‘He Should Never Have Played Mendez’: Miami Vice Star Criticizes Ben Affleck for Playing a Mexican Guy in Argo
Ben Affleck is now on the hot seat after Miami Vice star Edward James Olmos criticized him on his portrayal of a Mexican guy in the 2012 movie, "Argo."
The film is a true story of Tony Mendez (played by Affleck), a CIA operative who leads an operation to rescue US diplomats who, in 1979, were held as hostages in Tehran, Iran.
Olmos, the male celebrity famous for his portrayals in "Battlestar Galactica" and "Miami Vice," claims that the Argo star should have chosen a Mexican American actor to play the role of Mendez as he, himself, is white.
In one of his interviews, the veteran actor asked his interviewer to identify one "Medal of Honour-winning hero who is Latino that's been shown in a movie."
When the latter could not identify one, the Miami Vice star said, "There's not one," He also added that, when there have been films made about Latinos, "'our heroes,' says like Argo's Tony Mendez?" Affleck, Olmos explained, "should have never portrayed the role of Mendez.
Should have been Andy Garcia or Michael Pena
73-year-old Olmos also said Affleck was the film's director and "he should have either gotten Andy Garcia, Michael Pena, Jimmy Smits," or even himself. The actor emphasized any one of so many people who can handle such roles should have been given those.
Olmos continued criticizing Affleck saying, he was the director and writer of Argo, and it was Academy Award's best film of the year.
The senior actor also said, Mendez, in the film, was a Mexican American, a Chicano supposedly born and grew up in El Paso, Texas. To date, the actor shared, "99 percent of the people don't even know that."
Olmos justly insisted it is important that "the American film industry does better" when representing and augmenting diversity in its films, instead of continuing to "whitewash stories."
Although a lot of people share the views of the veteran actor that it was not right for Affleck to portray the role, in 2013, Mendez, in an interview said, he did not regard himself as Hispanic.
Instead, the CIA operative elaborated that he thought of himself "as a person who grew up in the desert." He also added, if he had been in a different family situation, he "might have felt that way."
About Argo
Argo is directed and starred by Oscar winner Affleck himself, who also appeared in award-winning films, "The Town" and "The Good Will Hunting." Produced by Grant Heslov's Smokehouse Picture, the producer of "Ides of March", and George Clooney, this film features the story of a "CIA 'exfiltration' operative and master of disguise named Tony Mendez.
In this film, Mendez heads to rescue some American diplomats who are hiding out in Tehran in 1979. Disguising as a "film location scouting crew," the CIA operative and various crew of con-artists, Hollywood artists, and escape artists, save the six embassy employees to safety during an audacious rescue.
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