Uncharted 4 Actress Responds to Racial Casting Controversy

Uncharted 4's last trailer debuted a South African character, voiced by someone clearly not South African. Now, the actress gives her own two cents.

[-Foxtrot]

If there was a black actor playing a white role...nobody would bat an eye lid.

But if it's the other way round the whole world has got to freak out.

[GigawattConduit]

Well, it's different because the instances where a POC has "taken" a role from a white person isn't near the amount of roles where a white person has taken a role from a POC. Like, the numbers are astronomically different.

[-Foxtrot]

Usually though in the industry, especially films we get more casting which has a character changed from a white character to a black one...the worst part about it isn't really about the race it's more to do with the fact that there are actually established characters in whatever "universe" they are adapting which they could play instead.

For example Will Smith as Deadshot in Suicide Squad. There is a character called Bronze Tiger which Smith could have played but instead they felt the need to have him as Deadshot, not just a white character aswell but a character who is wearing a mask 95% of the time...this now means they will probably only have the mask on in the battle sequences. I mean no way are they going to cover Will Smiths face up, he's their big star for marketing material. In the end he could have played Bronze Tiger while a less known actor plays Deadshot wearing the mask all the time.

Ripcord (G.I Joe), Alicia Masters/Johnny Storm (Fantastic Four/Reboot), Wasabi Big Hero Six, Perry White (Man of Steel), Electro (Amazing Spiderman 2), Heimdall (Thor), The Ancient One (Doctor Strange and gender swapped) Hermione Granger (Harry Potter Stage play)

I could go on.

I personally think though if a character is established as a certain race (or gender) then stick to it. It's not like you can't find a great actor who can not only act but looks like the role aswell.

[thorstein]

I think this issue gets played up way too much in the USA.

Movies and video games made in other English speaking countries employ the best actor for the role. That simple. Only in the USA is this a big deal.

[itBourne]

It is getting tiresome for me... you should not change an established characters race/character/personality. If they rebooted blade, and made him white, can you imagine the uproar. The dragonball z live action movie, was beyond horrible, I could give two shits that it was a white guy, I cared more on the fact that Goku didnt exist in the movie. The Character GOKU was non existent, trait and personality wise. I think Michael B Jordan is an awesome actor, enjoyed him in Friday Night Lights and I love Chronicle.. but why in the hell is he playing Johnny Storm? For that check mark.

The other problem is, none of this comes down to race, it comes down to black people. Black characters are literally being thrown into things just to check that mark. Why is there not an uproar for Asians or Latinos?

[maniacmayhem]

So how did the mythos of Johnny Storm change when he was changed from white to black?

How did any of the origins of your favorite fictional super hero comic book character change when their race was changed?

Maybe a lot of these comic companies are doing this because 98.9 percent of their heroes are white and ...hmmmm...i don't know they want to diversify themselves a little.

I think it's hilarious that you and foxtrot would have such an issue with this.

[NukaCola]

Half the Hill Billies in The Walking Dead are English/Aussies so... who cares? Just shows that these people are extremely talented in bringing the character to life and believable at it.

Cleveland Brown is not voiced by a black guy, but no one cares... Hey Hey Ya'll!

[UltraNova]

@maniac

Even though I kinda agree with you I cant help but think that they could diversify by creating entirely new characters not changing established ones, you know the right way to do this.

That said let me ask you something, would it feel right to you if DC changed Superman or Batman, or if Marvel changed Spider man's or Thor's race?

Personally, I cant even imagine Blade or Spawn being white (2 of my fav characters)cause they are are perfectly built as characters as is...

Lets be honest here, if it works you don't try fixing it.

[Lordani66]

"Well, it's different (...)"

Maybe because there are more white people in USA or wherever the voice acting is done so it's clearly easier to get a good actress that is white? I remember one of the female voice actress in one GTA game (don't remember which one) was black and she played the role of a white woman, and I thought it was cool because she really sounded like a white person, so there was no problem with it for me, and I'm white. But of course if it's the othr way around - everyone's going ape ****.

[Nivalis]

who exactly was this role "taken" from?, they cast people and made their choice based on the talent not the skin colour.

Do you honestly think the casting director gives two shits about the colour of a voice actors skin as long as their voice acting is on point?

Because guess what, they don't.

[morganfell]

"So how did the mythos of Johnny Storm change when he was changed from white to black"

Because they were brother and sister. Not one of them adopted. Blood. Blood is thicker than water.

And Nick Fury would only use the word Yo when it was immediately and directly followed by another Yo and and he was referring to a bureaucrat.

[thekhurg]

Making news of nothing important.

It's VOICE WORK.

[jambola]

I think the fact you're saying "white people" and "POC" kind of adds to fox's point

[PX54]

@morganfell Explain to me how in the previous F4 film Chris Evans and Jessica Alba were considered brother and sister given their different races...I don't see you making an uproar over that.

Voice acting is different to on screen acting, you can cast whoever you think gives the best voice to the character (take The Simpsons for example). While on screen (especially when doing a book or comic) everyone already has an idea of what the character looks like, so someone's always going to take issue.
To be honest though the actors race/nationality portraying the character doesn't bother me at all, so long as you get the best person for the role. It's not taking the role from anyone else unless there was someone better suited to it and they auditioned but were rejected.

[morganfell]

@PX54.

Here: www.rif.org

Try reading next time. I was answering a direct question about a specific movie. He didn't ask about Sue Storm being part Latina, did he? Did you read anything or did you just jump in with both feet. Oh wait, the latter. Had he asked about the first two films I would have answered that as well.

You are complaining about what you perceive as invented controversies and here you are inventing a controversy. Nice.

[Kingthrash360]

In the US, this racial stuff is normal in everyday life. I'm a black guy in America so trust me when I say it's part of everyday life. Could be suttle, could be blatant but everyday you can expect it. Not just to blacks but to whites Asian hispanics...no matter what it's there no matter who you are it's there.
That said, why are we bringing this up here? Why in my (and many others) escape from the bs? ...I mean besides some idiot cod players lol, why would we need to bring the racial stuff here? I could care less who plays who in my games as long as they act it right. This is a no issue umongst the black community. There are far bigger things to worry about in the US than a voice actor in video games.
Smh.

[ion666]

Latinos can sometimes blend into white and Arabic roles because a lot of Latinos are white and brown. But there's one thing I can't stand is the fact that a lot of Latino actors are portrayed as the help. Tell me you haven't seen Maria or consuelo as the maid or Juan tend to lawn. That shit makes me sick.

[vacoby5]

@foxtrot because the original green latern wasn't black? Lol. I wanted to put a long comment but I just feel its the internet so would it matter, you have your opinion. On a much bigger issue, unfortunately, aside of video games and superhero character roles in movies. Michael Jackson is an actual person, an actual black man, why are they trying to have a white man play him in the upcoming bio movie? But Idris Elba is too black to play Janes Bond (a fictional character)? Lol. You guys don't recognize white privilege and its a shame you think it doesn't exist. Let Denzel Washinton play Elvis if its all fair. I've said my input (at least a small part of it), I'll try not to go back and forth on this.. this post was longer than I thought it would be lol

[vacoby5]

@ultranova @thorstein but it feels right to you when they made green latern white? Lol. Read my last post, it won't make you open your mind or anything though. You are who you are

[Sevir]

That's the problem with people so strung up and attached to race, fictional characters can be re-imagined and portrayed by actors of any skin color or race or ethicity, as long as it makes sense for the role and the actor can bring a powerful and convincing performance to the character on screen. It's less a political statement and more of people understanding that talent is talent. If you're offended because a black, Asian, or Hispanic actor plays a white fictional character on screen, or a white actor plays a reimagined fictional black or Hispanic character on screen then you've got racial hang ups you need to address. There is no rule that explicitly states that a white person has to play a white fictional character and so on so forth...

