The idea of Sophie Turner playing the part of Boy George has been met thus far with a great amount of excitement largely because Boy George wants to see it happen and Sophie Turner is down for it without question. As Kevin Burwick of MovieWeb has shown in one of his articles George has been quoted saying that he would have loved to have been Sophie Turner when he was 17. This is more or less his response to some of the backlash that has already come from such an announcement, as was to be expected since the idea of men and women playing one another’s roles has been something of an issue for some folks throughout the years. In truth it’s been done more than a lot of people seem to think since Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan and Tilda Swinton played an androgynous angel in the box office flop, Constantine. The idea is nothing new after all, but the small outrage that it’s already created with some people might grow a bit once the biopic, which is rumored to be coming eventually, really gets started.
One reason could be the fact that despite women taking on men’s roles and playing as men the idea that it can happen so openly and gain approval means that people playing different gendered roles shouldn’t be an issue any longer. If you wonder where I’m going with this, think about The Dallas Buyer’s Club, or Rub & Tug, which was supposed to star Scarlett Johansson as a transgender individual until she bowed out from the immense amount of pressure the movie was receiving. Why in the world would anyone have anything to say about those movies and nothing to say about this turn of events? As Jude Dry of Yahoo! Entertainment reported a lot of the trans community had an issue with Johansson playing the part of a transgender man, and yet there’s been little to no outcry about Turner taking on the part of George as of yet, which really seems to create a double standard when it comes to women taking on men’s roles. So yes, this person can do it, but no, this person can’t. It doesn’t work that way, at least not in the spirit of fairness and equality.
Piers Morgan is likely just one of many to come that might slam this idea as being ridiculous since he’s already gone on record stating that it’s not possible since Sophie is a woman and George is a man. Now all talk of gender aside, Sophie is a great actress and George is extremely excited to see this happen. But the idea of a woman taking on the role of a man does seem to stick in the craw of a lot of men who don’t happen to think it’s fair or right. Give me a moment to heave a large sigh as this is a rather tiring and wearisome subject, but usually it’s the best person for the role that determines just who gets it, right? You might think so, but given that Hollywood wants to make movies that people will watch, the idea that someone who deserves to have a role will get it isn’t always the determining factor when it comes to who we’ll see on the screen. It doesn’t seem likely that Boy George will get the final say, but given that he already approves of Turner and it is obvious that they look very much alike, it could happen. After that point it could come down to what kind of material will be shown in the movie and will Sophie be down to do all of it?
There’s the kicker really. How far are you willing to go to preserve the role? How far can a woman go to preserve a male role when it’s been given to her? There are dozens if not more ways to make a woman look like a man and in Hollywood they are quite adept at making this happen. But in terms of the script and what might happen throughout the movie, what will Sophie be required to do and how far will she be forced to take things? There’s no doubt of her acting ability or that she’s had to film several difficult scenes since Game of Thrones wasn’t a child’s fairy tale, but we’re beyond GoT now, and it bears asking if she’s going to be able to put up a performance that many people will be watching intently to make sure she nails it. There really isn’t a whole lot of doubt on anyone’s mind that she can do it, but as the days go by it’s likely going to be whether she should have been cast in the first place.
Can she do it? Yes, definitely. Should she do it? Well, that’s for each person to offer their two cents about.
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