“It was a racial decision”: After Losing Out to Patrick Stewart for a Black Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, The Same Actor Also Lost Out on Playing Han Solo in Star Wars

Hollywood was conceived in the interim period between the silent era and the talkies, when a multiple studio system collectively decided to turn art into business. Star Trek and Star Wars were born a few years later when Jules Verne’s science-fiction popularity merged with the global Space Race frenzy.

Starting off as a wild idea, both IPs took off after the fantastical elements of the intergalactic adventures catered to the audience’s demands of the era. But little did one know how influential and phenomenal these franchises would grow to be, exceeding the limits of a studio-owned IP and becoming the franchise of the people.

Studio Politics Stands in the Way of Art & Expression

While numerous decisions factor into the making of a film or television project, one thing remains fairly constant: casting the perfect actor for the job. Often, a good script in the wrong hands can fall flat while an average dialogue can sound grand if executed with the right tone and emotion.

However, the inner workings of the film and television industry is not so binary in its selection of a leading cast. Societal factors influence those decisions, making incredible actors like Yaphet Kotto lose out on star-making roles due to racial identity.

Kotto, on his part, has never lacked in his artistic expression or theatrical education. Growing up alongside Marlon Brando and James Dean, the actor paved his own way in the industry, becoming one of the few stars to surpass the trappings of racial stereotype in Hollywood.

In his extensive and decked career, the late legendary actor went from playing a James Bond villain in Live and Let Die to a space engineer in Ridley Scott’s Alien, claiming: “That was my plan, to play parts that would open up the doors for others” [via Big Issue].

Yaphet Kotto Lost Out on 2 Iconic Star Wars Roles

It is a rare honor to be in consideration for a role that, in hindsight, would go on to become legendary in pop culture history. However, at the time of Star Wars’ conception, neither George Lucas nor his sci-fi space opera carried much legitimacy.

However, Yaphet Kotto was one of the first clear choices in terms of casting when Lucas strongly backed him for the role of Han Solo. In an October 2019 interview with Nerdist, Kotto revealed why that never came to pass:

I was in the running for that role. They wanted me for that role and it was a racial decision where I didn’t get it… I don’t think Fox was ready to, at that time, have me playing Han Solo. George Lucas himself has told people, “We were going in Yaphet’s direction.” But they went another direction.

3 years later, Kotto himself turned down the role of Lando Calrissian for Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, which was later portrayed with nuanced perfection by Billy Dee Williams, the first African-American actor in the Star Wars franchise. However, this marked a pattern in Yaphet Kotto’s career.

7 years after turning down the role of Lando Calrissian, Kotto refused to play an iconic character in Star Trek: The Next Generation — that of Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard. In both cases, Kotto’s refusal stemmed from the fear of being typecast as the sci-fi space adventure guy. But only in the latter case did he truly mourn the loss of playing an iconic character.

All Star Wars films are available to stream on Disney+

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+