A lot of controversy sprung when Marvel announced that the Netflix Iron Fist series was casting Game of Thrones alum Finn Jones as the series' mystical martial arts practitioner, Danny Rand. Some fans felt that the role should have been given to someone with Asian heritage, not to a white actor like Jones.
Though Rand has always been presented as a blond white martial artist in Marvel comics, the comic book series has long been criticized for white washing the part and many fans were hoping that Marvel would change things in the Netflix Iron Fist live-action series.
However, while it seems like Jones is now the face of Iron Fist for Marvel's Netflix universe, the series' showrunners did consider one Asian-American actor for the role.
Speaking in an interview with Vulture, Lewis Tan, an Asian-American actor of Chinese and American descent revealed that he had actually tried out for the part. Though Lewis now plays the role of Zhou Cheng in the series, a villain whom we see in the later part of Iron Fist, for some period of time, the actor had been so close to becoming Danny Rand.
"Well, I knew about Iron Fist before anyone was talking about it in the public. I heard it going around inside the industry, and I was like, "Wow, if I get a chance to audition for the lead, this could potentially be a great vehicle for me." I had a lot to offer here, but I knew that the character is white in the comic book, so I was concerned," Tan said. " But I thought at least I had a shot — I'm half white and I do martial arts and I could easily play that role. So I was excited. And then I read for Danny and they liked me a lot. I read again and again and again, and it was a long process, and it got to the point where they were talking about my availability and my dates. That's always a good sign, you know? And then they went with Finn and they had me read for a villain part maybe two weeks later. I was in Spain, and I read for the part and I got it."
"I think they were highly considering it at one point in time, but it would have definitely changed the dynamic of the show. It would have been a different show."
While Jones does play a likeable Iron Fist, Tan is right when he says that they dynamic of the series would have changed had Marvel cast him for the role. His roots and ethnicity would have added color to The Defenders and would have given Iron Fist a different flavor.
Iron Fist is now available for streaming worldwide on Netflix.
Read: Iron Fist Villain Hints at Season 2 Amid More Controversy
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