‘Shadowhunters’ Adds Matthew Daddario as Alec, Isaiah Mustafa as Luke
With principal photography set to begin in less than three weeks, Shadowhunters is continuing to unveil its cast. And today we get another two-fer.
ABC Family has announced the castings of Alec Lightwood and Luke Garroway in their television adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s bestselling The Mortal Instruments.
Matthew Daddario has been cast as Alec Lightwood and Isaiah Mustafa has been cast as Luke Garroway.
Daddario and Mustafa join Kat McNamara (Clary), Dominic Sherwood (Jace), Alberto Rosende (Simon) and Emeraude Toubia (Isabelle). Shadowhunters begins filming on May 25 in Toronto and will premiere in early 2016 on ABC Family. Here’s the press release;
ABC FAMILY HAS ADDED MATTHEW DADDARIO ANDISAIAH MUSTAFA
TO THE SAGA SERIES “SHADOWHUNTERS”
Daddario and Mustafa Joins Previously Announced Katherine McNamara as ‘Clary Fray,’
Dominic Sherwood as ‘Jace Wayland,’ Alberto Rosende as ‘Simon’
and Emeraude Toubia as ‘Isabelle Lightwood’
Burbank, CA (May 8, 2015) – ABC Family continues to add to the “Shadowhunters” crew with the casting of Matthew Daddario (“Delivery Man”) as ‘Alec Lightwood’ and Isaiah Mustafa (“Horrible Bosses”) as ‘Luke Garroway.’ It was announced today by the network.
Based on the bestselling young adult fantasy book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, “Shadowhunters” follows 18–year-old Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters – human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. When her mother Jocelyn is kidnapped, Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting with mysterious Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend, Simon. Now living among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves, Clary begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns more about her past and what her future may hold.
Alec Lightwood joins Jace and his sister, Isabelle, in their pursuit of demonic creatures. He’s tortured by his romantic love for Jace, who is his adoptive brother and fighting partner. The eldest of the group, his strict moral code forces him to follow the law to the letter.
Luke Garroway is an NYPD detective investigating a string of “demonic” murders. Luke feels a fatherly instinct to protect Clary, astrong affection for Jocelyn and has secrets of his own. Once a strong and powerful Shadowhunter, he has since become the thing he once hated most – a werewolf pack leader.
“Shadowhunters” is produced by Constantin Film and executive produced by Ed Decter and McG. McG will also direct the first episode. The network has previously announced Katherine McNamara as ‘Clary Fray,’ Dominic Sherwood for the role of ‘Jace Wayland,’ Alberto Rosende as ‘Simon’ and Emeraude Toubia as ‘Isabelle Lightwood.’
What do you think about the castings? Please keep your comments respectful.
TMI Source 
I don’t mean to sound racist but I never imagined a black Luke but I think it suits him better.
I don’t want to sound Racist either but I think that this will not be good for the show… I am really disappointed that they cast an African American man to play Luke. He is supposed to be White and that’s the way I will always imagine him.
If I’m being completely honest, I never envisioned Luke to be black, but I’m kind of liking it.
Perfect! So handsome, both of them! This series is showing a lot of promise.
I love that they cast Luke as black! I never imagined him that way, but I think that it will just bring more to his character and the diversity of the show. 🙂 so happy so far with all the castings.
He doesn’t have blue eyes..
He can wear coloured contact lenses.
Ohh I really hope he will. I´m not usually one to insist on such things, but Alec is just that guy with black hair and blue eyes. I mean it´s Magnus´ favourite combination… and mine too 😀
Well…I hope he won’t. IMO wearing contact lenses in a different color is terrible for the acting…
yeah, they should make him wear contacts. if not well, another deviation from the book it is. i like alec from the movie because of his acting and those baby blues (tho ya, he’s not that tall) .
Contacts?
now i want to see who Jocelyn is going to be
LOVE THEM! They both just give off this aura or something which matches their characters, which is the same for everyone actually! Perfect.
But Alec doesn’t even look like Izzy!!! I hope someone explains…
I can’t explain but I understand your point.
Cassandra Clare mentioned on her tumblr page that the Lightwoods are going to be a mixed race family.
Get over the race. Pretend izzy is white if that’s what you want. Or pretend their both Italians that works too.