All I'm worried about is that the actors cast do a damn good job of bringing the character to life and gets the personality nailed and acts the role convincingly. There skin color isn't a big deal.

This segregation of everything helps no one and is the silliest thing ever and in this day and age complaining about this industry standard practice shows more of a person's racist under tones and prejudice towards other races and ethnicities that want to leave a positive mark in the acting industry.

Laura did a fantastic job as Nadine and you get the idea that she's a strong willed bad ass character... why on earth should a person complain about the actor playing the role when we get such a convincing and powerful performance?

My words to that way of thinking... grow the f*** up.

[Maddens Raiders]

Typical American race relation problem. The rest of the world progresses along but in 2016 in America it might as well be 1716 the way people react to race relations (or roles in movies) and anything resembling or sounding like (wait for it...) sex on tv. ¬ ¬

[deafdani]

I had to google POC. Seriously? Why don't you just call a black person exactly that... a black person? If you have no problem in calling a white dude a white dude, then you shouldn't have a problem in calling a black dude a black dude.

Ironically, this politically correct "people of color" term ends up sounding more racist than just calling them black people. Or do you call white people "colorless people"? Lol.

[rainslacker]

Care to put those numbers out there? I know it happens from time to time, but are those instances actually numerous, and are they frequent enough to have some sort of quantifiable data that amounts to requiring measurement on an astronomical scale?

Or are you just speaking hyperbolicly in order to incite some sort of social outcry at the injustice being done to...well who actually is being hurt here?

[Christopher]

***Tell me you haven't seen Maria or consuelo as the maid or Juan tend to lawn. That shit makes me sick.***

My wife is from Bolivia. Do you know who most often thinks she's the help? Other hispanics. I got in trouble when we had people over to clean our air ducts and the guy asked her if she was the maid and I couldn't stop laughing. She goes to present at conferences, it's rarely the whites who thinks she works at the Hotel she's staying at. Yet, all the people who interviewed her recently for executive positions are white and had no problem with her gender or race. Heck, the role at the job she's going to start at the end of the month was created just for her because they loved her resume and her experience, not her sex or race.

So, these "preconceptions" aren't just "white" things or anything, they're things that affect everyone regardless of race. But, they don't affect everyone. And, Hollywood is stupid to not realize this as they try to fill these quotas to meet public demand as outlined by media focus.

OT: I honestly don't care so much, but I do agree that instead of doing the overall thing of trying to change everything to meet a quota, how about we focus on those elements that already fill it? Black Panther, The Falcon, and Luke Cage are great examples of this. Damn, Luke Cage was so well cast. Just... perfection.

Having also said that, I really enjoyed Clarke Duncan as Kingpin. I mean, the movie was pretty bad for the most part, but I loved seeing him in that role. But, still, I'd love to see a lot more black super heroes make their way to the TV and movie screens rather than reboot the characters solely to meet a racial quota. I mean, why not have Batman with a new robin who isn't white? I mean, he can adopt more than just white kids.

[uth11]

Race is an EXTREMELY hot-button issue in the US. Anything that can remotely be made into a racial controversy is almost guaranteed to be made into a racial controversy. Even if it seems insignificant. It's all the worse today with Twitter & social media in general looking for daily things to be outraged about.

I don't like it, it seems like it's the opposite of a color-blind society to me, but I can't see it changing anytime soon.

[dcbronco]

Foxtrot I kind of agree with what you're saying but on your initial point you're actually wrong. You're looking at it from the standpoint of the genres that interest you. It happens the other way around far more often and has for decades. A glaring recent example is the Hunger Games. The lead character in the books is actually younger and black. Cleopatra is a Nubian but almost always portrayed as white. Several artist and composers are said to have been black but are portrayed in art and film as white. It happens so often there is a phrase for it, white washing.

That said it is a complicated issue. Especially when talking voice. I always thought you could easily tell voices when it comes to race, you can't always. I'm black but my friends always called me white boy because of how I talked and my complexion. I didn't think either was to the extent they implied, later I realized it was.

I had a white friend during a training session. We always sat together and one day I looked at her arm as ours touched and she was two shades lighter than me. She had a nice tan put her race was clear. One day at work someone wanted to tell me something but was really uncomfortable. I assured him it was fine I kinda know what you're going to say. Yup, he said you talk exactly like a white person. And I grew up in the hood hood.

Part of this issue is business. Black people often say they want to see someone that looks like them onscreen. I guess white people feel the same. In comics and SciFi you have people like Gene Roddenberry and Stan Lee who are racially sensitive. Other genres have fewer people like that. Roddenberry had Uhura and Kirk kiss to push society forward. There had never been an interracial kiss on TV before that.

Other cases its star power. Will Smith or Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin. The people who really should be complaining are Asians. Even in movies about SciFi or comic books they get screwed.

The key to ending it is to stop focusing on it. I'm like Colbert, I don't see race. I do see quality though and if you put out a half-assed project I will ignore it. Like, for instance, just about anything thing on BET. Or NBC. Fox New is propaganda, I don't watch. You'll find quality programming is usually inclusive because its made by quality people. And quality people don't see race.

[Dee_91]

The funniest part about it is, its usually some heavy weight, upper middle class, white women with blue hair complaining about stuff like this.
Trivializing racism is almost just as bad as racism in my book.

[reallyNow]

Winning a role because you're a more competent actor isn't TAKING a role, its EARNING it. That idiotic notion is one of the problems with SJWs.

[reallyNow]

@ion666

"Tell me you haven't seen Maria or consuelo as the maid or Juan tend to lawn." Have you been outside before? The guy who does my lawn...Juan. Literally his name. He does fantastic work and has a hilariously strong accent. I love this man. Why is a movie/game being relatable bad? Why are country folk always portrayed as stupid and inbred? Man up and get over your triggers.

[maniacmayhem]

@UltraNova

*DC changed Superman or Batman, or if Marvel changed Spider man's or Thor's race?*

I wouldn't care since more than likely it would be nothing but a publicity stunt when sales are down. And also look at Marvel now, the new Spider-Man is in fact black and Thor is now a woman.

@Morganfell

*Because they were brother and sister. Not one of them adopted. Blood. Blood is thicker than water.*

Not sure if that's a joke or not. Them being adopted and raised as brother and sister can translate into family just as well as if they were blood related.

[GribbleGrunger]

Nobody bats an eyelid because Kratos is played by a black man. Who the hell cares? We need the best actor/actress for the part. The advantage of games is the devs can make the character look the way they want. Do you realise that Jack Black isn't a panda!? No really ... he's NOT a panda! I'm not sure if it's racist though because I haven't calculated the black to white ratio of the pandas markings ...

Edit: Foxtrot ... lol. Come on fella.

[-Foxtrot]

" Do you realise that Jack Black isn't a panda!? No really ... he's NOT a panda!"

Are you trying to make a point of this...you're joking right.

[Bathyj]

I heard that Seth Rogan guy isnt even an alien. Hes human for christsakes.

[ravens52]

OK so I don't think it matters when it comes to fictional characters like come on lol. Whether it's super heros or w.e. The only time I see this as an issue is when they are putting out non fictional movies in Egypt and the pharoes and all the Egyptians are white lol. Non fiction is when it counts other than that everyone is the same.

[Inzo]

Exactly, no one cares because TC is the right man for the job.

