Actor Dylan Postl said roles were “taken away” from dwarf actors in response to Disney’s decision to cast just one dwarf to play in its upcoming live-action remake of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Postl, a 37-year-old actor, podcaster, and former WWE Champion, appeared on “Uncensored with Piers Morgan” to debate the exclusion of dwarfs from the upcoming Disney film. A dwarf himself, Postl said the roles were “taken away because ‘progression’,” before exclaiming, “It’s not right!”
The controversy comes from fellow dwarf and actor Peter Dinklage, known widely for his role as Tyrion Lannister in “Game of Thrones,” lambasting Disney in 2022 for making the movie. While Dinklage praised the character of Snow White being cast as a Latina woman, he took broader issue with the idea of the dwarf characters in general:
“Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together? What the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
Postl wildly disagreed with Dinklage’s sentiment, citing that the “Game of Thrones” star was happy to play dwarf roles in movies like “Elf” but now doesn’t want them cast.
“Peter Dinklage spoke up about this, and that was my issue,” Postl told Morgan. “He had in the past no issue cashing checks that were made for dwarf roles like ‘Elf’ and all of that. Yes he blew away the barriers when he did his his roles that weren’t necessarily made for a dwarf but the ‘Elf’ role was made for a dwarf, that check cleared just fine.”
“It just doesn’t sit right with me,” Postl added. “What gave him the voice for all of our community?” he then asked.
“Roles in Hollywood in general are very hard for people of my community to get besides the elf, and the leprechaun, and this and that. So why are they being taken from my community? That’s my issue here,” the former WWE Cruiserweight champion explained.
In an op-ed for the Daily Mail, the actor spoke positively of the seven dwarf roles and said that the “timeless cartoon teaches children that height doesn’t matter so much. Everybody is different — that’s the message, and the true meaning of diversity. We’re all trying to build a more progressive culture. Showing off on his soapbox, Dinklage has done damage to that.”
During the interview, Morgan also pointed out that actor Hugh Grant is playing a role specifically meant for a dwarf in the remake of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” Grant plays an Oompa Loompa, for which there were at least 10 credited dwarf actors in the 1971 version of the film.
In the 2005 remake, one dwarf was used to portray 165 characters.
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