That’s really fucking racist Esme. And no one said anything about race anyway. You were the first one to bring it up.
Read some of the comments above k and it was brought up. Is not racist dude if someone thinks a character is not good because of race then pretend it another one if it makes them feel better and get over it. There chosen and that’s that. I think people should focus on their acting and if they will make us believe their characters instead of race.
Cassandra Clare said on twitter that the Lightwood’s will be a mixed race family
Yes he does! They can totally pass as siblings.
Hmm it will be hard not to think of the Old Spice ‘I’m on a horse’ advert as it’s the only other thing I have seen him in!!
Finally have our Alec Lightwood. I have to say I reallu like the description of him! I never envisioned Luke as black, but I definately don’t hate it. I think it brings more edge to the show. Now this brings up the point of will they keep Magnus Bane as a tall, tan, sexy Asian!
they will! Cassie said that she told them they could cast whoever is the best actor for white characters, regardless if they are white or not, but the poc in the books have to stay whatever race they are. So magnus will def be asain, maia will def be black, raphael will def be latino, etc. :))
I’m sorry but on paper that sounds like such a double standard and very racist. “The color of initially white characters don’t matter, only ethnic characters can stay as they were written”. I can understand Isabelle’s casting because Clare never ultimately specified her as being caucasian, but Luke was a freaking white guy. This is type casting where they are trying to make an already decently diverse cast (even without racebent Izzy) MORE diverse because they are trying to say “look at how diverse we are, watch us because we apeal to your culture”. This is something they have done on some other shows and they never work out well. Once again I say they are proving their lack of devotion to the source material all in the name of trying to be “hip” and “modern”. This scares me more than anything, I have no doubt that the actors will be good, but now I have doubts about the script and the production. And also, Maia is biracial, remember?
@SpikeIsBetterThanAngel: Luke’s skin color has NEVER been described in the books. Never. So technically, he could be black, asian, latino or ANY other race/ethnicity. But there’s this thing we do where we imagine that all characters are white unless “proven” otherwise. I’m not saying that people who imagined Luke as white are “bad bad horrible people boooo” because this is something ingrained in our brains. But we all need to unlearn this habit. America has a large population of black people. Luke can be black too. Notice how they cast Alec as white? Because he was canonically Caucasian(Alec’s skin was described by Clary as very pale and white) but the rest of the characters are up for grabs. This is not an act of “reverse racism”. Honestly, with a white Clary, Jocelyn, Jace, Alec, Valentine, Sebastian (all front center characters) you’re complaining that we have one black Luke? O.o
ThisIsNatashaRomanoff he was described with blue eyes you bobo. If Izzy is hispanic Alec can’t be white unless they are from Spain or Argentina. And no, I am complaining about what is very much reverse racism. I find it offensive to MY culture that we are like game pieces or cards. No one actually cares if we are cast and those who do think “oh yay this is diversity.” You do realize that in the world, whites are actually the minority, right?
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I just want Alec to wear contacts! When doing fanart, his eyes are the most fun to color because they contrast so dramatically with his coloration…
Sorry but that man for Alec?
I actually like it tbh. My first thought was ew no he looks wrong but im actually getting used to it. I think he looks more like him than kevin zegers did tbh idk lol
im totally gonna sound racist and i apologize for it in advance…but i NEVER ever EVER pictured as Luke black. But hey…if cassandra clare likes then…whateves… he does have the fatherly friendly- yet warrior-ish aura!
That is because Luke was described as white, just like Isabelle and Alec though no one wants to admit it. Don’t be afraid of Internet jerks who shout “racist” everytime they see something they don’t like.
No racism, but honestly I don’t know about Luke being black but whatever, as long as he’s a good actor. But the bigger concern is Alec, I feel disappointed, I like Kevin Zegers way more than this guy tbh.
He’s just not the Alec that I pictured in my head…I feel a deep sense of disappointment, but once again I’ve never seen this guy so maybe his acting will make him more endearingly Alec-like. I’m apologize if I offended anyone.
I love Alec! I think he could really pass for Izzy’s brother (well, the actress’). But now I Need to know who will play Magnus. I never imagined Luke black, but…why not? I’m not very picky if it comes to Luke. But Magnus has to be asian. I won’t lie, if he’s not asian I will be unhappy.