[GribbleGrunger]

Good God, how did my joke turn into this? lol

@at below

[deafdani]

@Foxtrot:

Are you a fox?

...

NO???

YOU'RE HUMAN???

THAT'S RACIST

[Enigma_2099]

@Foxtrot

Brick.

[jetlian]

most charactors are white so if we think like fox 95 percent would be white all the time.

when blacks are cast the industry still finds a white person to play them. How do we know she was the best fit for the job? not the first time an employer lied about why somebody was picked over someone else.

HEY fox why is 95 percent of 'gods of eygpt' movie white lol

This was a day 1 buy now I GOT to wait till its 30-40. Sick of this crap.

[DragonKnight]

Why are you so racist?

Also, you do know that South Africa was under British control for a LONG time and so as a result there are plenty White South Africans right?

[ZombieGamerMan]

This was never a day 1 buy for you because you let something like a VA's race determine the purchase for you.

[deafdani]

Uncharted 4 also has a black actor portraying a white character. But nobody's paying attention to that.

Be more ridiculous, please.

[Tito08]

Let's be honest, the characters of Kratos from GOW, and Vamp from MGS2/4, who are pretty much white, were both played by black actors, it's all a matter of talent, no race, this is why the black community is getting a bit too much of a bad reputation, because of some ignorant people trying to scream "Racism" on everything that they don't see fit.

[jetlian]

DRAGON explain to me how im being racist! Another thing when did I even mention south africa?

ZOMBIE how do you know what im buying and when? Im getting SF5 next week even though sean is being lighted up. I like globe trotting games and there isnt alot of them. But I refuse to fully support something I find offensive.

Another thing atleast im buying it new!!! All those people mad at MS and SQ over tomb raider claim they wont buy or they will get it once its used.

DEAFDANI No ones talking about the black actress hmmmm I wonder why? Oh nobody knows who the charactor or actress is!!! Maybe they werent important enough to reveal ....idk

Tito no they get a bad rap because whites hate getting caught then try to deflect into another off base arguement. We know for a fact whites put on more color faces than color people putting on white faces.

I see no one mentioning my gods of egypt and the cast is almost all white

[divinealpha]

People complain all the time about black actor playing white roles , comments saying why is this character black , why does everything have to have diversity. You see that all the time with new movies im not sure if your under a rock

[Dee_91]

Yea it does happen. People just like to try to play this whole "the other side are hypocrites" role to make themselves actually believe the crap they are talking about.
You have to dig to find some tumblrette complaining about this "issue" but a black storm trooper in the latest Star Wars film, you didn't even have to look to see the plethora of racist comments throughout the internet..
Same for Idris Elba being a hopeful for James Bond, nothing but racist comments and general complaints every time it was brought up. White guy playing shaft, you have to search High and Low to find an actual black person complaining about that crap.

[Silly gameAr]

And, most rational people wouldn't care, or even give this "issue" any attention. This is just another Johnny Storm moment for people to make a big deal out of.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Yea, there's a reason for that.

[94jdh]

With all the drama going off in the states at the moment (Oscars) about no black actors nominated for their roles and some deciding to boycott as a result. Black actors have won awards previously - it's based on their merits and performance - nothing else.
We have the MOBO awards in the UK, which is Music of Black Origin, and I don't see any white people getting their knickers in a twist over it and spitting their dummy out. Now if there was MOWO awards, what do you think would happen ......

[94jdh]

And I better add, white people do get nominated for MOBO's - it's the title of the awards I'm referring to.

[jetlian]

what are you saying? in the last 50 years only like 5 blacks have won anything major at the oscars. The last 2 years 0 blacks were nominated at all.

Nobody white gets mad because they have other awards to win and two in your second comment you said whites still get nominated so OF COURSE whites wont get mad!!! You beat your own self on this one

[DragonKnight]

Why are you so racist?

Did it ever occur to you that melanin levels should have no bearing on who wins awards? Why should the level of melanin in your skin entitle you to anything? In the animal kingdom, you don't see Black Bears complaining that Grizzlies are hogging all the berries now do you? Nope, because animals know that if they don't take what they find before someone else does, they die.

So then why do you hate black people so much that you think their skin color should determine any accolades rather than legitmate hard work?

[ABeastNamedTariq]

Fam. BET (MOBO as your equivalent) and creations like that, specifically tailored toward black people, were created solely because of the fact that they were being represented in mainstream (white dominated) media. Ya know, kind of like how MTV would only play white bands' music and such until they had to cave because of Michael Jackson's popularity?

[94jdh]

@ jetlian how did I beat myself?

I was referring to the title of the awards not the nominees. If there was a MOWO awards, the community would be up in arms of the title brandishing it racist, irrelevant to any black or white nominees.

Unfortunately positive discrimination has got a grip on society, even the the police force has a Black Police Force Association in the UK, can you imagine if there was a white one?

To me everyone should be treated equal, people shouldn't get a free ride because of race, religion or sex.

[jetlian]

why would I care if there was a white origin of music? Differrent races have their own style. There are the latin grammys. So no there wouldnt be an outrage.

Two most of these shows are white anyway. There no need to bring most whites into light.

[mikeboccher]

There is a black actor playing a white role in the game, as already told by the team

[mt]

Kratos is played by black dude. and everyone is lovin it

[uth11]

Darth Vader is another white character voiced by a black man, and everyone loves it.

[Dee_91]

John Boyega played a storm trooper, "everybody" hated it.

[eferreira]

There is a black actor playing a white person in uncharted 4. Funny thing is, people are just looking for something to complain about

[mhunterjr]

I don't expect you to understand, but minorities have been dealing with unequal representation in entertainment since forever. At one point, if there was ever a black character is was played by a white person in black face, and the role was degrading.

Then there was a time when the only time you'd see a black character on TV was if it was on a network that specifically targeted the black demographic (this is why BET exists. Because all of the other Networks had been failing to create content that was relatable to a large segment of the population, it has nothing to do with excluding white people. It was about targeting an ignored demographic. Please stop the ignorance Payikik) . Before that, a black person finding entertainment that they could identify with was a rarity.Naturally, that also meant jobs for black actors were few and far inbetween. Same for black producers and black directors.

Now that we are seeing some semblance of diversity interms of depictions in entertainment, you think it's unreasonable to think roles should go to minorities who fit the description? Minorities still aren't being recognized for there accomplishments, and apparently still can't get roles that they are more suited for.

I'm not saying ND did anything wrong in this instance (they didn't). But when you look at the landscape, you can see why a minority voice actor would be frustrated.

Again, if you aren't a minority, I don't expect you to understand. But at least try to open your eyes

[-Foxtrot]

" if there was ever a black character is was played by a white person in black face, and the role was degrading "

https://youtu.be/l0vIYoY1og...

Funniest role RDJ has ever done.

[rainslacker]

At the same time, most characters are still predominately white. Is it right to simply give those roles to black people to fill some sort of undisclosed quota which doesn't need to be filled?

There is an issue of if black people are properly represented, and if the number of black characters is disproportionately skewed out of their favor, but that really has nothing to do with the casting unless the casting is done from the direction that they don't want black people to have the role due to some racism. That certainly isn't the case here.

There are plenty of instances to show that the changing of a characters race does happen, and there are plenty of instances where a black person plays a white character and vice versa. It would seem, outside of changing the race of a pretty well established character, that most people don't care until it is in some high profile instance such as this, and then they only seem to care when a white person portrays a black person.

