One of my favorite all-time movies is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Sure, it is somewhat corny, but it is a genuinely fun romp, Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard are outstanding lead actors, and the story is fun and feel good.
But one thing has always bugged the fuck out of me. Mr Yunioshi, Holly’s upstairs neighbor, ostensibly a Japanese photographer. A fine character. That is not the problem. It is the casting of fucking Mickey Rooney in this role.
Seriously, Mickey Rooney as a Japanese man? What the fuck were they thinking? Was James Hong just not available? Sure, he’s Chinese, but that is better than Mickey Rooney.
Or George Takei. Japanese, and certainly a skilled actor, active in 1961.
Did they even try to cast a person of Asian descent?
I still enjoy watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I just cringe through Mr. Yunioshi’s scenes.
