The Umbrella Academy’s Emmy Raver-Lampman will replace Kristen Bell on Central Park. Grappling with questions of privilege and bias, the entertainment industry has been moving to rectify the issue of minorities and specifically Black characters being voiced by white actors. Back in June, it was announced that Bell would no longer voice the biracial character of Molly on Central Park, a new animated series on AppleTV+. Though Bell would remain one of Central Park’s cast in a different role, series creator Josh Gad felt it was important to strive for the right representation. Bell agreed in a social media post, noting that her decision to play Molly reflected a lack of awareness on her part.
TV Line now reports that Emmy Raver-Lamperman will be replacing Bell as Molly. The creative team behind Central Park, which includes Gad, Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith, Halstead Sullivan and Sanjay Shah, praised Raver-Lamperman in a statement. “From the moment we heard her Molly, we knew she was the right choice,” they said. In addition to her role as Allison Hargreeves on Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, the actress has worked on Broadway in productions such as Hamilton and Hair.
Influential casting directors have admitted that they prefer not to see the face of a performer who is auditioning for a voice role, explaining that their focus is often simply to match the most vivid voices with the right characters. While that is certainly a defensible stance, it belies that the inequities which run rampant in the entertainment industry. In the same vein, the tendency of constraining the significance of diversity to the realm of representation can obfuscate more immediate and pressing goals.
When white actors like Bell and Alison Brie are selected to voice people of color, it takes away the possibility of a job from groups that rarely have roles written for them. It is ultimately an economic issue, as much as anything else. The news of Central Park’s recasting is a small step forward in creating a structure which allows opportunities for everyone.
Source: TV Line
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