Matt Damon says ‘Wall’ role never intended for Asian actor

BEIJING — Matt Damon said Tuesday that his role in the new China-Hollywood production “The Great Wall” was always intended to be European, responding to criticism that an Asian actor should have been picked for the part.

Some critics have said Damon’s casting amounted to “whitewashing,” in which Caucasians are chosen for roles that should have gone to actors from other ethnicities.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the American actor said he thinks of “whitewashing” as applying to Caucasian actors applying makeup to appear to be of another race, as was common in the early days of film and television, when racism was much more overt.

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