Rooney Mara revealed in an interview that she regrets taking on the role of Tiger Lily in Joe Wright's "Pan" and contributing to Hollywood's whitewashing debate amid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
Mara's casting as the Native American character in the film sparked backlash last year over its lack of diversity with thousands signing an online petition in protest of the casting.
"I really hate, hate, hate that I am on that side of the whitewashing conversation," she said, according to The Telegraph. "I really do. I don't ever want to be on that side of it again. I can understand why people were upset and frustrated."
The 30-year-old actress continued that even though she enjoyed working on the film, which also featured Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried, Cara Delevigne and Garrett Hedlund, she wanted the cast to include more diverse actors.
"Do I think all of the four main people in the film should have been white with blond hair and blue eyes? No. I think there should have been some diversity somewhere," she said.
"Here is the thing, I have a lot to say, and I have very strong opinions about it, but it is such a sensitive issue; I don't want to reduce it to a sound bite," she added, according to Entertainment Weekly.
"I feel like that is what is happening. It is being turned into pull quotes and headlines, and that isn't opening up a conversation so much as pointing fingers at people and taking their awards out of context. I don't want to step into the conversation that way."
Mara's role wasn't the only one to spark a casting controversy. Ridley Scott's "Gods of Egypt" also drew criticism for casting white actors in roles that require more diverse selections, as HNGN previously reported.
