Off a Role: Race and Hollywood
① Ed Skrein was not a household name, but he may yetbecome one by the unusual route of turning down a role.
② The white British actor had been cast in the remakeof "Hellboy", a superhero franchise.
③ But he withdrew this week, having discovered that in the comic book upon which the movie was based, his character was Japanese-American.
④ His stance was rapturously received by critics of "whitewashing"—casting white actors to play roles originally written as non-white.
⑤ This has hit Asian and Asian-American actors especially hard; they are underrepresented in Hollywood's best roles relative to their share of the population—even more so than black actors.
⑥ After Mr Skrein's announcement, Chloe Bennet, an American actress whose father is ethnically Chinese, said booking roles had become a lot easier after changing her name from Chloe Wang.
⑦ Look for casting directors to face increased pressure, and for actors to feel compelled to follow Mr Skrein's lead.
off a role: 双关语，本文表示在电影行业中，某件事情被打断了 (转了两个弯: "on a roll", "off a roll" , "off a role"—具体解释听音频)
household name: 家喻户晓的名字
yet: adv. 已经
route /ru:t/: n. 路线
turn down a role: 辞演某个角色
cast: vt. 选角 (文章中有三次用到，请听音频注意收集用法)
remake: n. 重拍
superhero franchise: 超级英雄系列电影
withdraw /wɪðˈdrɔ:/: vi. 撤出；撤回；本文指辞演 (过去式 withdrew /wɪðˈdru:/ )
stance /stans/: n. 姿态；立场
be rapturously /ˈraptʃərəsli/ received: 被 (某人) 兴高采烈地接受
whitewashing: n. 洗白 (指“白花花”的好莱坞现象)
underrepresented /ʌndərɛprɪˈzɛntɪd/: adj. 不受重视的
relative to: 相对于
book roles: 获得角色
feel compelled /kəmˈpɛld/ to: 感到不得不做某事
follow one's lead: 跟随某人的步伐
man—the maximum of hatred
for a minimum of reason."