From Cassie’s twitter, “They’re only considering Asian actors [for Magnus].”
But f*** it any white character can be played by anyone. This is worrying me guys.
The first bit of cast that I’m not horribly thrilled with, but I definitely think it could work. My main concern is when the heck did Luke become a detective??
Me too! He’s not caucasian- alright. He’s a demon hunting detective- What the heck?!
i think they both are amazing for the show, now lets all pray for the other half of Malec!!
Why on earth is Luke an NYPD detective? He is suppose to be a bookstore owner that collects a lot of antiques! Why does one of the main characters always have to be a cop in a fantasy show?
It’s funny how Alexandra Doddario was fan casted by some long ago for Izzy and now we have her brother playing Izzy’s brother! Could have had a real brother/sister pair haha.
Omg they’re both so sexy I’m loving this cast can’t wait for next year:)
Matthew Daddario seems really tall — Alec is really tall, taller than most of the other characters anyway — and the one issue I had with Kevin Zegers was it. (I know it’s not that important but I almost can’t help it.) Matthew seems great. I can’t wait to see them all in character!
I never imagined a black Luke but I’m not against it. I loved Aidan Turner (though he was kinda young) and what I value most about the character is what a great father figure he is. I hope they will show that aspect of him with Isaiah Mustafa. I’m sure he’ll be a great Luke.
But the detective part? 😦 Me not likey.
i dont think so, i googled mat’s height and it says he is only about 5’7-5’8. same height as the former alec in the movie. dominic is tall, he’s 5’11 so they still didnt get the correct height for alec. in the book he’s about 6’0 and magnus is about 6’1 or 6’2. i really hope their magnus will be this tall.
Matthew is around 6’2, so… you shouldn’t always believe Google… 😉
But I don’t think things being different from the books isn’t a bad thing. I’ve always imagined Alec being taller than Magnus, no matter what the book said. And I know a lot of fans did too. I like the Shadowhunters universe, but the books could be so much better… the show could achive that.
Such brilliant casting! I wish everyone in the fandom could be as supportive as the majority of us!
Does anyone know how old the actors for Alec and Luke are?
Luke/Isaiah is 41 years old, I don’t know Matthew’s age.
Love the cast so much already, I had a feeling for awhile they’d cast Luke black, Cassie posted on tumblr that the Lightwood will be mix-race, so they’ll probably keep Robert Lightwood white and Maryse Lightwood will be Mexican. The casting for this show reminds me of The Fosters and even Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place a lot.
Emaraude is Mexican or you are assuming because I am hispanic and am from Spain.
I’m not hating or anything, but why did they decied to cast actors of other ethnicity for the characters of Luke, Isabelle and Alec? I understand that it is good with a multicultural cast but I just don’t think it was necessary to change it. Let’s say for exampel that they these characters in the book had been of another ethnicity and had been cast as “white” people then I’m pretty sure there would have been a uproar amongst fans but when it is the other way around we’re just supposed to accept it, I find that offensive. It’s like saying “Well yeah but you see since the character was white it is ok to change their ethnicity to appeal to people from other cultures” how is that ok? How come it isn’t ok to give Magnus and Maia a new ethnicity? Appearently beacuse they’ve become who they are because of that, but doesn’t that go for Alec, Izzy, Simon and Luke as well? How come because they white it is ok to change them, hasn’t that shaped them into the persons they are? I just think that descision is incredibly judgmental and not well thought out.
Regardless of this I am sure I’ll like the cast but I do think that they should understand why people might be upset by this.
Because Magnus, Maia and Raphael were the ONLY characters in the books that were a specified race. The others were never actually specified and Cassie said that in that recent tumblr post asking people who were saying racist things to please stop. She told the director that she didnt mind them casting POC for other characters as long as they keep those three as their original written ethnicity.
It might not have been written in bold letters which specified race the other ones are but its very much IMPLIED and I don’t see how that justifies changing their ethnicity, wouldn’t changing it also change how their characters have been shaped? They’re basically saying that changing a person from say black to white would affect their personality but if you do it they other way around it doesn’t, and that is what I don’t like.
Well it was never specified as white in the book. White skin on some yeah but not race. Anyways according to the books if you read the TID shadowhunters are shadowhunters first then they are whatever race they are. They don’t see race, only that they are demon hunters.
