Gal Gadot has defended her casting as Cleopatra after she was met with accusations of “whitewashing” the upcoming biopic. Critics have said that an Arab or African actress should play the role of the iconic Egyptian leader instead of the 35-year-old Israeli actress. “First of all, if you want to be true to the facts, then Cleopatra was Macedonian,” Gadot told BBC Arabic. “We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn’t there. And I was very passionate about Cleopatra.”