Golda screenwriter Nicholas Martin has defended Helen Mirren’s controversial casting in the movie.

In the new biopic, the Oscar-winning actress plays former Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, and she has come under fire for playing a prominent Jewish historical figure when she is not Jewish.

In an interview with the Radio Times, Martin stated that the discussion about “Gentiles playing Jews” is unhelpful.

“Helen’s job was to portray Golda authentically, which Golda’s family would say she has. A leading Israeli historian said that Helen is ‘more Golda than Golda,'” he said. “I find it very worrying that there is a creeping authoritarianism in entertainment saying you cannot do this or that. Am I just supposed to write about middle-aged men living in south London?”

When asked if she shared the writer’s fear of “creeping authoritarianism” in the arts, Mirren replied, “I think, in a way, that it’s more frightening for a writer to be told they are not allowed to write about subjects with which they don’t have an immediate DNA connection… I imagine it must be very alarming. And ridiculous.”

The actress raised concerns about her casting when she was approached by director Guy Nattiv but he insisted it would not be an issue. She noted that “the whole issue of casting has exploded out of the water fairly recently” because she has previously played Jewish characters in Woman in Gold and The Debt.

Golda will be released in U.K. cinemas on Friday.

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