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Here's the Asian-American lead Iron Fist almost had

Ben Lee
Updated
Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

From Digital Spy

Love or hate Iron Fist, there is one issue that simply won't go away – and it's an important one. The casting of lead character Danny Rand.

Going for an Asian-American actor would have helped to avoid the problematic and offensive white saviour narrative of the comics and raised visibility of Asian-Americans. Netflix went for Finn Jones in the end.

They did actually audition Asian-Americans for the role, though. And one actor who came very close to playing Danny – and was on hold for it – was half-Chinese, half-white Lewis Tan.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

Tan may look familiar to Iron Fist streamers, because he ended up being cast in the guest role of Zhou Cheng, who faced off against Danny in episode 8.

Fans loved Tan. He was a delight, a scene-stealer, and – in a series which has been criticised for its fight sequences – brought a fresh dynamic to the action.

It's easy to imagine him, with some tweaking to the scripts, as Danny Rand.

"I knew that the character is white in the comic book, so I was concerned," Tan told Vulture, recalling the audition process. "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."

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

One counter-argument that supporters of a white Iron Fist bring up is, isn't the whole point of the character that he's meant to be an outsider?

But this doesn't really hold much weight because – as Tan explained – an Asian-American Danny Rand would also feel like and be considered an outsider in Asia, as well as in America itself.

"I personally think it would have been a really interesting dynamic to see this Asian-American guy who's not in touch with his Asian roots go and get in touch with them and discover this power," he said. "I think that's super interesting, and we've never seen that.

"We've seen this narrative [in Iron Fist] already. We've seen it many times. So I thought it would be cool and that it would add some more colour to The Defenders. And obviously I can do my own fight sequences, so those would be more dynamic.

"I think it would be really interesting to have that feeling of an outsider. There's no more of an outsider than an Asian-American. We feel like outsiders in Asia, and we feel like outsiders at home."

It's true. What Tan is saying is completely true.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

Netflix didn't go for an Asian-American Danny Rand in the end, and Tan called it a "missed opportunity" – although he doesn't blame Marvel or Netflix for making that decision.

"It would've been a brave thing to do, for sure, for Marvel," he said. "I can see how that was difficult to make that decision. I think, personally, it would've paid off.

"But I think it'll come next, because people are feeling under-represented. People are like, 'Yo, this was a perfect opportunity to represent us'. They chose not to, and it's not even their fault.

"I see why they stuck to the source material, because it's very risky to move away from that, but they'll move away from it in other areas and in other shows where they'll take an Asian character and make him white.

"So you can't really win with that argument. Because we've seen many times when they've taken Asian characters and made him white."

Iron Fist is available to stream on Netflix.

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