor to play as Hugo Strange? Take a look at The Flash, the Suicide Squad, MOS, etc. The white characters from the comics are being played by black actors. No complaints there.
Besides, it may make sense for an Asian to be adopted and have their last name. But that just takes the character origins away from the comics. I just can't see him as Hugo Strange.
If you take a look at this image from the JLU series. You can easily tell a black actor can play him.
No I wouldn't mind if he was played by a black actor either. I was pointing out in my other reply that often when a character's race/skin color was changed it wasn't a big deal (for the story, it is a big deal to fans and other internet denizens). The case is no different here.
And again with the last name thing is just silly. I mean, it could even make for a good story if they explored his upbringing or family history if it is relevant to the show/Batman mythos (I don't really know much about Gotham because I don't watch it). And again for a real life example, my last name is of German ancestry but I have no German roots whatsoever, but I am Asian. A source of frustration for my family for decades.
The writers can easily explain this whole thing, if they are even going to explain it. Maybe his family changed their name when they came here, maybe they were assigned the name, maybe he legally changed his name to that because of something he did in the past and needed to hide his identity, maybe he is using a fake name, or maybe it just doesn't matter and they not going to address it. It is all up to the writers of the show. Again, the West family in the Flash is black and they don't have to jump through hoops to explain that. Heck, even in Gotham Leslie Thompkins, who is often depicted as a older white woman, is being played by Morena Baccarin.
And while he could totally be played by a black actor, using the animated version is not really necessary to justify it. Especially since in that scene, I am sure it was lighting because here he looks more white.
Where's the guy who asked "would you be alright with an Asian actor playing Batman?" This is the next best thing: A Batman character.
Eh they had a Latin Sarah Essen, it was not out of the question that they would racebend someone like Strange. Though considering how this seems to be such a popular trend in comic book adaptations now, I'm sure we're in for a treat when the castings for the high profile roles start rolling. Don't be surprised to see a black Mary Jane or Asian Harry Osborn in the Spiderman reboot.
An Asian actor already played Superman back in the 90s. It's nothing new. I honestly don't see what the big deal is.
Hugo Strange from the Arkham games reminds me of Laurence Fishburne. I think he'd make an awesome Hugo Strange in the movies. Except he's already Perry White. But BD Wong's a great actor too. He was a flamboyant wedding planner in Father of the Bride, for crying out loud. Now there's a non-doctor role for you.
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