The reason you can change a white character to a person of color is because white people dominate hollywood, as a white person I can turn on pretty much any movie or television show and see my race represented all over the place, there are some shows/movies with a cast that is 100% white. People of color are severely underrepresented in popular media and because of that a lot of actors and actresses who are not white aren’t given the same opportunities as white actors and that’s not fair. Basically contributing to more diversity in popular media = a good thing for many reasons, whereas taking diversity away is bad ie: changing a black character to white for example.
WTF I see my race everywhere too, what are you on? And also, stop calling us POC, I look freaking white but my family is from Spain.
What you’ve said is a good point, you have real reason to your feelings. It’s something that has been subconsciously in my mind too with this big proportion of POC cast for white characters. What I really likes that Cassie said was the casting is so called “colourblind” -choosing whichever actor is best for the character despite race and therefore giving opportunities to all. But it doesn’t seem to apply for the characters that are written as POC. It’s a little strange because both race changes either way are challenging our perceptions from the book either way- to what might as well be the same degree.
Thank you for saying that I have a good point. I see where everyone else is coming from and as I wrote earlier I think I will like the cast but I just think it is wrong of people to call others racists because they’re voicing their opinions. It’s wrong of peole to be upset with others when they want chracters that aren’t of POC to stay that way but if they had been POC of colour and changed to white it would have been such a wrong and racist thing to do, doesn’t racisim apply both ways? To those of you who disagree with me; how many of you wouldn’t have been upset if Clary or Jace were cast as say Native American or African, be honest, you just need to look at all the crap Jamie Campbell Bower got for his appearance. But like you said it is very good that they decided to choose actors who were best for the part and not base it on their appearances, I much rather have it that way I just think people should be more understanding to others opinions.
Thank you.
Excuse me SpikeIsBetterThanAngel when did I ever say anything about you? Or people from Spain? What does that have to do with anything at all? I’m just trying to explain why it’s a lot different to cast a character described as white as another race rather than casting a character described as asian or black as white. Here’s an article about representation in Hollywood, if you’re interested in actually learning rather than defending your nonsense opinions. http://www.bunchecenter.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2014-Hollywood-Diversity-Report-2-12-14.pdf
Look at me … now down to the comments … now back to me … now down to the comments … back to me, I’m a werewolf
This was brilliant. I laughed so hard. =D
That is absolutely NOT Luke. He is described as a man with brown hair and blue eyes just as his sister Amatis. I don’t agree also with the changes in the plot. At least in the movie they kept real occupation of each of the characters, as well as the names of Simon’s band friends. Many people didn’t like the movie because they said it didn’t follow the plot of the book, and Valentine was not blond and Jace didn’t have golden eyes (things that could have been repaired in the second movie), but what is being done in the series is even worse. Guess I’ll just stick to the books and the original cast of the movie each time I reread them. Sorry but just can go along with all these nonsensical changes that are being made. I really believe they just should have gone along with the second movie.
Yeah, people are afraid of being called racist, even the producers of the show. Which is why they are race bending everyone.
Give me ONE line (that is actually in the book) stating that Luke Garroway is a canonically white character. Stop pulling the “reverse racism waaaaah” card on everything. And didn’t the directors cast Alec as white? Oh yeah, because he actually WAS WHITE IN THE BOOKS -_-
Umm. The choice for Luke has the same problem as the actor cast as Valentine. He looks nothing like the Luke described in the books. And the plot is that he “has feelings for Jocelyn?” How did they lose totally devoted to her forever and like a father to Clary? Oh, well.
Honestly, I don’t know why everyone is making comments about Luke’s race. Like dude I just wanna see the acting 💁
AGREEED. I obviously think it’s important to have different races represented in the show but can we stop only talking about race when we haven’t even seen them playing the characters?!
I like Alec, but I’m sorry, that’s not Luke. It might be Luke, the NYPD cop who apparently doesn’t even know the one true live of his life, but he is not Luke Garroway the bookstore owning sudo father of Clary….and to be perfectly honest, them strayg that far from the book has me a little loathe to watch
The change of occupation is a biggie for personality of the character (more so than race). The same kind of person who owns an antiques bookstore doesn’t have the character to be a cop. Maybe he’ll still live at the bookstore and is just a detective to do cover-up work for the Shadowhunters (which is weird anyway) but only straying a little. We still just don’t know.