I understand where your comment is coming from, but the issue isn't really one related to the casting, rather the representation of minorities within media in general. Minorities have come a long way to have more of their own representation, and they still have a long way to go. However, making a fuss about things like this is not the way to do it. All that can be done is simply provide more actors who can portray the roles with which they're cast, and eventually things will work themselves out because representation is going to be based on the audience which is consuming a particular entertainment product.

I think there are plenty of minorities who get recognized for their accomplishments...by which I assume you mean in entertainment given the topic. But I'd rather those accomplishments be based on the merits of their performance rather than the color of their skin. If they get extra points due to their race, then that is only harmful to achieving equality, because it means they don't have to work equally as hard for their recognition.

When it comes to entertainment though, people who decry no recognition in a place which already has a limited recognition format(like the Oscars), and then claim that a black person should be nominated just because, it lessens the recognition of those that were recognized, and assumes that a black person wasn't considered because they're black, dismissing the fact that maybe the black people in contention may just not have been as good as those that were nominated.

[mhunterjr]

@rainslacker

I don't take issue with this particular casting. But I understand why people would be frustrated by it, especially if they don't know the story behind it. That's all I'm saying.

As far as changing a characters race, that's not problematic in and of itself. Most characters aren't defined by their race, or rather, there race isn't a central part of their role in the story.

But there is an issue with minorities simply not having roles in the stories being written. And there is also an issue with casting whites to play roles where race is an important part of the character. It happens all the time.

The folks who think this has to do with some double standard that marginalizes white people are being ignorant to the issues at hand.

[StrawberryDiesel420]

And do you see some of the shows that air on BET? Says a lot about the demographic they target.

[rainslacker]

I understand, but the assumption is being made that there were a lot of auditions by black actors for the part, and given that the actors didn't know the character was black, it's hard to say that there were. Even if there were, one has to wonder if the black actors that auditioned were better or equally suited for the part. Both are things that are unknown, and unless they're made known, those being upset about it are basing their anger on pure assumption.

The topic of if enough black actors are given parts, or if there is bias to hire white actors, for whatever reason(racial of otherwise) is a different subject IMO, and likely doesn't apply here. Much of the arguments I see in here are focusing on the wrong issue...perhaps even some of my own at times...but I am simply replying to others sometimes going off topic with a bit of cynicism or sarcasm.

"there race isn't a central part of their role in the story."

I agree, but if a character is black, and a suitable black actor is available, then it makes sense to cast them because there is a difference in viewpoints between different races which can add to the character in some way...although, UC doesn't really follow those themes in the least. In the case of mocap/VA, the actors talent would be paramount over their skin color or looks in general.

"But there is an issue with minorities simply not having roles in the stories being written"

Again, I agree, and would add that many of the ones that are out there are not always that great, or play into stereotypes for the purpose of story tropes. But the issue here seems more that the role was given to a white actor, for the role of a black character. I feel the quote and the topic at hand are two different subjects, with the quote being more about equal or statistically normalized representation, and is something that should be dealt with...but in a responsible and natural fashion, not just to hit the quota mark or seem trendy....as we see happening at times with much of the female representation topics/characters that we have had the past couple years.

My biggest hope is that the topic of more diverse characters does not go down the path of the current SJW mentality of demanding, condemning, and shaming, and that the discussion can happen naturally, thus the representation happening naturally, like we had before GG/SJW blew up into what it is. It would bring less hostility, and more acceptance, as people's defenses wouldn't be up from the start, and they can just see good characters without the bias of thinking it's done to placate a sub-group of the community.

I feel it's an important topic, just not the topic at hand here.

"The folks who think this has to do with some double standard that marginalizes white people are being ignorant to the issues at hand."

I partially agree. I agree on principal, but I feel it's a bit of an exaggeration. There is merit to the argument that white people simply can't understand the racial issues that minorities go through. That doesn't mean that they can't empathize with that, and when arguments like this crop up, it does come across as some people demanding that they be represented, or given undue recognition/jobs/whatever, and that the white person in question is often marginalized...in this case in their talent and ability to perform the role.

[mhunterjr]

@strawberrydiesel420 BET targets a rather large demographic with its content ranging from teens to retirees. It depends on what day and time you are watching. Most of the time, it's targeting people in the same age group MTV targets. I'm not sure what you are trying to say about the demographic, but it sounds like you are part of the problem.

@rainslacker I agree many of the topics that have been brought up in the discussion are directly related to this casting, my entire response was a reaction to irrelevant and/or ignorant comments that have been made, including Foxtrots ridiculously ignorant opening statement, and the overwhelming support it got.

The problem with minorities getting recognition in entertainment also stems from a lack of opportunity. Again, this is a thing white people often overlook when they make comments about merit. What are the chances a black person wins best lead actor, when there are so few roles seeking a black lead. Maybe it's true that of the few who were given an opportunity, their performance was bested by their white counterparts, but when you are given far fewer opportunities, that is to be expected. And we aren't just talking Hollywood, this starts back at the academy.

Then there is the issue with the assumption that minorities want to be recognized simply because they are minorities not because they are good. That folks should accept that the decades of snubbing is purely because whites were objectively better at there jobs. In reality, there is a sentiment that these folks were overlooked because they weren't white. Maybe because the subject matter didn't resonate with the judges (who are all white). Maybe it's for other reasons. But when you sit down and watch the performances the snubs are undeniable, and the fact that so many snubs are minorities every year doesn't bode well for the likelihood that it's purely based on performance.

[coolbeans]

"If there was a black actor playing a white role...nobody would bat an eye lid."

I guess people already forget the controversy pushed by the Council of Conservative Citizens regarding Idris Elba playing Heimdall back during the first Thor movie.

[suli5595]

Kratos from god of war was voiced by a black dude, why didn't people lose their shit then?

[DefenderOfDoom2]

James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader. who was a white character .

[Blaze929]

I think it's a bigger issue of, "if they can get away with it, they would never use us" more than anything. If you have a black character in something - why not just give a black person that opportunity?

It's no different that in Hollywood, the music industry (especially in rap), etc - if a white person can fulfill that role, "they" would rather go with that option - everytime.

That's just the reality of it. So really it's a question of - why not just give a black person that opportunity? Surely you could find someone great to fulfill that role.

Just my thoughts.

[digitalwolf]

That's BS though and an unnecessary fear, especially when it happens in the reverse often enough just cause the director needed a guy with a really deep voice and a black guy fit.

Maybe we'd have more black characters in games if people were less stupid about who gets to do what and when.

Do you have an exact idea how many black voice actors there are to white voice actors? Cause if it's anything like black actors to white actors it's about 1/10 which is pretty representative of the american population. And that's not even factoring if they're good or not.

[Christopher]

I agree with just giving people an equal chance and having roles that aren't "race" defined. I 100% agree with that, and that is an issue in Hollywood. Though, I'm not sure it's so much as an issue of race as it is of getting a popular actor to fill a specific role that oftentimes could be played by an unknown actor for the same role. They don't want to take a chance with an unknown, they want a known and popular person who can play it.

[digitalwolf]

There is a frustrating, large, and public discrimination mentality going around and it's unacceptable.

I don't care what your skin color is this whole thing is BS.

[rainslacker]

I'm curious why the description said, "voiced by someone clearly not South African". Is the author not aware that white people also live and are born in South Africa? Almost 10%, with another 10% considered multi-ethnic, and about 9% being Asian. Only 76% of South Africans are classified as Black...although I'm not sure how those percentages add up properly...but that's besides the point.

Should I be offended at the blatant stereotype being perpetuated by the author with that line, regardless of the fact that the actual character is black? Being a white male I'm unsure when I'm allowed to be offended by stereotypes, so maybe someone could let me know what's appropriate.

