We don’t want to take credit for this, but we might anyway. Johnny Depp has recently stepped away from a project, ostensibly because of other commitments, but he let his real feelings through in a recent press conference for Rango. The role? Legendary Mexcian revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa, in a film titled Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman with Seven Fingers. According to Ruben Navarrete’s syndicated article, “Hollywood’s Latino Snub,” Depp said:
“I feel like like it should be played by a Mexican, not some mutt from Kentucky. I feel very strongly about that.”
Director Emir Kusturica is reportedly set to meet with two possible replacements: Gael García Bernal and Benicio Del Toro. The film will also star Salma Hayek.
This is great news, and we can only hope that Johnny Depp’s sympathy for this issue will cause studios to consider more carefully in the future whether or not a non-Latino is the best actor for a given Latino character.
No word yet on Depp’s feelings concerning the place of reptilian actors in Hollywood, given his interpretation of Rango the chameleon.