Jackass star Jason Acuña, who is better known as Wee Man, is speaking out against Hugh Grant's casting in Wonka. Hugh Grant will be playing an Oompa Loompa, one of the many workers at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The portrayal has drawn widespread criticism, as previous Oompa Loompa actors in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were people with dwarfism.

Acuña, who came to prominence as a stunt performer in Jackass, has dwarfism and is speaking out against Wonka casting Grant. In an interview with TMZ, Acuña mocked the role and critiqued the now-debunked Snow White on-set photos, which appeared to show the Disney remake elected not to cast people with dwarfism as the seven dwarves. Though Acuña's points about Snow White and the Seven Dwarves may no longer be accurate, as Disney clarified that the actors were just stand-ins for the real ones, his critique of Grant stands out. Check out his quote below:

It’s funny you should ask this, because a buddy of mine, we were talking about this the other day, and it’s perfect timing for this because of all the AI [issues] that SAG and the Writer’s Guild are going through. It’s a bad thing. I’m not agreeing with it. One, because what they’re doing is pretty much replacing jobs that people could have as little people. ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’, it’s for dwarves, you know? What we were discussing, too, the other day was the Wonka movie and Hugh Grant is now playing an Oompa Loompa, so I guess Hugh Grant, you’re now identifying as a little person. Interesting, wow… It totally does [typecast little people]. It’s not effecting me personally. That’s why I didn’t speak out about it. I’m surprised TMZ is coming to me about this. It’s awesome, though, I love TMZ. But I do think this is ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’. Why are you hiring Snow White and the seven average people? You know? So, if that’s what they want to do, I guess they’re going to have a lot of people angry at them… If they want to make it right, they redo the movie, and they recast, and they get Snow White and the seven dwarves. Sometimes they have to lose. They lost it then, and now they got to come back better. Make it better, Disney.

Where Wonka Went Wrong

Acuña rightfully called out Wonka for failing to cast people with dwarfism in a role that has been reserved for them since 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Younger actors who have not had their Hollywood break may never be able to rise to prominence if actors without dwarfism take roles like these. Hugh Grant is already an established actor who hardly needs to play an Oompa Loompa to earn a place in Hollywood, yet by casting him, Wonka is signaling to audiences that it hardly cares about offering decent and accurate representation.

There is a legitimate concern that certain roles, including the Oompa Loompas in Wonka, are a form of typecasting that can harmfully impact people with dwarfism. No actor should be forced to retain a certain type of role simply because they were born with dwarfism, as they should be as entitled as any other Hollywood actor to take up other roles as well, and restricting them is just as discriminatory as excluding them entirely.

That said, it is important to acknowledge that having the chance to play an Oompa Loompa is one that only rarely comes. People with dwarfism can use these roles to break into Hollywood and branch out afterward. Additionally, Acuña is far from the only person with dwarfism to speak out against Grant, as Willow star George Coppen also critiqued the casting. Just as the WGA is fighting to ensure that young writers will be able to break into the industry, Acuña and Coppen are concerned about the future of people with dwarfism when Wonka refuses to offer opportunities to them.

Source: TMZ