More on topic. I don't see why it's a big deal. I don't get mad when English people take on the role of an American, or when characters who were white in one form of media are made into a black character for another. If the actress can pull off the part convincingly, and she does a good job, then I never would have known if people didn't make a big deal about it.

[Software_Lover]

disregard this response.

[Pikagreg]

There actually is a black actor playing a white guy in Uncharted 4 as well lol. They discussed this during the panel shown at the Playstation Experience.

[brighthand]

not the whole world, just SJWs whose whining, amplified by social media makes it SEEM like the whole world freaks out.

[vivid83]

I'm sorry but many eyelids get batted when a black guys plays a white role

[DrKarateChop]

Man, you're so boring.

[-Foxtrot]

And yet here you are...

[DrKarateChop]

Duh, you're always the top comment. The ever watchful eye of the white male defense force. Congrats on repeating the the misguided mindset of 4 centuries. Very original.

[DarXyde]

I don't know about that...

Remember when there was a rumor regarding Idris Elba playing Bond? He even admitted that what he said is incredibly racist, but basically, his argument was Bond can't be black because he's Scottish and white, even though it can be argued that Bond is a "title" rather than a person.

[-Foxtrot]

For me Bond is white. I mean hell Fleming based Bonds look off Hoagy Carmichael...a white guy.

It's like Doctor Who, to me the Doctor is a white male.

I just think if they are so bothered create new characters.

Like for Idris I would have a spy film like Bond and at the end he's then called 009, revealing that the film is actually a James Bond spin off.

[DarXyde]

But if James Bond is a title rather than an actual person (much like the fact that there are several Snakes in Metal Gear Solid), it shouldn't matter.

I'm a little confused. In one circumstance, you say it shouldn't be a big deal if a black character is portrayed by someone white and vice versa. Here, are you suggesting Bond and Who SHOULD be white?

Just trying to understand your position.

[Genki]

It's voice acting, B. You don't know what you're talking about.

[fanboysmackdown]

What a stupid comment.

[GloibinDookie]

I hate these articles. Wether there is a racism problem or not, this is just as much flamebait as ps4 vs XBOX articles. You are whatever color chance gave you. The fact is that human society uses division as a way to strengthen the bonds of a class or race. Before they bought the slaves, Rich white people thought poor white people were the scum of the earth. Africans invoked slavery under a class system. Humans, we just have a stupid divide and conquer mechanism that drives our social makeup. There is only one thing that will stop racism and unite humanity; us finding another species (if that existed)to hate. To expect otherwise is just stupid.

[REDDURT]

Believe what you may white America deny and disengage the conversation.

[XanderZane]

Hhhmm.. Johnny Storm was changed from white to black in the latest Fantastic Four film. There was a huge uproar over that. Michael B. Jordan is an excellent actor, but I even questioned why he was cast in that role. Didn't really make any sense. Same thing happened with Kingpin in Dare Devil with Michael Clarke Duncan (R.I.P)

In this case, the error would be with the Director and artist who created the character. This definitely isn't Laura Bailey's fault. She even did the motion capture for the character and apparently it didn't look like her in the end. I'm sure she was just as puzzled. Not sure why they didn't just make the character white. Did they make her black just because it was in Africa? How many other characters of color or different nationality are in this game? It really shouldn't be a big deal when it comes to games and cartoons, since voice actors/actresses do voices for all kind of characters and races. They should have at least let Laura know in advance though.

[aRTCy]

Well Neil Druckmann did mention that during the Playstation Experience 2015 and your right...no one did.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

This has happened so many times in films. I dunno why some people still find that odd. It's like being surprised Eminen can rap without being black. Skin color doesn't matter.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah but lets be honest if you see a white rapper now who isn't Eminem you usually think

"Bitch who you think you are...Eminem"

He's like the only guy who I've seen who manages to pull it off.

[DragonDDark]

DJ Khaled bby

[Stringerbell]

Umm the Beastie Boys? Paul Wall? Hell even Fred Durst... You're late to the party bro...

[BitbyDeath]

Macklemore does alright

[hardcorehippiez]

i'll add another couple to the list , hollywood undead icp kottonmouth kings.

[Silly gameAr]

If a rapper makes good music and has talent, then it's easy for them to find their fan base. Race only matters to people who are sensitive about race, and you seem pretty sensitive to me foxtrot.

I'll add to the list, Mac Miller and G-Easy seem like their pretty respected in the rap community. Machine Gun Kelly, Yelowolf, they all have plenty of black fans and the rap community accepts them. Hell, even Post Malone, even though his music is trash.

[Kingdomcome247]

Aesop Rock, Action Bronson, Lil' Dickey, etc...etc...etc...

[DefenderOfDoom2]

3rd Base hip hop group was white also .

Music is universal !

[psplova]

...

[psplova]

Vanilla Ice!!! ...I went there.

[Zoombael]

snow...

i went there even further.

[Stringerbell]

ICP now there is no escape! Oh and Snow? Dude has talent he came up in the wrong time and being Canadian didn't help either too bad for him...

[ABACAB72]

Don't forget Everlast!

[psplova]

^I was going to say that too. I don't listen to rap but my buddy gave me Everlast's Eat at Whiteys cd and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Good stuff..

[Majin-vegeta]

* Rolls eyes*just shut up amd enjoy the damn charactet and gamr.

[xarexerax]

Honestly, I don't think she's got anything wrong here. I'm not convinced anyone does, really - she broke down the casting well, and I'm sure she gives a great performance. Could it be better to approach this differently in the future? Probably, but that's more for the people doing the casting than the voice talents themselves.

[Fez]

I'm not sure they should approach it differently in the future. Remember how amazing Phil LaMarr was for Vamp in MGS! I couldn't imagine his voice being any different..

It would be awful if a very talented voice actor like LaMarr couldn't play a role he was suited for just because of his race.

[garrettbobbyferguson]

There is no way to approach it differently. The best voice gets the job. It is irrelevant what skin color you are when you are dubbing voice work. Darth Vader's actor is a white guy, but of course we all know the incredibly powerful voice of James Earl Jones.

[ABACAB72]

Also, remember Inspector Gadget? The voice of his niece, Penny, was a black girl (now woman...Cree Summer). So, it happens quite a bit. I remember when GTA San Andreas first came out, and on NeoGAF, everyone was saying how they wanted to wait for the PC version to come out so that they could mod the lead character cos no-one wanted to play as a "n*gger". And now, racism is an even bigger deal since Obama went into office. Simple as that.

[thorstein]

From the Movie Crash, there is a rather powerful scene between Terrance Howard's Character as a director and a Producer.

The producer wants a character to "act more black."

Howard's character's response:(paraphrase) And you think the audience won't be able to tell that he's black?

[reallyNow]

its only powerful if you're a total pussy.

[ABACAB72]

That could only mean one thing. Act more black means act more ignorant.

[crazychris4124]

If she does a great job, no one will care after a week

[Bathyj]

No one cares now.

[Software_Lover]

agreed

[TripleCs]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

@ 10:15

People must be really desperate for clicks and attention. Neil Druckman already adressed this. As I pointed out, he also states that there is an important white character that's played by a black actor. Naughty Dog is just choosing the best actors for certain roles regardless of color.

[firelogic]

Was waiting for someone to post this. There's no controversy. People are just making a mountain out of a mole hill.

White actress playing a black character.
Black actor playing a white character.

Wait a second...where are the asian actors and asian characters?!?!?!

