Film producer Michael Kuhn has said he was ‘stirring’ the controversy around whether non-Jewish actors could play Jewish characters in his latest film, Golda.
The 73-year-old, who was honoured with a CBE this week for services to the film industry, claimed the controversy over his latest picture, Golda, a biopic about Israeli first female PM Golda Meir, was good for publicity.
The lead, the character of Meir, who was Jewish, is played by Dame Helen Mirren.
Kuhn revealed he made the confession to the Princess Royal as he collected his CBE at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
He told the PA news agency: ‘I just mentioned about the film I’m finishing now with Helen Mirren and she obviously knew about all the controversy there had been with ‘can a non-Jew play a Jew’ and I told her I was stirring it as much as I could for publicity and she seemed quite amused by that.’
Actor Dame Maureen Lipman has previously criticised the casting, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
‘With that I disagree, because the Jewishness of the character is so integral’, she told the publication.
‘I’m sure she (Mirren) will be marvellous, but it would never be allowed for Ben Kingsley to play Nelson Mandela.
‘You just couldn’t even go there.’
‘Maybe they wouldn’t green-light a film, and maybe they considered that Helen has Russian in her background, and therefore she could play this Jewish woman from Milwaukee.’
Comedian and author David Baddiel then defended Dame Maureen over her comments, reasoning that any Jewish person, ‘should not be abused for asking the question’.
In a piece for The Guardian, he argued the casting of gentiles in Jewish roles should be met with the same response he believes is used when a star who doesn’t come from a minority background is cast in another minority role – but that, ultimately, it’s about context.
Dame Helen spoke out about the controversy herself for the first time earlier this month, admitting that she harboured the same reservations over her casting as Meir in the upcoming biopic by Guy Nattiv as Dame Maureen.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘It was certainly a question that I had before I accepted the role. [Meir] is a very important person in Israeli history.
‘I said, “Look Guy, I’m not Jewish, and if you want to think about that, and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand.”
She also called the discussion ‘utterly legitimate’.
Golda is currently in production.
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