Love the casting so far and it’s awesome that they have opted for a more diverse approach. The obsession with eye color and smaller details will only lead to disappointment. Look at The 100, also based on a book series. It has diverged completely from the first book of the series, created new characters and omitted others. This is already a much more faithful adaptation, but at the end of the day the show will be its own thing and in certain aspects it will unavoidably diverge from the books. And if people are already annoyed that Matthew doesn’t have blue eyes or that Luke is a cop and not a bookseller, then I’m afraid they’re in for many more disappointments. What works on screen is often not what works on the page. In a different medium you need to make some changes to make things more dynamic.
Well said.
The Alec casting is okay, but I liked the other Alec better. What is with Luke as a Detective, the race is fine, but seriously he is a werewolf, not a detective.
Ok if you guys read the TID jem tells tessa that they are first shadowhunters and then whatever nationality they are. When people see shadowhunters they see shadowhunters not hispanic, white, black or any race you can think off. I don’t get why is so important for people to see race as an important factor here. It’s annoying. People get over it!
THANK YOU!!! I WAS JUST GETTING READY TO TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!! And to add a point, yes Luke is a werewolf, but he was a Shadowhunter first. 😉
It’s sad that people keep bringing on race so much. I think that’s why cassandra clare never really emphasized race on her characters cause for shadowhunters that’s not important is not what defines them. Yeah there are characters who were defined with a certain race but it was for a purpose for example like Jem, magnus, rafael, and mia. Anyways just want the actors to be good and make Cassandra Clare’s world come to life.
I totally agree esme. You seem to far better at saying what you mean than I am.
Thanks Cerys is just annoying that people cares so much about this. I’m exited about the show and don’t care about the actors skin color or nationality I just want them to make me believe they are the characters from the book and I’m good.
So not to be rude, but I am a bit nervous about Luke being black. I mean, it is all in the acting, and if mustafa can nail Luke’s personality, it will be great. But I think it will be hard to capture Luke without having his… appearance. The scraggly lovable bookstore owner- and I know that in the show his character is going in a different direction with the whole detective thing. I just don’t want to lose his personality and I’m worried that such a drastic change in appearance might turn him into a different character altogether. So I am worried about this casting choice. I don’t want a repeat of the movie. Not saying we should give up hope, he could still nail Luke. But I cannot say this would be my top choice
how does someone’s appearance change their personality or character? I understand not liking the detective aspect but I really don’t think it’s okay to say that just because he’s not a white actor he can’t capture luke’s character.
Exactly, Magnus should be white.
So far they seem to be almost nailing the casting. And people, who cares about race of the actor/actress? As long as they can play the character well, it really doesn’t matter in all honesty, unless the character’s race is explicitly mentioned. Unlike certain characters in the movie (*cough* Valentine *cough*)
PS: Don’t hate Jonathan Rhys Meyers as an actor. Just hate him as Valentine.
PPS: Hope we get Valentine casting soon!!!!
So its okay for them to make Magnus and Maia white, right. Because as long as they can ACT
Right? One would think so but appearntly not, because someone who isn’t asian and can act is just not good enough to play Magnus. Like people said above shouldn’t we be glad that they choose a good actor instead of basing it off appearance. To those of you who are gonna hate on this just keep in mind that this is is the exact same thing you’ve said about Luke.
Lily is not hating really well Cassandra did mention that the characters that were “white asumed” (which by the way this characters are in no way described as Caucasian in any part of the book) can be of any race really there are people from other races who share the same physical traits as Caucasian because they have European blood. Keep that in mind. And also a race does not the defined the people they are in Cassandra ‘ s book. That does not matter at all their demon hunter that all. If people thought they were white because she mentioned white skin than honestly is not Cassandra Clare’s fault. If your a real fan you will realize that what’s important for them is killing demon not focusing about things that Aparently we care so much like race and money. I’m not hating I just stating my opinion and honestly I never really assume white characters till the movie but I’m ok with it. Other characters like magnus have to represent their race just like Cassandra said because in his case his race defined him and it was “actually” mentioned in the book.
