Gal Gadot’s rise to fame has been phenomenal. Her career started in 2004 when she was only 18 years old when she won the Miss Israel Competition. Her win kickstarted a prolific career that started with modeling but later it transitioned to acting. Her captivating beauty, immense talent, phenomenal presence, and proficient acting skills, have gathered a massive fan following all around the world.
Even though Gal Gaodt prefers to work in different genres of films, her interest to play Cleopatra in a planned film has landed her in a whitewashing controversy. However, the Israeli actress defends the Egyptian Queen stating how there’s so much more to her than a renowned seductress who would go to great lengths to save her kingdom, and this project being too personal for her.
Gal Gadot Reasons Her Portrayal Of Cleopatra
When it was announced that Gal Gadot would portray the role of Cleopatra in a planned movie, controversy erupted because numerous critics called it taking a step back in Hollywood representation. Soon the film was tangled in a whitewashing controversy as historians believed that the Queen was of mixed ethnicity and she had a darker skin color, unlike the Wonder Woman actress, who is an Ashkenazi Jew, making her more white being a middle eastern woman.
However, the movie is going forward without making any changes to its cast. During an exclusive interview with Vogue Hong Kong, Gal Gadot explained how she grew up listening to the stories of Cleopatra making her a “household name,” and even compared her to her DCEU superhero.
“Israel borders Egypt, and I grew up with so many stories about Cleopatra, and she’s like a household name. You know, if Wonder Woman is the imaginary strong female leader, Cleopatra’s actually the real one. That’s a perfect example of a story that I wanted to tell because I started reading different books about Cleopatra, and I said, ‘Wow, that’s fascinating.’”
She continued that the Egyptian Queen was only known to be a temptress, having affairs to form alliances that would protect her kingdom. However, while working on the film, she realized that Cleopatra is characterized as a seductress due to narratives and personal interpretations.
“All I ever saw in regards to Cleopatra from film was that she was this seductive woman who had an affair with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. But the truth is, there’s so much more to her.”
Gal Gadot concluded by stating how Cleopatra was “so ahead of her time,” and she will do everything to showcase the right interpretation of the historical figure.
“This woman was so ahead of her time. Egypt and what Egypt was back then, was still futuristic to where we are today. I can’t say much. But to me, I’m so passionate to tell her story and to bring justice to this character, and her legacy and celebrate her and her legacy. We have a beautiful script, and I cannot wait to share this story with the world and change the narrative of Cleopatra simply being a seductor.”
Gal Gadot’s feeling about the role remained the same, as it was back in 2020, when she had an interview with BBC Arabic, stating Cleopatra Macedonian, and they were looking for a Macedonian actress. However, they could not find an actress who would fit the role, hence she took on the role that she idolizes so much.
“First of all, if you want to be true to the facts then Cleopatra was Macedonian. We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn’t there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra.”
“I have friends from across the globe, whether they’re Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course. People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honor this amazing historic icon that I admire so much…You know, anybody can make this movie and anybody can go ahead and do it. I’m very passionate that I’m going to do my own too.”
A similar incident happened with the MCU star, Scarlett Johannson as her portrayal in the film was criticised as the role was meant to be played by a Japanese actress.
Ghost In The Shell Criticised For ‘Whitewashing’
While it is hard to not root for Scarlett Johansson, her portrayal in 2017’s Ghost in The Shell was immensely criticized by fans of the franchise. The live adaptation of the anime and manga was hated by the fans and it was criticized for race-bending due to its lead role. When it was announced that the Black Widow actress would play the role of Motoko Kusanagi/ Major Mira Killian it rose complaints due to the choice of a Caucasian actress playing the role meant to be played by an Asian actress.
Even though the film featured several Asian actors such as Takeshi Kitano and Chin Han in supporting roles, the movie lost its essence with its casting in the lead role.
Upon asking Rupert Sanders, the director of the film stated that he preferred to cast the MCU star due to her worldwide popularity which would have given the film an international audience. This statement brought criticism to the film, earning only $ 167.9 million at the worldwide box office, which was immensely low considering the popularity of anime and manga.
Gal Gadot’s Cleopatra film does not have a release date as of now.
Source: Vogue Hong Kong
