Hammond On Cannes: Robert Redford’s Brave New Role … 
Hot Trailer: Jennifer Aniston And Jason Sudeikis’ … 
Warner Bros Tells Space Story, From The Bra Designers Who … 
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Banner Promotes Jeremy Kleiner To … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Don Jon’ 
Billy Crystal-Starring Comedy From Matt Nix & Larry … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Dancing With The Stars’ … 
Hammond On Cannes: A New Day Comes To The Fest As HBO and … 
Cannes: Fleming Reflects And Finds Talented Trio A Breath … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Man Of Steel’ 
Former Digital Domain CEO & Auditors Sued For Fraud By … 
ABC’s ‘Nashville’ Undergoes Production … 
CBS Wins Season & Ties Sweep In Demo; ABC Tops Adults … 
Alki David Agrees To End Name Games With Aereo And Barry … 
Next-Gen Xbox One Unveiled With Content Including … 
Cannes: Weinstein Co Acquires Keanu-Reese Sci-Fi Pic … 
Hot Trailer: ‘The Wolverine’ 
Ang Lee Departs FX Pilot ‘Tyrant’ 
How Many Times Does Seth MacFarlane Have To Say No To The … 
Cannes: Stanley Weiser To Script ‘Three Graves … 
Cannes: Deadline Crashes Palais Forum With Costa Gavras, … 
There are two Beauty And The Beast pilots this season, one at ABC and one at the CW, with the search for actors to play the title roles among the most closely watched this season. In the end, none of the leads went to American actors. The title roles in the ABC Beauty And The Beast, which adheres closer to the classic fairy tale, went to young Irish actress Ruth Bradley (Grace aka Beauty) and Scottish singer-actor Darius Campbell (Shiro aka Beast). The CW pilot, based on the 1980s series, cast in the title 
roles 
Canadian beauty Kristin Kreuk (Catherine) and New Zealand-born Australian hunk Jay Ryan (Vincent). Of the four, only Smallville alumna Kreuk is a name in the U.S., while the other three are virtually unknown. Additionally, the ABC project has a third lead, a dashing prince, who will be played by Australian Chris Egan. It is true that Beauty And The Beast’s origins are not American — it started off as a French fairy tale — but it is closely associated with its most famous adaptation by Disney. 
Even though American screen adaptations of fairy tales tend to have some protagonists speak with a British accent, the complete shutout of American actors from the major characters in the two Beauty And The Beast projects is surprising. Especially after ABC’s hit fairytale series Once Upon A Time employs mostly American actors in the primary cast, including lead Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White), Lana Parrilla (Evil Queen) and Josh Dallas (Prince Charming).
The two Beauty And The Beast projects are not the only pilots this season to cast non-American actors as their leads in what has become a growing trend over the past decade. The iconic U.S. comic book character Green Arrow is being played by Canadian Stephen Amell. The lead in a show called Americana is played by an Aussie, Anthony LaPaglia. Another Australian actor, Jesse Spencer, will play the lead in the NBC drama Chicago Fire. Also representing Down Under is Rachael Taylor, who landed the female lead in the ABC drama 666 Park Street.
British actress Janet Montgomery will play the lead in the CBS drama pilot Baby Big Shot, fellow Brit Minnie Driver will play one of the two leads in NBC’s Kari Lizer comedy. Another Brit, Theo James, landed the lead in the CBS drama pilot Golden Boy, James Purefoy will play the co-lead opposite Kevin Bacon in Fox’s Kevin Williamson drama, and, in her U.S. TV debut, Scottish actress Georgia King got the female lead in NBC’s comedy pilot The New Normal. It was a big year for Irish actors, too: In addition to Bradley’s casting in ABC’s Beauty And The Beast, Irish actress Amy Huberman, in her first-ever U.S. audition, landed the female lead in the NBC comedy Animal Kingdom. Compatriots Brían F. O’Byrne and Sarah Bolger landed the leads in the ABC period drama pilot Gilded Lilys.
Joining Amell, Canadian-born Rachelle Lefevre has been tapped as the lead in the CBS drama pilot Applebaum. Another Canadian, Colin Ferguson, is set to star in Bill Lawrence’s Fox comedy pilot Like Father, and fellow Canadian Jessica Lucas will play the lead in the CW drama pilot Cult.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Loading ...
“…the complete shutout of American actors from the major characters in the two Beauty And The Beast projects is surprising.”
Considering the pool of television talent available in this country, this is NOT really surprising. Maybe the networks have finally realized that our television actors STINK!
Frankly, it would behoove the networks to channel new talent, particularly culled from the much stronger overseas talent pool; then, perhaps, television could become new and improved.