They also cast Laura Bailey because she was great in the role AND THEN they finalized the character design. They literally picked the best actress and the best character design completely independent of each other. There's no racism or exclusionary tactics here.

[Me-Time]

I would have had an issue if she was model-thin. She was taking Drake on with relative ease cause mma or fighting's relevancy in this "modern age". I honestly believe even just a decade ago, people would have had an issue with a woman being able to be as kickass (realistically) as Nadine is. Well, Chyna would have had to have taken the role in place of Nadine.
:)

[OB1Biker]

It's probably more racist like attitude to even think it matters.

[DawginTow1]

I'd have a bigger issue w/ the South African character not sounding South African.

[Me-Time]

I thought she was Jamaican.

[Eiffel]

Is it as bad/hilarious as Will Smith's interpretation of a Nigerian accent in Concussion?

[smashman98]

Not a big deal either way for me. Now if she had gotten the role over a black person because she was white that would've not only been weird but also not good

[Dmagic]

on behalf of the black community we do not give a rats A**.

[Me-Time]

On behalf of I, me thinks you're a little off.

[yeahright2]

Seconded.

[Paytaa]

I really don't think it matters. It's Naughty Dog's game with their vision. No need to argue over this because regardless of what side your on, it's the internet, no one wins.

[Bathyj]

Meh, I dont even need to go into a big diatribe on why this is dumb, its pretty obvious to me. She did the best audition, she got the job. End of story. The character wasnt even black when she got it.

Now I'd like to see what would have happened if they said, no, our best actress who got the part is white, get rid of that black design. Thats would have been more fair than sacking an actress who did a good job for the colour of her skin.

Yes, treating people different because they are the wrong colour is racist. Even if theyre white.

[jetlian]

2 reasons your wrong . 1 we dont know if she was the best or not. They could say so just to shut people and for people like you that answer is good enough.

2 we the public didnt know what nadine looked like so it doesnt matter if they scrapped the black designs anyway.

After rereading her tweet im even more sure she only trying to calm the flames. The whole designs part gives it away.

[rainslacker]

We can assume till the cows come home. Those assumptions don't make up fact, nor are they cause for public outcry. Aren't there enough problems with people reacting based on assumption that we don't need to add to it in something as trivial as this.

ND is in a comfortable zone to be able to cast the person they feel would portray the role to their liking. I'd prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt that they felt that she was the best candidate for the job, and I'm going to assume that they aren't racist, and didn't deny her the job because of the color of her skin.

It seems you base your assumptions on what you want to be true so you can be upset about it, despite no evidence supporting your arguments, although there are arguments which counter it...but you choose to ignore those so you can continue to be upset about it.

There is way too much of this mentality of people finding slight in everything that's done, despite the reasons not being what they believe, or those reasons not being the original intention of the initial slight to begin with. You say you came to believe it more after reading her comment, yet offer nothing from that comment to back up your reasons...which leads me to believe that you just want it to be true so you can continue to rant about it.

Now, my assumption may be off, as I'm accusing you of being off in yours. But the impetus is on you to show why you are right, because I've already given my reasons for assuming you are wrong.

[Bathyj]

You forgot to say in my opinion buddy. Sounds an awful lot like you're presenting opinion as fact.

I know she was the best fit for that role because Naughty Dog picked her. That's all I need. I really don't think they're just trying to help out struggling white actresses.

They picked the best actress and she happened to be white, just like they picked the best design which happened to be black. Accept it. Plus they picked her first.

Jesus does anyone seriously have a real problem with this?

[jetlian]

I didnt NEED to add 'in my opinion' because im not a representative for anybody. I'm also not stating my opinion as facts.

I was breaking your comments down. Another thing wrong is the charactor was black, laura just didnt know it yet.

As for you accept it I can do whatever "I" want!!!

she isnt struggling either theres a 20 min youtube video with a lot of parts she played

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

Oh here we fu**ing go again. I grow so tired of all constant bit**ing and moaning about race in everything.

[DarkAzureIIIX]

As a person who grow up in a mix community, and isn't tone deaf, I have to confirm that there is a difference between race's tone in their voice. But for this actress she is passable as an English speaking black person from Europe. That being the case she doesn't sound like a South African person regardless of the race.

[rainslacker]

While I'm not apt to say that black or white people sound different, as it's more of a culturally learned trait, I do understand what you're saying, and how one can often at least make an educated guess on a persons skin color based on the sound of their voice. Anyone who's worked in a pizza place could probably attest to this. Of course, some of it is also a regional thing, and I could quality it into many different categories, but that's besides the point I'm about to make.

When it comes to portraying a South African, black or otherwise, the assumption seems to be that a properly trained black actor from the US or EU(which is where most English speaking actors are cast from), could pull off a South African accent any better than a properly trained white actor could. Some actors train to be able to pull off different dialects, and practice those dialects to be more convincing.

Because of this, it is quite possible that she just went into the audition more prepared, and to the casting directors ear, she just did a better job.

Dialect isn't really a racial thing, however, racial variances due determine the environment in which someone grows up in, and can cause certain dialects to crop up within a group more predominately than others. Most people who don't grow up in those kinds of places may not be able to discern the subtle differences between a white or black person, who may speak very much the same way...like you are able to do based on being exposed to it more. A South African black person has a very different way of speaking and carrying themselves than those from an urban area in the US, and to me, the outrage seems to be more based on a white person playing a black person than the quality of her portrayal...which admittedly we've had limited exposure to so far so it's hard to judge completely.

[DarkAzureIIIX]

Ok umm, not talking about Dialect but the sound thats coming out of their mouth. If there is anybody who study anatomy can back me up; I believe it the mouth cavity of the skull which is the cause of the sound difference. I also believe the sound of a race are more noticeable in males than female, again this is most likely because of the skull.

[rainslacker]

I found this in reference to physiology making a difference.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5928...

Certainly physiology can make a difference in the actual sound, however, given the genetic make up of the human race being pretty intertwined, I don't know if it's applicable to this discussion.

The studies reported on in this article, although not cited, seem to be somewhat inconclusive, however logic would dictate that variations in one's vocal tract would certainly make a different sound come out of one's mouth when they speak. I don't know if there is enough commonality among a race to produce a "black voice" or a "white voice", and I think most of us probably know people who don't fall within the limits of what they "should" sound like. Even within one race, there can be a wide range of vocal sound which comes from a speaker, and some people can have voices which are more commonly thought of to be similar to another race than they are...although race today is pretty intermixed, even for those who appear of one race. This goes back thousands of years, and is just the nature of how the human species has intermingled throughout time.

Speech is predominately a learned trait. It's something people pick up by mimicking the sounds of others, and those sounds are going to be highly dependent on the society and culture within which they live.

I don't want to dispute what you say, because it's hard to say for sure, and I am not a geneticist or a scholar of anatomy. I simply feel that attributing a race to a person based on the sound of their voice is down more to assumption based on the cultural traits in the human language than it is a person's ability to be able to pick up the very minor resonance differences between people's voices. I'd say that more often than not, the average person is going to be focusing on the dialect and inflection than they are the actual sound, because that is what we have experience with when listening to others.

I did attempt to find something more conclusive, however, searching the topic at hand tends to return mostly results based on cultural and environmental factors such as dialect, inflection, or colloquialisms, the latter of which seemed to be mostly prejudicial and racist in make up. It's kind of a shame that would be the predominate topic for such a discussion, but there are a lot of people out there who don't care to look past the superficial.

[TwilightSparkle]

Off topic. Cant wait for this game. I bought the collectors edition the one with statue. Eeeeeeeekkkkkk!!!!!!

