Should Captain America be played by an American actor??

[OsGom]

I am not a Xenophobe. I have no problem with Wolverine being played by an Aussie. It did bother me slightly that Colossus was not Russian. However I believe that the hero who embodies the best of American ideals should be played by an American. It is intrical to who the character is. What do you think?

[November Rain]

of course not, he should be played by the best possible actor

unless you are going down the james bond route but it might catch some bad us press if someone else managed to play him.

could work either way

[OwlBoy]

Since his American identity is at the forefront of his character, yes.

[The Major]

The actor's nationally shouldn't matter IMO.

[Ronny Shade]

I think he should be american.

[captaintass]

Yes, the American Icon should be played by an American.

I mean William Wallace should have been played by a Scotsman, IMO.

[WeaponXProject]

I think he should definitely be an american actor. If an actor was cast as Cap from another country it would be all the media would talk about before the movie.

I don't think Marvel would cast someone that's not American anyways.

[The Major]

Originally Posted by WeaponXProject

If an actor was cast as Cap from another country it would be all the media would talk about before the movie.

That's an interesting incentive to do it. Free advertising.

[captaintass]

Well, one wouldn't cast an Italian guy as the lead in a Martin Luther King biopic. I don't care how good modern-day makeup is...it's just WRONG. And yes, I realize that Cap is a fictional character but his Americanness is the CORE of who he is!

[marcvader]

Just give me a Captain America movie that will knock my sox off. I'm proud to be an American but I could care less what nationality the actor that portrays a fictional character is.

[Ronny Shade]

There should be a poll on this thread. I'd like some numbers.

[The Major]

Originally Posted by captaintass

Well, one wouldn't cast an Italian guy as the lead in a Martin Luther King biopic. I don't care how good modern-day makeup is...it's just WRONG. And yes, I realize that Cap is a fictional character but his Americanness is the CORE of who he is!

Nationality isn't the same as ethnicity. Actors can hide that much easier. This wouldn't be the Will Smith Cap situation at all. The biggest obstacle would be hiding their accent, which is easy for most foreign actors.

[Ronny Shade]

Even the best actors start to lose their accents in really emotional scenes. Gary Oldman was sounding a little british at one point in TDK.

I'd prefer somebody who just naturally is very American. Sometimes that's something that just oozes from a person.

I'd rather a guy be naturally southern or have a california accent if he's going to slip a bit than a british or australian one. Though I'd prefer a east-coast/new-england sound or a newscaster-style non-regional american accent on the character.

[captaintass]

Originally Posted by The Major

Nationality isn't the same as ethnicity. Actors can hide that much easier. This wouldn't be the Will Smith Cap situation at all. The biggest obstacle would be hiding their accent, which is easy for most foreign actors.

Nice to see someone else in the world gets the nationality/ethnicity argument (I've been explaining that to morons for years when they ask 'What nationality are you?')

But still, casting a foreigner (even if his accent were flawless) as the American Icon would just be wrong. Period. Call it a gut instinct.

[chiefchirpa]

Should be, but not a must.

[Ronny Shade]

yay. poll

[The Major]

Originally Posted by chiefchirpa

Should be, but not a must.

Agreed.

[November Rain]

by the same logic, you'd expect the red skull to be german, but i bet none of you give a rat's ass where he comes from...



heck, people don't even want thor to have a nordic accent...

:

bloody comic double standards

[OsGom]

Originally Posted by November Rain

by the same logic, you'd expect the red skull to be german, but i bet none of you give a rat's ass where he comes from...



heck, people don't even want thor to have a nordic accent...

:

bloody comic double standards

Ha! November Rain. Good point and if this were a story centered on the origin of the Red Skull I would prefer a German actor. But it would not be a deal breaker for me.

[Ronny Shade]

Originally Posted by November Rain

by the same logic, you'd expect the red skull to be german, but i bet none of you give a rat's ass where he comes from...



heck, people don't even want thor to have a nordic accent...

:

bloody comic double standards

I want Red Skull to be German.

But his name isn't "German Skull:

[The Major]

Originally Posted by November Rain

by the same logic, you'd expect the red skull to be german, but i bet none of you give a rat's ass where he comes from...



heck, people don't even want thor to have a nordic accent...

:

bloody comic double standards

As long as he looks German, though they may be able to go around this by keeping his face under a mask or only showing his face when its deformed, and has a German accent what does it matter if the actor isn't German? They could still be a good Red Skull.

[November Rain]

you could say exactly the same thing about captain america

[Infinity9999x]

Of course he doesn't have to be American. All you need is someone who looks like Captain America, can do the accent, and is a good actor.

Honestly, saying that he needs to be American because being American is at the core of the character really is nothing more then a load of fluff.

Captain American stood for the ideals of an American from the 1940's, which, in case you haven't noticed, was a much different America then the one we're living in now. We don't act in the same way, or believe in the same ideals, or live in the same social climate. An American today is just as different from the Americans of the 40's as a British, or French, or any man of ethnicity would be.

I want the best actor for the job, and I don't give a crap if he's from America or not.

[Franklin Richards]

Originally Posted by November Rain

by the same logic, you'd expect the red skull to be german, but i bet none of you give a rat's ass where he comes from...



heck, people don't even want thor to have a nordic accent...

:

bloody comic double standards

Actually he should be Asgardian, because that's where he's from. It's intrinsic to his story. But since there is no Asgard it's not that big a deal.

Being American is what Captain America is all about. Anything else would be like performing in black face.

[The Major]

Originally Posted by November Rain

you could say exactly the same thing about captain america

Which is why I'm for a non-American being an option for Cap.

Red Skull would actually be easier to not use a German, though. They just have to keep him under a mask or the movie only shows his face when its deformed and get an actor with a German accent. They couldn't do this for Rogers.