I think this comment is naive as well as inaccurate. There are hundreds of American theaters producing seasons and thousands of graduate and undergraduate programs in film and theater. The problem is a casting system based on hand throughs from agancies. Agencies see a performer as a brand to exploit in as many commercial ventures as possible. Another problem is the deep seated anglofilia within the industry most recently seen in the KCET handover where the “public” part of the broadcast is thrown to the wind as more and more Brit shows are imported.
Why not show a survey of shows in Canada, the UK and Australia and point out how many America actos perform there? It’s NOT a two way street.
I came to this article quite late and was astonished by the original “shut out” comment and responses like “NOT a two way street”.
For starters I cannot believe USA actors are “shut out” – more like they did not get the part because of their looks and/or acting ability (including emulation of accents). Anthony LaPaglia go into TV in the USA by passing himself off as a local conducting during the whole audition from walking in and saying “hello” though to “thanks, goodbye” with a local accent.
Not to mention it would be the most motivated and talented actors from Australia or New Zealand who have the confidence to relocate to L.A. so that’s who the local actors are competing with.
As a TV producer in Sydney, Australia I can assure you USA actors in USA-produced series dominate Australian television. My opinion is that a an international cast would be added value for a distributor. Local Australian productions will cast locally, and USA actors have the same chance as anyone else if they can master the accent required for the role. And face it, most attempts of an Australian accent sound like a London Cockney to Aussies at home.
BTW: Speaking of two-way streets, how manywhat proportion of drama series broadcast free-to-air in the USA are from Australia or New Zealand ?
Look at the cast of the New Zealand film Lord of the Rings, or the Hercules series shot there and tell me if USA actors were “shut out” of the lead roles!
Stop your whiny xenophobic protests, concentrate on your craft and go where the work is (if you have the talent in the first place).
I take great umbrage with this.
It’s not that the US actor pool stinks, it’s that there is a hideous misconception by casting directors and networks that if they haven’t already met an actor from the US, that actor can’t be any good.
There are a number of reasons why actors aren’t known and are still GREAT at their jobs.
Casting directors operate under tight schedules (of course, the fact that there are a limited number of casting directors who are “network approved” adds to that). But if it were possible to open up a little – see actors everyone don’t know, from agents and managers who don’t already represent everyone else on the show.
I’ll get off my soap box now, but it’s not just bitterness and disappointment talking.
PS – Just saw Obama’s press conference talking about cutting tax breaks for companies who outsource jobs to other countries. Maybe that should extend to outsourcing US acting jobs as well.
There are many fine American actors, all over the place on TV right now, so this sentiment is simply bullshit.
More likely, American TV is attracting a lot of foreigners to LA, which is the place to be for a TV career. American TV dominates a lot of foreign viewing, especially in scripted drama and comedy as opposed to reality TV, so they don’t have a big local industry to work for instead.
Hollywood is a big “me, too” town.
It’s now fashionable for producers to have brits, aussies, etc. in their casts. I’ve heard conversations where folks actually brag about the number of brits/aussies, etc. they have in their cast. Verbatim: “I have two more Australians than you.” It’s like having a bigger car.
That will go out of fashion soon, as fashions always do.
But – U.S. actors must accept that it is now a smaller world and that all English-speaking actors will compete for all roles. The pond is no longer a moat. The pond got bigger.
Once Upon a Time may employ mostly American actors, but don’t forget that their take on Beauty and the Beast went to Scottish actor Robert Carlyle and the Australian Emilie de Ravin. Interesting trend, though, thanks for commenting on it!
Hmmm what’s your point ? It sounds like a hidden (and demagogic) patriotic / xenophobic message.
If they can play the character – and the accent – better than another american, I don’t see the problem.
So foreigners can do American accents better than Americans? lol!
The lack of ability of foreign actors to do American accents is continually jarring to my poor ears. Sam O’Neill on Alcatraz is shockingly bad (I would have thought he’d have plenty of practice by now) and the prison warden’s accent is unplacable – Irish? Cuban? Alabaman? wtf? Or, you get actors who mutter in order to disguise their accent (Jason Issacs on Awake being the most recent offender) and you can’t undersand the dialogue!
She’s stating the facts. Duh. Get the chip off your shoulder – the internet is rife with people with chips on their shoulders who are angry. Frankly, American actors are every bit as good as European/foreign actors. But because casting and networks and producers find Europeans different, they stupidly think they are better. Too – white actors are being pushed to the side. Not that ethnic actors are less talented, they’re not, but white actors ARE being discriminated against. That is a fact.
But at least they’re all white! Caucasian actors really have it tough in Hollywood. Keep em workin!
