‘Hellboy’ actor quits over whitewashing

Ed Skrein —INSTAGRAM

Deadpool” actor Ed Skrein, who was recently cast in the revamped “Hellboy” film, immediately quit the project after learning that his character was whitewashed, or made Caucasian.

“Last week, it was announced that I would be playing Major Ben Daimio in the ‘Hellboy’ reboot,” he said on Instagram. “I was unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage… I must do what is right.”

Skrein, who was a cast member of “Game of Thrones,” added, “I have decided to step down, so the role can be cast appropriately. Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me, as I have a mixed-heritage family.”

The film’s producers released a statement supporting his decision: “It wasn’t our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material.”

Josh Peck (left) and Drake Bell

‘Drake & Josh’ actors friends again

“Drake & Josh” actors Drake Bell and Josh Peck have kissed and made up—well, just hugged tight, actually—two months after the former expressed his disappointment on Twitter over not being invited to the latter’s wedding.

The actors, who played teenage stepbrothers in the Nickelodeon sitcom that aired from 2004 to 2007, reunited at MTV’s Video Music Awards last week. Both Bell and Peck posted the photo of them hugging at the venue in their respective Instagram accounts, with the identical caption: “Hug me.”

Fans expressed elation for the tender moment, flooding both posts with supportive comments and happy-crying emojis. Bell’s version of the photo was liked by his followers over 521,000 times, while Peck’s was liked more than 785,000 times. —OLIVER PULUMBARIT