And you are not very good at seeing other peoples point of view from a calm prespective. Number one I am entilted to my own opinion and never did I say that Magnus or Maia had to be white, I was just stating the fact that if lets say magnus was cast a Native American instead of asian a lot of people would be upset (yes I do understand the need for him to represent asians so you don’t need to remind me, it was a theoretical example). Luke is never desribed as a black man in the book, and that is clear from reading it so that’s why I brought it up. I am very well aware that people can have the same physical traits as other people from different countries because they have European blood seeing as I am European. Stop with the whole being “If I am a real fan” thing, I have said that I think I’ll like the cast, but I do have a right to say what I think, and I don’t think you should change a characters appearance to appeal to others, It might not say anywhere in the books that Alec is only white or that he doesn’t have mixed hertiage and nor do I assume that, but I did think that they maybe would have used someone who looked similar to how that was desribed in the books which was as paled skinned and blue eyed.
I’m not going to argue with you anymore because I don’t feel like you’ll be open to what I have to say, but this is my opinion and if you don’t like it fine I don’t care and neither should you if I don’t like yours.
I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant to accept the cast members at first, but I have warmed up to them. Now all I’m concerned about is the actors doing their characters justice and the writers doing the stories justice. Please wait until the show starts before you give a complete opinion. They haven’t even started filming yet; please give them the benefit of the doubt.
Luke is the man your man could smell like
Really disliking the fact that they made Luke a detective. I mean, I get that they need someone to show what is happening with the murders from the human world’s perspective, but, still, Luke is supposed to be this sorta-librarian. Let’s hope they manage to incorporate the differences successfully. Because even though for now I am against it, they might make it quite interesting and vital to the overall story.
Does anyone know if the Lightwoods are all still biologically related? I’m a little confused about what mixed race family means. But so far our cast seems amazing!
Jem Carstairs is mixed race, his father was white and his mother Chinese. So the Lightwoods – even as a mixed race family – are definitely biologically related.
Maryse could be a WOC and Robert white so their children are mixed race or maybe Robert is Hispanic – just look at his mmother’s surname in the CP2 family tree (http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130330165824/mortalinstruments/images/d/db/CHL_Family_Tree.jpg). We won’t know until we’re either told or we see it on TV 🙂
And yes, the cast seems to be great!
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I have to admit that Luke being a detective really reminds me of Bigby Wolf from The Wolf Among Us… But tbh I don’t dislike the idea. It may work just need to wait. 🙂 I’m reaaallyy excited about this I wish it was already 2016… Waiting it’s so hard… 😦
Thanks Cerys is just annoying that people cares so much about this. I’m exited about the show and don’t care about the actors skin color or nationality I just want them to make me believe they are the characters from the book and I’m good.
Sorry my computer did this weird thing and posted a comment I submitted before. Anyways I’m with you I kinda like the idea it will make the tv series more exiting I mean there’s a reason his a detective and I want to find out why. Can’t wait for next year.
I am so amazingly impressed by all these casting choices. I know the casting calls specifically stated they wanted actors of ALL ethnicities to audition for ALL the roles, but I honestly thought they were only doing that so they didn’t appear racist. I secretly hoped that they would cast a diverse group of actors, but I was still assuming they’d cast all white actors. And now it turns out we’ve got MULTIPLE actors of color! I am totally overjoyed for this show. I can’t emphasize this enough. This is such a huge deal! The TV shows could have cast all white actors like the movie (and like the book implies) but instead they have gone out of their way to cast the best actors for each role. I cannot recall a single instance of this ever happening before. (Usually it’s the reverse – white actors cast to portray characters of color). I have faith that Shadowhunters will gain a strong reputation because of these casting choices.
“I hope they change the race of Magnus to a white guy, or Maia to white” says absolutely no one. Guys top acting like racebending is good.
When “racebending” involves taking a white-dominated book and adding people of colour so that it accurately reflects the population statistics of the country in which it is set, then it can be good. Especially seeing as it has been approved by the author herself. Remember that 40% of the US population is a racial minority – that’s 2 out of every 5 people. The casting choices we have seen thus far reflect that number exactly. Of the 5 main characters (Clary, Jace, Simon, Izzy, Alec), 2 have been cast with diverse actors – 40%. Of the 5 main “parent” characters (Jocelyn, Luke, Maryse, Robert, Valentine), 2 will probably be diverse actors – 40% (Luke + 1 either Maryse or Robert – Cassie has stated that the Lightwoods will be a mixed race family, so I am assuming that means 1 parent with be Latino. I am also presuming that Jocelyn and Valentine will be played by white actors so they resemble their already-cast children).