Kristin is Dutch/Chinese… and a woman too! They should be casting only white American males in these parts. I am totally offended. If it was good enough for Shakespeare why isn’t it good enough for us?
s
It is not the illegal Mexicans who are taking the well-paying jobs in the US. I have noticed this trend of hiring non-American Caucasians for many prosperous jobs here.
How are these people getting work visas in these difficult times? Americans cannot go overseas and work in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc. My niece had to leave France because she could not work there legally.
These are the jobs people should be worrying about and not the minimum wage jobs going to laborers.
“It’s wrong for Mexicans to become movie stars! Let them mow your lawns but do not let them become rich or famous.
And for all those Australians, Canadians, Brits and Frenchies… you may look like us– but clearly, you are almost as bas as those Mexicans.”
(– sarcasm alert for the weak of mind–)
Lady– you are on crack.
s
New Zealand? The current government has amended the law so that anyone can come and work for up to 14 days at a time without any work permit, irrespective of any sector’s opinion. Check the cast lists for the films and tv series here.
Great!
Now I can do the 14 hour flight there, take the 12 days left to find work, and that leaves me a day to fly back another 14 hours. Not to mention the airfare being astronomical.
You sure put us in our place. Silly Los Angelenos.
Here it’s so easy and no one in L.A. has thought, “New Zealand! I’ve got 14 days!”
“SECTOR”?? …what the HELL is a “SECTOR” – sounds like Russia’s invaded New Zealand.
That is precisely why we get them. You see it as a high paying job, concentrating on the money and fame portion. British and Australian actors make next to nothing, so the ones that are working have a great love and passion as well as understanding of the craft. Also there is a training process instead of coming looking to chase a dream and feel entitled to get it because you want it.
Kristin Kreuk. Damn, she’s fine. Watched like three seasons of SMALLVILLE just to ogle her. Off to daydream.
I noticed something in my BFA program in the 90s, that I felt was confirmed in the last 17 years in TV, that the young American male with the physical presence to be a leading man in the vein of brando, of liotta, of caan… Men with physical size and bearing… Are not going into the arts. Look at your local theater schools and find me young men who can act that are over 6 foot tall and can command a scene?
Try to cast Spartacus with and American actor and it would be impossible. We’re not enticing these kinds of leading men into acting anymore and when theater schools are populated by scrawny boys you have to go around the world for your leading men.
Maybe we can clone Timothy Olyphant?
We should do that anyway.
I thought Kristin Kreuk was American.
Television actors don’t have to be talented. This is agencies and politics.
The only thing I will say is that foreign actors are more ambitious and motivated than a lot of American actors, probably because they have to be.
The thing to be concerned with here is visas and green cards. We need to stop worrying about the Mexicans, this used to be their country for god sakes. I’ve lived in LA for 4 years and I have come across countless amount of foreigners who have obtained their green card through false marriages. Hell, I’ve been offered $10,000 a couple times to marry a foreigner…
Or, perhaps, look at the untried talent pool from our country’s theatre community. There are scores and scores of talented actors, young and old, that would infuse new life and depth into the television world.
Why don’t we take a chance on people who are extremely talented and may not have done an arch on Gossip Girl or something?
Yeah – have you tried talking to a casting director about someone with “theater” experience, even out of New York or London? I see collective eyes glazing. So someone with some theater experience, in front of live auds, simply is unable to work on a sitcom – with live auds. What???
I agree with you completely. Most of the guest stars and day players in television these days are a product of politics,agency and casting director favors and/or relationships. Rarely is talent the most signicant factor involved in the decision to cast.
Who cares? These two shows will be canceled. Although there are more British actors on US TV most of them don’t even get to star in good shows.
Not sure about the Australians, but one reason I love TV shows that cast British actors is that most actually learn how to act. In real drama schools. They ENUNCIATE. There are way too many Americans cast because they’re young, cute, skinny, models, etc. and they mumble! They talk under their breath, they talk too fast, and only with a few back-button reviews can you figure out what they’re saying. So Bravo, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts!
didn’t Brando mumble?? And he didn’t give shit, thats the difference here, imho. Story and character is whats missing in TV for the most part. There are a few good shows that surprise us though.
Then why does Brit Jason Isaacs mumble so badly I can’t understand the dialogue? Answer: he’s trying to disguise his accent. I’ve seen (heard) this happen more than once.
If you’re going to cast a foreigner in an American role, make sure they can pull off the accent!
Jason Isaacs almost always mumbles when he’s playing hard. He mumbled his way through BBC1′s Civvies when he was playing an ex-paratrooper. It’s not to disguise his accent.
Do black people still work in Hollywood? Or do they have to be openly gay to get a job?
