Is it OK to cast a black actor as Peter Parker? That is the question that’s been raised after comedian and Community star Donald Glover started a Twitter flurry by announcing his desire to audition for the lead role in Spider-Man 4. In the aftermath, more questions than just “can he act?” have been percolating through the online fanboy community.
Glover seems to be a decent actor, and while I don’t see any particular reason that he would make a good Peter Parker, I could have said the same thing about Heath Ledger before The Dark Knight, or even Toby Maguire before the original Spider-Man. At the time, both seemed like odd choices that garnered the expected geeks outrage, but both turned out surprisingly well. As such, it seems obvious that Glover should at least get a chance to prove his acting chops for the casting director.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2010.
