Gal Gadot is defending her casting as
Cleopatra
, the Queen of
Egypt
in an upcoming biopic directed by
Patty Jenkins. The news of her casting was met with a fair amount of excitement and criticism for allegedly “whitewashing” the story.
Reacting to the criticism, the actress and producer hit back in an interview to Independent and said that Cleopatra was originally Macedonian and claimed that the team was looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit the bill. However, as they didn’t find anyone, Gal said she took on the role as she was “very passionate about Cleopatra.”
She went on to reason, “I have friends from across the globe, whether they’re Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course. People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honor this amazing historic icon that I admire so much.”
She went on to add, “You know, anybody can make this movie and anybody can go ahead and do it. I’m very passionate that I’m going to do my own too.”
Gadot, will play the titular role of the last ruler of Egypt's Ptolemaic Kingdom in the film penned by
Laeta Kalogridis
.
The ‘Wonder Woman’ actress made the official announcement on her social media handle and said, "As you might have heard I teamed up with Patty Jenkins and Leata Kalogridis to bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to the big screen in a way she’s never been seen before."
She went on to add that this will be the first time that they tell the Queen's story, through the eyes of a woman.
Gal wrote, "To tell her story for the first time through women's eyes, both behind and in front of the camera. And we are especially thrilled to be announcing this on International Day of the Girl!"
In her social media post, she added, "We hope women and girls all around the world, who aspire to tell stories will never give up on their dreams and will make their voices heard, by and for other women."
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