Opinion
Tom Hardy shows the folly of casting only Jews as Jews
Only he could have played Alfie Solomons properly
January 12, 2022 10:10
1 min read
Only he could have played Alfie Solomons properly
January 12, 2022 10:10I'm not sure there is much left to say about the so-called 'Jewface' (ugh) dilemma, which reared its head again last week prompted by Maureen Lipman's comments to the JC about Helen Mirren playing Golda Meir. But I'll try...
I've finally got round to watching Peaky Blinders, the BBC's 1920s gangster saga. If you can stomach the violence (I can't, but it's always so well telegraphed that you can speed through it on Netflix) it's gripping. It's mainly notable for its characters, all in their own way larger than life and just this side of caricature.
But among a cavalcade of such performances (what is the collective noun for a group of spellbinding performances?) one stands out: Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons, a Jewish mobster.
His being Jewish is pivotal to the role – it is front and centre of the character.
Hardy, of course, is about as Jewish as bacon. But every element of his performance is perfect, every nuance spot on. And as anyone who has seen him in other roles will know, no one does else menace like Tom Hardy. You simply can't take your eyes off Alfie Solomons when he is on screen. He broods with explosive menace.
But here's the kicker. The broader argument over the Golda Meir role hasn't been that Helen Mirren shouldn't play her, but that there are any number of wonderful Jewish actresses who could and might have been offered the chance.
But Alfie Solomons? I defy you to find any other actor, let alone a Jewish actor, who could bring even a fraction of what Tom Hardy does to the role. So here we have an explicitly and crucially Jewish role which needs to be played by a non-Jewish actor.
And if that doesn’t destroy the idea that we should always try casting along racial, religious, national or whatever grounds, I don’t know that will.