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Ryan Reynolds not physically right for his part, Part 1


I have no problem with Irish-Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds' acting skills, but the fact is that he's not the least bit Jewish-looking, whereas the real-life E. Randol Schoenberg is.

I realize that the "politically correct" position is that there are no visible physiognomical differences between Jews and Gentiles, but realistically we know that that's almost never the case. The differences can be subtle, but they're there. And I think that the physical particularities of different subracial and racial groups deserve to be respected, even celebrated, as a legitimate part of their heritage. That's why it was never a good idea for white actors in blackface (which is virtually never truly authentic-looking) to play black roles. It's why it was never a good idea for white actors in yellowface (which is virtually never truly authentic-looking) to play Asian roles. It's why it's not a good idea for dark-haired actors with dyed-blond hair (but keeping their dark eyebrows) to pretend to be genuine blonds. And it's why it's not a good idea for Ryan Reynolds to play E. Randol Schoenberg.

Helen Mirren (original name Mironoff), on the other hand, is close enough to Jewish-looking that I see her as a plausible choice for the part of Maria Altmann, even though she doesn't actually look much like the real-life person. Furthermore, there's even a slight, though so far totally unsubstantiated, possibility that Mirren is in fact part Jewish.

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I think just hte opposite. His acting skills weren't up to the part. I'm baffled how this guy has gotten acting roles in any film because he's so clearly inferior.

As for looking Jewish, not sure you've seen a lot of Jews. There are Jews who look very different from each other, including those who look like Reynolds. Many Jews have blue or green eyes, for example. Not all Jews have large noses...in fact, a lot do not.

FAMOUS JEWISH ACTORS who don't fit the sterotypical appearance of a cartoon Jewish person:
Scarlet Johannson
Natalie Portmann
Mila Kunis
Jake Gyllenhaal
Gwyneth Paltrow
Joaquin Phoenix
Jennifer Connally
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
Harrison Ford
Goldie Hawn
Winona Ryder
Paul Rudd
Tony Curtis
Amanda Bynes
Lauren Bacall
Kate Hudson
William Shatner
Lisa Kudrow
Amanda Peet
Kirk Douglas
Dinah Shore
Paul Newman
Liz Taylor
Robert Downey Jr.
Maggie Gyllenhaal
James Franco
Rachel Weisz
Alicia Silverstone
River Phoenix

And on and on.

A bit of history for you: One reason the Nazis considered the Jews so dangerous, and may have played a part in requiring hte Jews to wear emblems denoting that, was because you couldn't tell a Jewish person by appearance always. They could look just like anyone else.

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[deleted]

you are entitled to your opinion but he was good in the role. The movie is doing better than expected and is being recommend as a great adult alternative to all the movies playing now. just face it he is good at what he does and he seems to relish in the all of variations of his choices good, bad or indifferent. he always said how grateful he is to be able to be so diverse in his choices from small to big budgets he is comfortable.



Behind the scenes

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Some of those that you listed were only part Jew or married to a Jew. I've read that Harrison Ford is 25% Jew. Elizabeth Taylor converted to Judaism when she married Eddie Fisher. Not sure if she remained Jew after that.

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seriously, why do people keep beating this 'looking jewish' drum? there are plenty of people who fit the stereotypical vision of 'what jews are supposed to be' and yet they aren't jewish and vice versa. the nazis capitalised on this particular idea because you can't really tell who is and who isn't. for a long period of time in britain and europe, a defining trait of a jew was considered to have red hair. that's something that nobody seems to know, despite the well known characters of shylock and fagin that defined these 'jewish traits' that people have been persecuting jews over for hundreds of years (money related even though by law, jews had to be money lenders etc). black and white are more clearly defined than jewish, considering that jews come from all corners of the earth. i'm iraqi jewish and i look indian, not one person thinks i'm jewish upon meeting me. plenty of jews are blue eyed with red hair for example. and noses are such a ridiculous way of trying to prove someone's jewishness

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[deleted]

I realize that the "politically correct" position is that there are no visible physiognomical differences between Jews and Gentiles …


The "politically correct" position would have been to do as you say, hire only a jewish actor for the role.

Btw, I don't know how to break this to you but there is tremendously diversity in "jewish" looks as there are in "gentile" looks resulting in many having similar looks.

To compare "blackface" to any of this is stunningly off the mark and not even comparable.

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I agree that Reynolds is not right for this part but for different reasons. He's just way too small (metaphorically speaking) an actor, and skillfully too weak to make Woman in Gold the excellent film it could have been. This is a critical flaw, oversight, major downfall, and almost disastrous. Production and movie makers should have had the foresight to consider the choice of Reynolds a show stopper.


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"There's a lot of RAGE inside me about it". ~ Austin Matelson

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A very high percentage of Jews in the U.S. have intermarriaged or have had partners that converted, so it's pretty common to see Jews that don't look "so Jewish". from the film we don't know if both of his parents was also Jewish.

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