Steve Toussaint 'Racially Abused' After 'House of the Dragon' Casting Announcement
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The actor portraying Corlys Velaryon on the upcoming HBO series, premiering later this month, admits that he received racial abuse on social media when the cast was announced.

AceShowbiz - Steve Toussaint revealed that he's a victim of online racist abuse. The British actor revealed that he was "racially abused" on social media shortly after he was cast on the upcoming "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon".

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Monday, August 15, the actor portraying Corlys Velaryon shared, "When I got the gig, I literally was like, 'It's just another role because I have black friends who had small parts or recurring parts in [Thrones].' " He further said, "I didn't realize it was a bigger deal until I was racially abused on social media when it was announced. Yeah, that s**t happened."

Detailing more, Steve told the outlet that people created art for the sole purpose of making fun of his appearance and, in at least one instance, was called the N-word. The actor, who has appeared on TV shows like "Doctor Who" and "Skins", said he was approached by a "Game of Thrones" fan who was also on the receiving end of similar hate speech.

"There was also a black American chap who is a big fan of the show who contacted me saying that he gets abused because he championed me for the part," Steve revealed. "On platforms like Reddit, which I'm not on, there are such discussions going on about it. I was like, 'Oh wow,' and then I thought, 'Okay, this means a lot to some people,' but I can't allow that to bother me."

Steve is far from the first actor of color to receive racist messages online after being cast in a high-profile project. "Someone I've known for a long time, he had it [when he was cast on a Marvel project]," the 57-year-old actor shared. "A friend of mine who played Hermione in the stage version of 'Harry Potter', she got it. I've worked with ['Star Wars: The Force Awakens' actor] John Boyega, and he got it. If it bothers you so much, don't watch."

While Steve recognized how unfortunately predictable these sorts of attacks seem to be, he's trying to put it behind him. "I suppose in that sense, it's a big deal," he said, "But we have a saying that today's headlines are just tomorrow's chip paper, people forget about it."

"House of the Dragon" premieres on August 21 at 9 P.M. on HBO.

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