Joseph Fiennes will star as Michael Jackson in a one-off TV
comedy set to broadcast later this year – a casting decision that has added
fuel to a raging debate about opportunities for non-white actors in movies and
TV.
The white British star of “Shakespeare in Love”
plays the black King of Pop in “Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon,”
alongside Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor and Brian Cox as Marlon Brando.
The script is based on a – possibly fictitious – road trip
the three stars are rumored to have made in an attempt to leave New York after
the Sept. 11 attacks.
PHOTOS: Michael Jackson & His Famous Friends
Sky Arts, which commissioned the drama, confirmed the
casting and said Wednesday that the show is in post-production and is due to
air in 2016. The channel said it was “part of a series of comedies about
unlikely stories from arts and cultural history.”
The casting news comes amid a debate about lack of
diversity in Hollywood, sparked by an all-white slate of Academy Awards acting
nominees.
Iranian-British comedian Shappi Khorsandi tweeted:
“Joseph Fiennes is playing Michael Jackson? Fab. Now we can all shut up
about lack of diversity.”
Sky said the network “puts the integrity of the
creative vision at the heart of all its original commissions.”
“We believe in giving producers the creative freedom
to cast roles as they wish, within the diversity framework which we have
set,” Sky said in a statement released by a spokeswoman.
Fiennes’ agent did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
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