It’s obvious why casting a diverse actor to play an assumed-white role is totally different to casting a white actor to play a diverse role. Minorities are under-represented in US TV shows and movies. There’s also a long ugly history of white actors adopting black face/yellow face/etc (often with offensive racial stereotypes) and excluding actors of colour entirely. This context matters. It matters a whole lot. Anyone who says that casting a white actor to play Magnus is equivalent to casting a black actor to play Luke needs to do some serious research about racial minorities in Hollywood – both historically and currently.
I understand that it’s also more complicated than this. I totally understand that shoving a diverse actor into a role written to be white has its problems. But, to be fair, we would also have to admit that the BOOK has its shortcomings too. I don’t mean this in a negative way, I really don’t. But Cassie has openly admitted that her privilege as a white author influenced how she wrote her characters. The bottomline is that Cassie has given her blessing to colorblind casting, and the TV producers are making an ADAPTATION of her book. I am happy they are trying to put a different spin on it and are even trying to improve on the books’ shortcomings.
Bayless please maybe I skipped that part. Where exactly in does it state in the books that the characters are CAUCASIAN? white skin yeah but caucasian? As far as I know people of different race can resembles others due to European heritage so please stop with race remarks is not ok for people of different race and for those casted as the characters of the books.
Dominic has heterochromia or any other still white character has something different from the book.
Fans: OMG I hope they dye there hair or make them wear contacts because that is not how they look in the book. OMG
They cast a white character as black or hispanic.
Me: They weren’t black or hispanic in the book
Fans: OMG stop being racist. The acting is all that matters.
Ok guys, ok. You don’t feel you aren’t an tiny bit racist towards white people do you? I should not have to say I’m hispanic too so no one calls me a racist, why can’t we complain when the casting directors stray from the books for so called diversity reasons. None of you see your double standards either in wanting everyone (even the original movie cast) to look a certain way. I remember that people’s biggest problem with Valentine was his stupid brown hair and braids. But then they go way off the reservation and race bend and everyone says we just nee to except it. You make me pity you, all of you.
Get over it. It’s annoying to keep hearing this types of comments if you don’t like it don’t watch the tv series just keep watching the movie so your image of the characters is more accurate to your liking.
Apparently you didn’t hear that I am upset about not sticking to the plot, like the movie which didn’t stick to the plot. The more I read your comments the more I think of you as racist to my culture and all other non white people. Thank you for thinking that my people somehow need your help when we are doing pretty damn well for ourselves.
I haven’t seen any double standards. I have seen a lot of different fan opinions every single time a cast member is announced. With every single casting announcement I have seen some fans be supportive of the actors and trust their acting abilities regardless of their appearance, and then I have also seen some fans criticize the actors for not accurately resembling their book counterparts. This happened with Dominic Sherwood, it happened with Alberto Rosende, it happened with Emeraude Toubia, it happened with Katherine McNamara, it happened Matthew Daddario, it happened with Isaiah Mustafa. Every single time I have seem a contingent of fans upset about eye color/skin color/hair color, and every single time I have seen a contingent of fans asking others to accept the different spin on the characters – this HAS NOT only happened when actors of color have been cast (as you stated), it has happened every single time. If you haven’t seen this too, then you only need to spend a few minutes on Twitter.
You know that you’re annoying af, right? Either grow up or don’t watch the show. Don’t spam the comments with your bullshit. The ACTUAL fans don’t need that.
Brilliant, you say I’m not a fan now because I don’t conform to the idea of casting non white characters as initially white characters when people would be up in arms about Magnus or Maia being any other ethnicity. Thank you for telling me that I am not a fan if I think my people should not be used as cards or game pieces just so people can feel like they did something superior. Thank you for being a punta.
