'He is Heathcliff'

Margot Robbie defends new Wuthering Heights casting

- Andrew Pulver

In the novel, Cathy is described as dark-haired and is in her late teens; Robbie is in her 30s, and trailers show her with blond hair

(LANDMARK MEDIA/ALAMY)

Margot Robbie has defended Emerald Fennell's new adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, in which she is playing Cathy opposite Jacob Elordi's Heathcliff.

Despite being months away from release, the film has attracted criticism for its casting as well as alterations that Fennell has made to the characters. In an interview with Vogue magazine, Robbie said: "I get it ... there's nothing else to go off at this point until people see the movie."

Much of the controversy has stemmed from the casting of Elordi as a character described by Brontë as "dark-skinned" and a "lascar" (a colonial term for a south Asian sailor or soldier). In Andrea Arnold's 2011 adaptation, James Howson became the first black actor to play the role.