[ajax17]

"Uncharted 4's last trailer debuted a South African character, voiced by someone clearly not South African." ... wat?? There are lots of white South Africans...

[eyeDEVOUR]

Absolutely. There were way more white ppl there in the early 1900s but it dwendled down to under 10% now which is still over 4,500,000 white ppl.

[Lord_Santa]

As long as the accent sounds right then I have no problem, because they are plenty of black South Africans with white English-speaking South African accents. This whole outrage is silly.

[eyeDEVOUR]

So true. Actually whenevr i think out a south african accent i always imagine an english accent. Evry person ive ever met from there has an english accent.lol

[BlakHavoc]

Naughty Dog did nothing wrong and I understand everyone's point of view. The actress won the part cause she was the best for the job, in case you forgot there's also a black actor playing a white character in the game. So ND did nothing wrong and ppl can get off their back, they just want the best actor for the part regardless of race. I can understand why some ppl have a problem with a fictional character being casted as a different race. Sometimes you can associate a character with a certain race so thoroughly that if its casted as a different race, it can ruin the part for you. Doesn't mean you're racist though. I hated the Johnny Storm cast job, same way I'd hate it if it were blade being casted as a white guy. Basically blacks need to quit assuming everything today is some form of racism, and whites need to quit pretending it's not really a big deal. Neither side is wrong, but neither side is really right either.

[jer1122]

I mean they could've just changed the character to white all together and never told anyone. Would you rather have that. I swear there is no winning. Only 17 % of us population is black. Of course there are more white characters because there are more white people making games and 67% of america is white. Its just numbers you're going to cater to the most population and if the people that work on it are mostly white they're going to cater to that. I don't see anyone complaining there's no Latinos Asians Russian Arabs in the game should we just start throwing everyone in there. Who cares what color the characters are if it's a good game it's a good game I don't care if they're white or black just make good characters. You think in other countries like Russia they're making all the characters American or black or gay I mean seriously other countries don't give a fu@k. We lucky here in us and some euro countries that we have minority characters other places wouldn't do it at all. I hate that we have to shoehorn characters of different colors just because people want it and it doesn't benefit the story. I mean if the game took place in Africa I would suspect a mostly african-american cast I wouldn't have a problem with that because it's realistic. Mafia 3 has a lead black character i have no problem with that, looks like a great game. We need to chill out and just let people make the best games and stories possible instead of telling them how to make it.

[thricetold]

Your numbers are off, but that's unimportant and yes, if the only role you find fitting for blacks is the bad guy I'd rather have an all white cast. You bring up mafia 3 like whites were the only ones around, ever heard of Frank Lucas?

[eyeDEVOUR]

Reality is white people make up 9% of south africa's population. So to say someone thats white cant be south african is just ignorant and probably a racially motivated bias.

[jb227]

Just as a hypothetical, say they did change the character from black to white...would that not essentially force a fundamental change to the character's entire history? She would've had to be born & raised during Apartheid. Then we'd most likely be dealing w/ a backlash from presenting an entitled white character over presenting a strong character that represented the majority populace at that time. Then the entire idea of taking over a PMC from her father would essentially paint Nadine in a completely different light, one of privilege & oppression vs. one of strength & perseverance

[eyeDEVOUR]

Youre absolutely right! People may say thats reaching, but i tend to think things/scenarios out like you do.

And im not sure why i got the disagrees above. lol
That 9% = 4,500,000+

[jb227]

Haha yeah I've given up on understanding disagrees on this site....I seem to get more disagrees for pointing out inarguable facts on here than anything else. I mean a quick google search could verify what you are saying...the internet is your friend people!

[hangdang]

We're talking about VOICE actors? Who cares? They could hire a pig for all I care; as long as it's the best VOICE actor for a job. I'm not sure when people started demanding 100% authenticity from video game character voice actors, but it seems pretty dumb.

[Germany7]

Here we go again...

[FallenAngel1984]

This whole outrage sounds as ridiculous as a person getting offended when they find out Bart Simpson is voiced by a woman.

Not every actor exactly matches the gender, race, age, or even species of whatever character they are portraying through voice acting.

[dizeestl]

liberals and sjw's crying about something dumb. what a shock

[DafunkyRebel]

tropic thunder with Robert Downy Jr comes to mind

[rainslacker]

Yeah, but that part was written to satire this very thing, as well as the outrage that surrounds it. Was pretty clever really, and I think RDJr did a good job with it.

[mikeboccher]

Who cares? The same game has a black actor playing a white character too. The team already said this as well, although they don't have to. Stop making crap up to make yourself feel better, and use nonsense examples to make some bs point.

[vacoby5]

Read my last 3 post mr. Bad examples and white privilege doesn't exist

[Ocsta]

As a South African myself, I object to the idea that there are only BLACK South African females. Would a white woman have killed them?

[Lord_Santa]

Does it really matter? They chose to have a black South African woman. We saw lots of white South Africans in games like Metal Gear Solid V and Far Cry 2. A black South African woman is a nice change if you ask me.

[djplonker]

@lord

Go make your own game and cast a black south African woman if you want to.

But people shouldn't expect others to change their work to suit other peoples personal opinion.

[Hold_It]

@Ocsta

Exactly. Charlize Theron is from South Africa.

It's pretty bad that people have to cry sexist, and racist at everything and even worse attack a voice actor just trying to make some money. It's like people expect her to turn down a job and risk not being able to feed her family , because some no lives are complaining about nothing just so they can fit in among their cancerous twitter followers.

[Picnic]

How bizarre that anyone complained.

If someone was racist, they'd be unlikely to have a person of colour in a meaningful role in their game at all.

The character looks really brilliant and the performance seems really brilliant.

Just like you don't have to preferably be a wizard in real life to play The Wizard of Oz, they cast the best person for the character they've already planned regardless of their true physical features that won't be seen in the game.

[mep69]

Carefull Will Smith might boycott Uncharted 4 too.

[SynestheticRoar]

First Micheal Jackson, now this.

[Lord_Santa]

The accent just has to sound right.

[dota2champion]

Whats the big deal. She's just doing a voice over for a fictional character

[Snorlax]

https://38.media.tumblr.com...

[carmelo43]

Looks like I won't be getting this racist game, damn naughty dog let me down

[GrimDragon]

they should've used a Latino or Asian guy instead...no one would've bat an eye :/

[DarXyde]

Considering Laura Bailey has portrayed Japanese school girls (such as Rise Kujikawa from Persona 4) and little boys (Kid Trunks from Dragonball Z), I'd say she's just talented. It also helps that she has a working relationship with Naughty Dog (Sony's studios in general, actually).

Let's not make this an issue of race. That doesn't at all appear to be Naughty Dog's intention. Save it for the Oscars where there are actually sincere biases.

[esmittystud101]

God, I just don't want the story spoiled. I never read the article.

[76erz24]

People will always find something to bitch about and create "controversy". But the truth is the silent majority of the masses really don't give a crap.

[ginsunuva]

Wait is there anyone who actually cares or did you guys just fall for another false "controversy," aka one guy on a youtube comment?

[NickAwesome]

Kratos was a white man voiced by a black man, no biggie

[elitethinker]

I'm black and I don't see anyone in the black community talking about Uncharted 4 or a white lady that's playing as a black chick. No one at all. It's like they making up their own controversy. What's disrespectful to me is everytime I see africa and black people in hollywood/entertainment industry rather it's video games or movies. Its something extremely negative. It's pathetic by the way. Some places in south africa are beautiful and everybody aint killing each other. Some places in Chicago are beautiful and everybody ain't killing eachother.

