Far Out
American actress Emma Stone has worked towards the apex of the film industry over a nearly two-decades-long career, establishing herself as a household name. Her performances have brought her critical as well as commercial success, and with it, she has earned multiple accolades to her name, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Another accolade that few will mention is that Stone was the world’s highest-paid actress in 2017 and was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world that year. It’s no small feat and deserves as much recognition as the golden statues. A lifetime of work has gone into achieving such a sentiment.
Stone has been acting since she was four years old and made her debut at the age of 11 in a stage production of The Wind in the Willows, playing the part of Otter. Initially, the actor wanted a career in sketch comedy, but she shifted her focus to musical theatre and took voice lessons for several years. Her feature film debut came in 2007 with Superbad, co-starring Michael Cera and Jonah Hill.
In an interview, Stone said, “I think I connected with being able to bring to life what I wanted to more with acting. Performing helped me as a kid to channel my energy somewhere else, to put it out instead of turning it inward. Acting is therapy, especially as a kid; it was nice to have an outlet like that when I was really struggling with panic attacks. Being on stage early on made me less afraid to try things that are challenging and scary.”
But the actress hasn’t always achieved the desired outcome with her role choices, noting one particular character as the worst of her career. Not because she played the role particularly badly, but that she should never have taken it on in the first place. A few years before her breakout year in 2017, Stone starred as Allison Ng in Aloha.
The movie focused on Ng as the central character of Chinese and Hawaiian descent, which immediately sheds light on why Stone was a less than desirable choice to play the role. Stone is not of Asian heritage, and to choose her to play the role was met with widespread anger and disdain. “I’ve become the butt of many jokes,” the actor told news.com.au. “I’ve learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It’s ignited a conversation that’s very important.”
For some years, Stone became the focal point of Asian whitewashing when discussed in the realm of Hollywood. Even when 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, which did have a fully authentic cast, hit the headlines in 2018, Stone was once again the butt of the jokes. Nominated for two Golden Globes when the event’s host Sandra Oh made a joke about Aloha, Stone openly shouted “I’m sorry” to the audience at the venue and watching at home.
While there can be no doubt that Stone was not the right choice to play Ng, her actions as an actor and a human after the event has endeared her to her fans. She fully owned the situation and has never shied away from the conversation, often encouraging people to use it as a reason to cast authentically.
