Actor Fisher Stevens Says He Regrets Brownface Role in ‘Short Circuit’ but Still Believes ‘It’s a Really Good Movie’

Actor Fisher Stevens now says he regrets playing an Indian character in the 1986 film Short Circuit and its 1988 sequel. Stevens, who is white, put on an Indian accent for the film. His portrayal also featured a makeup job to darken his skin.

Stevens played Ben Jabituya in the surprise hit science-fiction comedy about scientists that crated a sentient robot.

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The actor, though, now says he agrees with the criticism that the character was stereotypical and offensive and added that he feels guilty over the role, according to Yahoo Entertainment.

“It definitely haunts me,” he told the outlet. “I still think it’s a really good movie, but I would never do that part again. The world was a different place in 1986, obviously.”

Stevens claims that when he signed on for the role, the character was a white man. But during the film production, the producers changed the character to Indian and asked Stevens to remain in the role.

“They rewrote it and were like, ‘Can you play it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I can do it. Let me learn.’ It’s a weird thing when you’re 21, and you’re trying to get a job,” Fisher added.

Stevens insists that he made an effort to try and learn about Indian culture to portray the nationality better. Still, his role has become a prime example of what has been called “white washing,” or the act of using white actors to portray ethnic characters.

“I have friends who are Indian, and they’re still mad at me. They’re like, ‘What were you thinking?'” Stevens added. “My wife [Alexis Bloom] isn’t happy about it either. She keeps telling me, ‘Look what you did!'”

Stevens is still proud of the movie overall. “I still think it’s a really good movie, but I would never do that part again. The world was a different place in 1986, obviously,” he said.

Critics citing white washing have targeted films including Soul Man, in which actor C. Thomas Howell performed in black face, and voice actor Hank Azaria’s decades of work as Apu on the long-running cartoon, The Simpsons.

As for Azaria, he has made repeated apologies for voicing Apu and has since told producers that he will never do the character again.

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