History Main / ColorblindCasting

* A rather notable example occurred with ''Theatre/HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild'', which cast the black Noma Dumezweni as Hermione. While technically, the character's race was never mentioned in the books, most still viewed the character as white based on the original casting of Emma Watson in the films.

* Played with in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}''. The only rule is that King George is the TokenWhite; otherwise, anything goes. As long as the rest of the cast are people of color, their exact origins don't matter.

* ''Theatre/{{Hadestown}}'', in keeping with its mythical setting, has all the characters listed as "Any ethnicity" on the casting call.

* ''Theatre/{{Hadestown}}'' is similar to ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' in that any race goes for most of the roles, but that the abusive heads of power (King George, Hades) are always white. Though unlike ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' the whole cast isn’t usually people of color.

** While we're here, ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' not only features a black Bellatrix Lestrange, but also directly calls attention to this trope by casting a white actress as Cho Chang and an Asian actress as Lavender Brown (who is initially mistaken for Cho).

* ''Series/{{Schmigadoon}}'': Lampshaded; Melissa points out that the musical theater ensemble is populated by people of color (while the "show" is in an old-timey, ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}''-esque rural town) as evidence that Schmigadoon is semi-modern.

* Creator/PeterDinklage's dwarfism is never brought up in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''.

** The most recent Broadway revival of ''Theatre/YouCantTakeItWithYou'' saw Creator/JamesEarlJones cast as Grandpa Martin Vanderhof, while every other member of the family was played by a white actor. Noticeable given the play's [[FairForItsDay somewhat dated two black characters]], who are pretty much treated as members of the family, but most certainly are not related.

* On ''Series/AndiMack'', the casting for Andi was colorblind, leading to mixed-race Peyton Elizabeth Lee being cast in the role. This led to her having one Asian and one white parent and for her sister [[spoiler: [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo (actually her mother)]] ]] to be mixed-race as well.

* Gerry [=McIntyre=] plays Judah in the ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'' movie. Joseph's only black sibling. Maybe he was adopted.

* Parodied in the Series/Victorious "Tori And Jade's Play Date". In Sikowitz's play, the AmbiguouslyBrown Beck and the obviously African-American Andre are cast as identical twin brothers.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/Cinderella1997 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cinderella_cast.png]]]]

Compare to AbilityOverAppearance, where the casting department was looking for a specific race, build, gender, etc. but was swayed to change it by a desired actor's skill alone.

* In {{opera}}, voice and acting ability have always had top priority. Thus, Korean soprano Sumi Jo has sung roles like Lucia (a Scottish lady) in ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', and [[Theatre/LaTraviata Violetta]] (a French courtesan). Likewise, world-famous African-American soprano, Leontyne Price, has sung the roles of Leonora (a Spanish woman), Liu (a Tartar woman) in ''Theatre/{{Turandot}}, and Tatiana (a Russian) in Tchaikovsky's ''Eugene Onegin''.

* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' is a great example. None of the roles were cast with an eye to race, leading to a very racially diverse cast. Miranda Bailey was originally envisioned by the creator as a tall blonde woman. Look who she's played by now! Also, Isaiah Washington originally auditioned for the part Creator/PatrickDempsey has made famous. Sandra Oh's character's last name was changed to her more ethnically appropriate name only after she was cast in the part.

** ''Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017'': The Greek-American Dr. Arbuthnot (the character was a composite of two characters in the book, the Greek Doctor Constantine and American Colonel Arbuthnot) is played by the African-America Leslie Odom Jr.

** ''Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing1993'': Don Pedro, Prince of Spain, is played by black actor Creator/DenzelWashington, and his half-brother is played by part-Asian Creator/KeanuReeves.

** ''Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing1993'': Don Pedro, Prince of Spain, is played by black actor Creator/DenzelWashington, and his half-brother is played by half-Asian, half-white Creator/KeanuReeves.

** WordOfGod says he's secretly jealous of the mutants because he has a realistic mutation that gives him a deformity instead of superpowers.

The rise of cinema and its greater emphasis on casting realism has also led to this trope being more common and invoked more often on stage. Theatre directors argue that the stage is fundamentally unrealistic as a medium. If an audience is being asked to admit that the proscenium contains scenes from Rome, Greece, Thrace, and other exotic settings, why not ask them to accept non-traditional casting, which would not be any less real? Likewise, with the development of international performance art, it is common in opera for singers, musicians and actors to be multi-national and multi-cultural as a result of greater inter-disciplinary and cultural exchanges.

* ''Series/StillStarCrossed'' rendered several original Romeo and Juliet characters (notably Prince Escalus, Romeo himself, and Rosaline) as black people, which works well with diversifying the cast and fits with the tradition of casting Shakespeare plays. It was met with significant controversy from angry racist fans apparently unaware of said theater conventions and how ethnically diverse the Mediterranean regions have always been.

* ''Series/StillStarCrossed'' rather painfully shoehorns this in. It renders several original Romeo and Juliet characters (notably Prince Escalus, Romeo himself, and Rosaline) as blacks, which works well with diversifying the cast, but rather jarringly clashes with the setting of 16th-century Italy. It has met significant controversy for this reason.

** In season 3, one of the two new FBIAgent series regulars, Ray Nadeem, is Indian-American, and is played by the British Jay Ali. He's the only non-white amongst the main players, and his ethnicity bears a minimal impact on the story.

* The [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney California Adventure]] stage show ''Disney/{{Frozen}}: [[ScreenToStageAdaptation Live at the Hyperion]]'' has performers of various ethnicities portraying characters originally animated as either white or non-human.