Nicholas Hoult is "proud" of Ed Skrein for dropping out of the 'Hellboy' reboot.

Nicholas Hoult

Nicholas Hoult

The 34-year-old British actor had originally been cast as Major Ben Daimo in the upcoming movie, but announced he was stepping down earlier this week after the project garnered criticism over whitewashing, as the character in the original 'Hellboy' comic series is Japanese-American.

Now, Ed's close friend Nicholas has praised his decision to back down as "honourable", as walking away from a job is "not an easy decision to make".

The 'X-Men' star said: "I agree completely with what Ed did, I think it's very honourable. And I'm proud of him for making that decision ... It's not an easy decision to make, because, you know, we're trying to get work.

"But for him to get that role and realise it has been miscast probably on many levels, even though he would have given a great performance, I think it's important to do that."

Nicholas, 27, also admitted he would do the same thing if he was cast in a role which he thought he wasn't right for.

Speaking to TheWrap.com, he said: "I mean, yeah. If you don't think you're right for something then you have to, or if you think there's something wrong about the casting, then yeah."

Ed announced he would be quitting the project via a statement posted to social media earlier this week, in which he said the movie has a duty to "honour and respect" the ethnicity of the characters.

He wrote: "It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voice in the Arts. I feel it is important to honour and respect that. Therefore I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately.

"Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family. It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity. It is my hope that one day these discussions will become less necessary and that we can help make equal representation in the Arts a reality."

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