Neither. You have to be Blue, Yellow, Green Purple or Orange to get a job. Still disgruntled, we presume? Simply, you need talent.
Maybe YOU need talent. I have talent, I’m white and working.
Sooooooo, what’s MaryK’s point here, readers? This person brought up color, sexual orientation, jobs in Hollywood and says is talented, white & working as a rebuttal? Jeesh. “Simply, you need talent” I presumed – as others have, I’m sure, was the plural, ‘you’, meaning everyone who thinks that way.
Good point – we need more articles about the lack of non-white actors in TV.
I usually don’t go in for the PC shit, but the casting every year is just too white. Where are all the Hispanic actors? LA is 50% Hispanic, unbelievable!
But honestly, you could also do an article about all the American actors being cast in pilots this year. (I particularly like all the highly talented veteran actors getting roles – Kevin Bacon, Terry O’Quinn, Titus Welliver, F. Murray Abraham, Martin Landau, Giancarlo Esposito – when I see names like that, I’m immediately interested in the series.)
No one has yet commented on the salaries of Brit actors? Any one of them will tell you that American productions hire them because they work cheap. Even though they do, as compared with American standards, they make more money here than they do in Britain. Hence, the exodus.
For example, Hugh Laurie may make a mint since House became successful, but his beginning salary was comparitvely low.
It’s time for CDs to take responsibility for this influx of Non-USA talent; also producers & directors. It’s NOT that they are more talented, it’s just shear laziness. Enough excuses. Take the time to ‘meet’ more home-grown actors from the huge pool of the talented and you will discover what’s always been in your backyard… GREAT PICKINGS. Oh… that’s too hard, meaning “I have to earn my money?” Folks, Try It, you’ll be amazed at what great talent you’ll find.
Why is anyone surprised by this? Network television is full of Aussies and Brits playing Americans in lead roles and has been for years.
Americans don’t know when actors are Canadians or don’t care when they do learn. It’s the stream of Australian actors that’s the problem
There isn’t even 30 million people in Australia. they’ve gotta be doing something better than us with their actors when they are young to be snagging all these jobs.
Yup – 22 Million people. It comes down to training and determination.
AMERICAN TV Shows are watched and followed all around the world by dozens of millions of fans (including me). And it brings tons of money for the studios/networks. So why not have an international cast?
This article reeks with xenophobia. What will be next? Too many foreign-born taxi drivers? Too many mexican maids?
Why have an international cast when an American one will do just fine.
Give me a break. None of this has anything to do with talent. Americans have always felt like the bastard step child next to the Brits, Aussies etc. The whole non-sensical logic has to do with the origins of the Theatah! There have been plenty of Brits et al who’ve had to pack up and ship out back to the motherland because they sucked! This has everything to do with brainless Network exec trust fund babies who are enamored with all things Brit and their derivatives. Btw I agree with the posters comments about leading men. What has been shoved down our throats are twinks
Leading boys who shaved for the first time last year. Look at the shameless mag covers for women today. Those girls are children made up to look like little Lolitas. It’s disgusting. America is great at inventing things then whole sailing it all out to the highest bidder. There are plenty of great American actors young and old watching their prospects go in the toilet because a room full of frat boys and sorority girls think the accent is “sexy” whether they use it on tv or not. Sheeeeese. Another crop of crap coming out this year.
Cynicalcritic & others-
You don’t know much about acting if you think American actors (TV or film) stink. Bad actors are everywhere but Hollywood suits have it in their minds that foreign actors are better (TV or film). Maybe its the accents, of course, then they ask them to be American. You must be a suit cause they don’t know or “often” care much about talent either. Wake up – much of the time actors aren’t cast because of talent anyway and that’s the real problem.
The Irish are still getting over the travesty of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s accents in Far and Away. And Julia Roberts excruciating brogue in Michael Collins. So I think we are due some of our actors on US screens doing good accents and good acting.
I’d say that goes for other countries too. Creative industries should be as culturally integrated as possible. It makes for interesting storytellers.
Hollywood has a boner for Brits and Auzzies.I heard an APA agent say once in a open panel….”Its just a fact that they are better actors.” And yes the US Casting Directors are lazy, they type cast and they rarely have any imagination and creativity anymore.
Australian hunk Jay Ryan (Vincent)
Jay is actually a New Zealander not an Australian.
Same difference
I hate to be fussy..but when the farm teams (Soaps)are all gone you will probably see this same pattern continue. A lot of the foreign actors are taking college/university performaing arts degrees before they launch their quest for work in the US.
Quite a few US actors have had their careers launched on their very attractive looks from when they were 17, and then they quit school, and more formal training in order to “learn while they earn”.
A lot of the foreign talent is better prepared for a career, rather than a hot role.