Disney has responded to heated critical comments Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage made Tuesday on the WTF Podcast hosted by Marc Maron over its live-action Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs remake.
The film, which is being directed by Marc Webb, has been in development for three years, and we only know small bits of casting news including that will star Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the evil queen.
A Disney spokesperson said, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.” They also confirmed that the dwarves are going to remain animated.
Dinklage didn’t hold back when speaking about his issue with the film on WTF. “No offense to anybody, I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. You’re telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step and look at what you’re doing here. It makes no sense to me,” the actor pointed out.
“You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f––king backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. What the f––k are you doing man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox?”
The actor has called attention to issues surrounding people with dwarfism before. When Dinklage won a Golden Globe Award in 2012, he said he was thinking about “a gentleman, his name is Martin Henderson,” and asked viewers to look him up. Dinklage was referencing a man with dwarfism in England who was badly injured after he was tossed by a man in a bar.
Dinklage recently starred in the musical drama film Cyrano, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.