[rainslacker]

The SJW types are predominately white males. Since they can't be offended by anything that actually affects white males, they take it upon themselves to stand up for those they perceive as oppressed by society and media, and become outraged over things that most people, even those that may have a case for being offended, don't care about. This makes them feel better about themselves, despite most people just seeing them as gullible idiots who have an ego which needs to be validated, which they do by trying to appear as if they are for social equality for all...even though they tend to be some of the most bigoted people out there.

[thricetold]

This again? Someone should do something about the mistreatment of whites and the constant bias against them.

[Trilithon]

its naughty dogs fault for letting this become an issue. but hey, there's no such thing as negative publicity.

[neomahi]

That doesn't make any sense. Naughty Dog have addressed the issue countless times. Anime do the same thing. Does anyone hassle the Japanese for what they do? No. Because they're not labeled as the "bully". They pull all kinds of crap. Naughty Dog made the best casting decision as they always have. Druckman stated they've cast black males for roles of white males. Society are just blind. The racial issue died years ago and blacks find themselves successful in many areas when Will and Jada Smith could've been born in Africa with HIV. But, because they're forefathers were brought to America on slave ships and had some hiccups, The Smith family now enjoys a successful and happy life in LA living more comfortably than most white families.

[Trilithon]

sure whatever. this does happen all the time and guess what nobody ever finds out about it and it doesn't matter. Naughty dog allowed this to become public knowledge and under the spot light instead of keeping it nobodies buisness. i agree who cares what character a voice actor plays. they are voice actors its their job to portray any character they can. Naughty dog shoulda kept this on the downlow. Since when have voice actors even been mentioned as part of the game production process. even with david haytor being replaced in metal gear.

[Trilithon]

And humans do the voices for alien characters...

"alien lives matter"

[Valenka]

Laura Bailey said it well enough herself; no additional commentary from me is required. However, I will say this: if you care enough to complain about a white actress portraying a black character or vice versa, I suggest you step away from the computer, go outside, get some friends, find a job and do something with your life, because it is clearly sufficiently lacking if something like that bothers you.

[neomahi]

To criticize her is racist. Druckman said they've cast black males to voice white males. It happens a lot. Seriously, I thought we'd gotten over the whole black vs white thing. The Civil War is over. Study the Civil War, white men left their families and gave their lives to free slaves. That opened doors that took some time but today, blacks don't ride on the back seats of busses or drink from separate water fountains. They make billions of dollars in the film industry, run successful businesses, and do great things. So it looks like the white man is oppressive isn't he? Nobody hassles Eminem for acting like a black man. We could have left everyone in Africa and Will and Jada Smith could've been born with HIV. But because of some road bumps, Will Smith had a shot at Fresh Prince, Independence Day, I-Robot, and his family gets to enjoy the business while I work mediocre jobs as a white man. We have a black president voted in not by qualifications (he's a lawyer) but by popular vote. This racial thing is pathetic. In the States, it should be Native Americans that throw a fit, and do they!?! No.

[zodiac909]

The gaming community had hit an all time low if this sort of thing is an issue in this day and age.

[WDBII]

They should have either:

A. Made her a character that looked like her.

or

B. Found a real person of African descent to fill the role.

How hard is that? but this is Hollywood entertainment. I will only be upset with this if this lady has an African accent. Which seems to be implied by my analysis. I will be deeply saddened at that.

[JMyers]

The game director already covered this. In fact in the game there is a black actor playing a white one. Games and voice acting transcend the traditional. How you look, your race... whatever stereotypes doesn't mattet. Its irrelevant to your talent. You can be who you want to be. Look at Clementine from the walking dead and then look at the voice actress. Different completely. Yet the emotional impact is still there.

[Angerfist]

Those racial tension are artificially driven by the media who is full of marxists who also hate white people.
Anyone seen the last MTV Video were they claimed everything was invented by Blacks. This whole race baiting issue just proves one thing. Racial segregation isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Birds of a Feather flock together

[II__BONE__II]

The only place it's a controversy is on these forums,...No one else on the planet gives a flyng fu........fudge.

[Illmatic1]

They have been casting white actors to play Egyptians for years. The new movie coming out (forgot the name) has a full white cast.

[tonywood]

I'm African-American, and have no issue with. People are way too sensitive these days. Steve Nash (NBA great) was born in South Africa...bet you cry babies didn't know that. Furthermore, there are plenty of people who look, dress, and act nothing like their race/ethnic background. (ADELE and IGGY are prime examples of this). For the record.....they both suck as artists' in my opinion, but I use this as an example.

Ohh....and that uncharted limited edition console is fresh!

[Quatron]

Controversy? More like Nontroversy.

[LiamKreptic]

Why create an issue when one is not present? I am reading these comments and it's like everyone wants to stir the pot to create an issue rather than forget about it. I mean, yes, there should have been a description of the character in FULL, but then again if this was in very preliminary stages why create a problem when one does not exist. Don't people want a tough and strong woman model in gaming rather than not. I don't know, it just baffles me that people would start something like this when it is not intended.

[TKCMuzzer]

It seems there are many out there who have to look for racism and racial issues in everything. I'm beginning to think they are the people who actually have the issue with race, they think they are standing up and making a stand about these things, when in fact they are the ones pointing them out and creating the issue, everyone else just seems to be treating them equally, which is surely what everyone has been fighting for years.

[WDBII]

"casting and auditioning" in holloywood is a fair shot at expressing discrimination. Oh! well, she is better as a black person than any other black actor that has been auditioned...okay sure she is. They will take this hit and keep moving.

[kupomogli]

Darth Vader is voiced my James Earl Jones. Kratos is voiced by Terrence C Carlson. No one complained about that because white people just don't care.

I have nothing against blacks except how often they play the race card. I get it. Your people were discriminated against for hundreds of years and that shouldn't have happened, but over a hundred years after slavery has ended, everything that doesn't have preferential treatment towards your race or even a coincidence is considered racism and all whites are against your kind when that's not true. Atleast when it comes to support, blacks are treated better than whites in the current day and age because of what happened in the past with as many government agencyies created specifically for blacks. There are no government agencies specifically for whites.

Not all black people play the race card, but those that I know who do play it constantly. It's just aggravating to hear and see this on an almost daily basis.

[Knightofelemia]

No one cared when Nick Fury was made black no one really grumbled when the Human Torch was made black in the new Fantastic Foru movie. People grumbled a little when Annie went from white to black for the remake a few years back. Who really cares as long as the game has a great story and great gameplay I'm all for it. If people are that pissed about it then don't buy the game easy as that.

[Tankbusta40]

Another racial issue...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[lastking95]

Could be a non issue of ND could be F'd up, we don't know so move on. Some of you people are ignorant. Btw People have gotten upset with a black person in white roles fyi. Ignorance should be expected at this point so I'm surprised.

[silvacrest]

like other black people on these forums i dont care who voices who as long as they do it well.

I also think the one's complaining aren't even black

[47]

Gamers don't care about this s**t. The people whining don't even own, nor intend to own, a PS4. They don't game, they just want to tell US how our industry should be run. We as a unified voice, need to tell these people to f**k off. Just as we did during GamerGate, WE dictate what is right in OUR industry, we will NOT be told what to do or think by an outside force.

[Ashmedae]

Redacted...

[MassEffectFan25]

If Jimmy Olsen on the TV show Supergirl can be black, than a white actress can do voice work for a character that is black in a video game.

[MassEffectFan25]

And for the record, I like Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy/James Olsen.