When actor Steve Toussaint was cast in “House of the Dragon,” in which he played Corliss Valerian, he faced racist attacks online. eonline.com said that his casting marks the first major role for an actor of color in the “Games of Thrones” universe.
“When I got the gig, I was literally like, ‘It’s just another role because I have black friends who had small parts or recurring parts in[Throne]’,” Toussaint told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I didn’t know it was a big deal until I was racially abused on social media when it was announced. Yes, it did.”
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Toissant said that people created art for the sole purpose of making fun of his appearance and, in at least one instance, it was called the N-word. The actor, who has appeared in shows like “Doctor Who” and “Skins”, said he was approached by a “Game of Thrones” fan who was subjected to similar hate speech.
“There was also a Black American chap who was a huge fan of the show, who approached me saying that he got abused because he championed me for the role,” revealed Toussaint.
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“There’s discussions going on like this on a platform like Reddit, which I’m not on. I was like, ‘Oh wow,’ and then I thought, ‘Well, this makes a lot of sense to some people. ,’ but I can’t allow that to bother me.”
Toussaint is far from the first actor of color to receive racist messages online after being cast in a high-profile project.
“Someone I’ve known for a long time, he had [when he was cast on a Marvel project],” said the actor. “A friend of mine who played Hermione in the stage version of Harry Potter got it. I’ve worked with ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ actor John Boyega, and he got it. If it bothers you too much, don’t look.”
Most recently, ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ actress Moses Ingram was flooded with hate messages after the show premiered on Disney+ in May.
“There’s nothing anyone can do about this,” the actress said on Instagram at the time.
“Nobody can do anything to stop this hatred. I question my purpose in even saying before you that this is happening. I really don’t know.”
Toussaint recognized how predictable such attacks were, unfortunately, trying to put it behind him.
“I think in that sense, it’s a big deal,” he said. “But we have a saying that today’s headlines are just tomorrow’s chip paper, people forget that.”