Hollywood and TV never put Greeks into their movies or shows on Greek epics (or Roman too). That's how it has been since the movie industry started. I'm not even talking about the stars, even just background characters.
When it makes Japanese history films, it casts Japanese actors. When it makes Nordic epics, it casts Scandinavians. Medieval English or French stories usually get English or French actors. Native American films cast NA actors.
Even, Christopher Nolan himself has done a historical film on Dunkurque and cast British actors.
The reason is most people see Greece as medieval Europe with sandals. Medievalism.
Medievalism means the clothes look like 12th century france or uK. the actors look like french or english. The setting resembles some sort of village somewhere in western europe.
With the Odyssey, Nolan is expanding Medievalism to include minority groups in the contemporary west. As the west changes in demographics, so do the Greek epics. But it never leaves the Medievalism domain
Medievalism is not just about clothes or how the actors look.
It also is about a certain people in a certain time. Northwest Europeans. They have their own culture
But their culture is not the same culture as Ancient Greece. It's different.
Odysseus is from the Ionian islands. If you want to know what he would have looked like, and the people in the entire poem looked like. You don't have to go far.
Excalibur was a mythological story. So was the Northman. So was all the asian mythological films. All filled with actors from those cultures.
Only with Greek history and stories do they never cast anyone who is greek or even looks Greek
More Medievalism
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