Old Hollywood Stars Who Were Forced to Live a Double Life

Audiences remember Anthony Quinn for the title role in Zorba the Greek and as Arab fighter Auda Abu Tayi in Lawrence of Arabia. Born in Mexico, Quinn possessed a look Hollywood considered useful, although studios rarely treated his real heritage as important.

Across his long career, Quinn played Greeks, Italians, Arabs, Filipinos, Native Americans, Inuit people, Spaniards, Cubans, and Hawaiians. Instead of developing him as a Mexican American leading man, Hollywood repeatedly used his appearance as a blank surface for almost any foreign identity.