Dan Aykroyd Speaks Up About Blackface Controversy
Dan Aykroyd is well aware that his blackface scene in 1983's Trading Places wouldn't be appropriate today.
Dan Aykroyd recently spoke to the Daily Beast about his role in Trading Places as an investment banker opposite Eddie Murphy’s con artist. In one scene in the movie, Aykroyd appears with blackface and dreads, speaking in a Jamaican accent. In the interview, Aykroyd said, “I probably wouldn’t choose to do a Blackface part, nor would I be allowed to do it,” adding, “I probably wouldn’t be allowed to do a Jamaican accent, white face or Black.”
It makes sense that not too many actors, including Dan Aykroyd, would choose to do blackface in any capacity anymore. Trading Places came out in 1983, and even then, it was fairly well-known that blackface had deeply racist roots and history.
The practice dates back to the days of slavery when minstrel shows would feature non-black people sporting black makeup to portray a caricature of a black person.
As Dan Aykroyd said, it’s not really something that would or should happen today. There are rare exceptions where shows and films have been able to make it work, such as Robert Downey Jr.’s character in Tropic Thunder, which Downey Jr. has spoken about, saying, “In my defense, Tropic Thunder is about how wrong [blackface] is, so I take exception.”
Another example would be in period pieces like Mad Men, where Roger Sterling did blackface at a Derby party.
The latter was a way to show how prevalent and commonplace racism was in the 1960s, which is why Lionsgate decided not to remove the episode from syndication or streaming when other shows were pulling their episodes. Shows like Scrubs, 30 Rock, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia had previously pulled episodes because of characters in blackface.
For the most part, like Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places, modern examples can usually be found in comedies, and it’s typically played to show the ignorance of the character.
In any case, don’t expect to see Dan Aykroyd doing blackface anytime soon. The man himself has confirmed it won’t be happening. However, we will get to look forward to seeing him return to one of his other classic 1980s comedy roles soon.
Dan Aykroyd is set to return as Ray Stantz in the upcoming fifth installment of the Ghostbusters franchise that follows up 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Reprising their roles from the 2021 film are Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd, with Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton reprising their roles from the original films.
The upcoming sequel will also introduce some fresh faces to the franchise with new cast members that include Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster, and Emily Alyn Lind.
The currently untitled Ghostbusters: Afterlife follow-up with be directed by Gil Kenan, who also co-wrote the script with Ivan Reitman’s son, Jason Reitman. The film is currently scheduled to be released on December 20, 2023. If you need to catch up on the other films in the franchise, you can stream Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II on AMC+, and you can stream Ghostbusters: Afterlife on Starz.
