Move Back
![Al_Pacino]()
Say hello to my leetle Italian friend! Al Pacino played Cuban drug kingpin Tony Montana in the 1983 crime epic, "Scarface." Initially criticized by the Cuban community, the film eventually became a cult classic.![jack_black_nacho]()
The inspiration behind the 2006 "Nacho Libre" was a real-life Mexican monk who moonlighted as a mask-wearing Luchador. He was played by non-Latino Jack Black, who, considering the script, may have been doing us a favor.![madonna_evita]()
Don't cry for her, Argentina—especially since Madonna's as notoriously Italian as the "Jersey Shore" bunch. Madge starred as Argentine heroine Eva Peron in the 1996 movie, "Evita." (And she gave us "La Isla Bonita," which also seems like some sort of attempt to pass.)![jennifer_esposito]()
Meta moment: In 2005's "Crash," Jennifer Esposito's character Ria, a Puerto-Rican/Salvadoran detective, gets mad at her boyfriend when he describes her as a white woman. Maybe someone told him Esposito is Italian-American?![robert_downey_soloist]()
"The Soloist" was a real-life tale based Latino journalist Steve Lopez, who befriended a street musician and discovered his incredible background. In the 2009 movie, he became Robert Downey Jr.![cliff_curtis]()
For better or worse, there are few people more associated with Colombia than drug king Pablo Escobar. But in the 2001 movie “Blow,” he was played by Australian Cliff Curtis, whose background is Maori.![johnny_depp_two]()
Johnny Depp made a splash playing Bon Bon the transvestite in the 2000 flick “Before Night Falls,” which explores the life of poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas. So: Not a transvestite; not Latino.![blair_underwood]()
There was quite the brouhaha when one of the few-ever Latino lead roles on prime time—Afro-Cuban president Elias Martinez in 2010's“The Event”—went to non-Latino Blair Underwood.![ben_stiller]()
Ben Stiller plays Spanish-language news achor Arturo Mendes in the 2004 movie “Anchor Man.” We don't even have anything funny to say here.![johnny_deep_don_juan]()
Repeat offender Johnny Depp (see "Before Night Falls") claims to have some Cherokee ancestry, but in the 1995 romantic comedy "Don Juan DeMarco" he played the world's most famous Latin lover.![marisa_tomei]()
Italian Marisa Tomei starred as former Cuban prostitute Dorita Evita Perez in the 1995 romantic comedy "The Perez Family," about an unlikely group of refugees who became a "family" to become naturalized residents of the United States.![hank_azaria]()
Hank Azaria said he partly based gay Guatemalan housekeeper Agador Spartacus, who he played in the comedy "The Birdcage," on his grandmother. Quite the trick, since his parents were Greek Sephardic Jews.![viggo_mortensen]()
In "Carlito's Way," Danish-American Viggo Mortensen plays Cuban musician Cesar Castillo. Even better: His brother is played by Antonio Banderas.![charton_heston]()
Miguel "Mike" Vargas (Charlton Heston) finds himself embroiled in an international murder investigation in Orson Welles' "Touch Of Evil," a 1957 classic where he plays a Mexican drug enforcement official. Could be worse: Four years later Mickey Rooney would play Mr. Yunioshi in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."![natalie_wood]()
The classic of the genre: Natalie Wood played Puerto Rican as Maria in "West Side Story," a musical about two New York City teenagers from rival gangs in who fall in love. Does the fact that Rita Moreno was in it too make it any better?Hey, That Guy's Not Latino!
Hollywood has a long history of non-Hispanics starring in Latino acting roles. How do you think these actors did portraying La Raza?
Move Forward
- Hey, That Guy's Not Latino!
