Regé-Jean Page lost role in SyFy’s ‘Krypton’ due to skin color
The actor reportedly was declined the opportunity to play Superman's grandfather after comments by Cochairman of DC Films Geoff Johns.
Actor Regé-Jean Page auditioned for a role in SyFy’s Krypton and was not selected for the part and talent was reportedly not a factor.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed Tuesday the Bridgerton break-out star was turned down for the role due to race. The outlet reported Cochairman of DC Films Geoff Johns made the decision. Sources informed THR the show’s creators were passionate to commit to non-traditional casting.
However, Johns said Superman could not have a Black grandfather, the character coveted by Page. He also declined to make one superhero character, Adam Strange, gay or bisexual.
“Geoff celebrates and supports LGTBQ characters, including Batwoman, who in 2006 was re-introduced as LGBTQ in a comic-book series co-written by Johns,” said Johns’ rep in an email to THR. The outlet reported the rep said Johns believed fans expected the character to look like a young Henry Cavill, the white actor who plays Superman.
Nadria Tucker, a writer on Krypton, has previously spoken out against Johns. In February, she tweeted “I haven’t spoken to Geoff Johns since the day on Krypton when he tried to tell me what is and is not a Black thing.”
During a March interview with The Root, Tucker further discussed her tweet.
“So we had a Black actress, Georgina Campbell, she’s fantastic,” Tucker said to The Root.
“We were discussing her hair and we had a problem that her hair was different in different scenes, in the same episode, not different like continuity-different, but [in this instance] she had it up [at one point] then, she had it down. Specifically, she had the back of her head shaved in, like, a chevron pattern, and [Geoff] wasn’t happy when her hair was up and you could see that. So, I kept trying to argue that people change their hair, people have their hair up or down, specifically, Black women change their hair a lot. [In regard to] her hairstyle, showing that is, like, a Black thing. And he just flat out was like, ‘No, it’s not.’”
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After THR reported on Page’s missed opportunity, Tucker elaborated on her experience through Twitter.
Ray Fisher opened up to THR about the conduct on the set of Justice League. On Twitter in June 2020, he shared his experience with Joss Whedon who replaced director Zack Snyder.
“Joss [Whedon’s] on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg,” he tweeted. “Accountability>Entertainment.”
A spokesperson for Johns shared with THR his disdain for the comments accusing him of discrimanotry and innaprorpirate behavior.
“What were standard continuity notes for a scene are being spun in a way that are not only personally offensive to Geoff but to the people that know who he is, know the work he’s done and know the life he lives, as Geoff has personally seen firsthand the painful effects of racial stereotypes concerning hair and other cultural stereotypes, having been married to a Black woman who he was with for a decade and with his second wife, who is Asian American, as well as his son who is mixed race.”
As for Page, he has gone on to launch his career without the boost from the DC Universe. The actor won Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards for his role in Bridgerton. He recently announced his departure from the series. According to theGrio, the actor revealed on social media his character– Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings–will not appear in the upcoming second season.
“Pleasure and a privilege! An honour to be a member of the family – on and off screen, cast, crew and incredible fans – the love is real and will just keep growing,” he wrote.
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