Look is important to keep the people in the book whose race defined them which are magnus, Raphael and maia ok Cassandra said they had to keep them that race since it defines who they are. As for the shadowhunter race does not define them in any way it doesn’t make them less shadowhunters or more. I believe that’s the reason she didn’t define race since that’s not important. Don’t tell me I’m racist because I defend diversity. If the producers chose it that way it’s ok. I will not change who they are if their hispanic or black they will play the part of that character of the book. Please don’t tell me that I’m hating on your race you don’t even know what my race is. When I see a movie or a show o see actors who can make me believe their role not the color of their skin.
Well, honestly I don’t care much about the actors skin, on the contrary :more people will watch the show and isn’it what we want ? If we want see not only the first season but the other ones as well, it’s good for the show that most people possible watch it. And TBH…I’m not very fond of either Luke or Alec…I just can’t wait to see who will be chosen for Magnus !! ^^
No, we don’t like being treated like game pieces or cards. It makes me afraid of the show. And honestly the white to ethnic ratio in the book was pretty normal. America IS mostly white, they are treating us like props.
OMG you gotta be kidding me right! spikeisBetterThanAngel I have no clue what age you are or if you actually pay attention to the news, but according to the census of 2012 Whites are falling into the minority group, because there is now more diversity in the United States. If producers of the show want to represent the diversity change in the US let them. Get your facts right and stop with your racial remarks. If you don’t like what their doing with the show feel free to email, tweet, facebook message, or instagram the producers of the show with your concerns. Here is the US census of 2012. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043
Well, you don’t speak in my name when you say “we”. For the rest, I’m not American but it seems to me that saying that America is mostly white is less and less the case…White people have less babies than the other ethnies and how long before they’re not the largest group of society anymore ?
Hope= plummeting
How so Katie?
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White girl in the room here. Could not care less about the skin colours and ethnicities of the actors cast. As long as they understand the character they are playing and fucking nail it, I’m a happy fan. Though I do feel Magnus needs to stay true to the book, purely because his ethnicity is a pretty large chunk of how his history is developed within the storyline and taking that away would change one of our favourite characters too much.
But still, hey, mostly everyone is saying similar things. As long as the writing is great and the actors immerse themselves in their characters in a way that connects to us, and Demi Lovato songs don’t pop up and turn important poignant scenes into a horrible cringe-worthy cheese, I’m good.
Also hoping McMasterG goes more Terminator: Salvation than Charlie’s Angels, feel-wise. Just sayin’.
I was not completely happy with casting of Clary and Jace in the movie, so I am quite open to different actors playing them, but Kevin Zegers was such a great Alec, for now I just can’t imagine anyone else playing this part. Why couldn’t they get him to reprise his role. As far as wikipedia knows he is not doing anything major at the time, I bet he may have taken the part if the producers had offered it to him.
Kevin is about to become a father to twin girls so while he may not shoot anything right now, he will be very busy for the unforseeable future. 😉
Can’t wait till they cast Magnus!!!
Yaay, I am so happy with this casting!!! Excellent choices for Luke and Alec (who totally resembles his on-screen sister btw). I am happy with the whole cast so far as it’s a HUGE improvement from the movie cast! 🙂
Wow! Lots of really passionate comments here! I think at the end of the day if Cassandra Clare is on board with who they have cast that’s cool with me. They are her stories after all. I got really attached to the people cast in the movie version. I really liked Aidan Turner as Luke in the movie version but I am open to what this actor will bring. I question the occupation change a little because it will change the story line for sure, but without having seen how they will make it all work together I can’t judge fairly at his point. I have faith that they know how passionate the fans are about the books and with stay as close to that as possible in terms of plot and spirit of the story. It’s an adaptation which always means there’s a good chance things won’t stay 100% the same. I think if people don’t like what they are seeing so far, no one is forcing you to watch it. Game of Thrones isn’t following the books to the letter either and a lot of people love that show who have read the books as well as those who haven’t so I’m giving it a chance 🙂
How old is Matthew Daddario? I can’t find his age anywhere.
I just Cant believe that they would do that to the series. I am not racist im just saying my opinion but I think they should have someone else play Luke. Like Jason Bateman or Josh Duhamel. But I am open to him playing Luke as long as he brings Luke to life…
Guys it’s called colour-blind casting and I personally think it’s amazing
super disappointed that Alec doesn’t have the blue eyes that Magnus falls in love with!