Diverse representation in media and Hollywood is a pretty new thing. And while there’s still a long way to go, every positive shift is a big win! Especially since these new conversations around casting people who don’t just look like a straight white man or woman is resonating so strongly with the masses and bringing communities together.
But even as fans celebrate this diversity – whether through Black Panther‘s “Wakanda forever” or Everything Everywhere All at Once and its Oscar victory – one can’t help but remember the actors from ‘back in the days’ who brought diversity to the screen before ‘it was a thing.’ Like Brenda Song from Disney Channel‘s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Brenda Song Says Disney Was “Ahead Of The Curve” With Their Casting Choices
For eight years, between 2005 and 2011, Brenda Song entertained kids and teenagers as London Tipton in Disney Channel‘s hit series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spin-off The Suite Life on Deck.
But she had originally auditioned to play Maddie, the candy counter girl. It fit with her modest upbringing as the daughter of low-income immigrant parents. But Disney made her switch roles with Ashley Tisdale who had originally auditioned for London Tipton. They didn’t want to parody Paris Hilton anymore and wanted to create their own comic-relief character.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Brenda Song said that Disney was “ahead of the curve” with respect to its casting decisions, decades before the societal shift towards diversity happened.
“I don’t think people realize how ahead of the curve Disney Channel was,” Song said. “They were colorblind casting way before anybody else. They were giving me TV movies since I was 15 that people would never even think about. They were just telling stories and wanting kids to be able to see themselves on TV at a young age.”
Disney had even cast…
Read the full article here