To champion diversity is to champion the American dream.
Idris Elba is the latest celebrity to weigh in on the diversity in Hollywood debate, which has flared up again over the 2016 Academy Award nominations casually leaving out all black actors from the categories. But he believes that it's not only big blockbusters that suffer, but British TV too.
Idris Elba brings American Dream into diversity debate
The actor is one of those stars snubbed at this year's Oscars, despite winning much acclaim for his performance in the Netflix drama 'Beasts of No Nation'. It's actually the second year in a row that the Oscars have left out people of colour, and it's quite frankly got to stop.
Either that, or films and TV shows have got to diversify. We think we're living in a world of equality, but the truth is far from it as Elba outlines. 'We need to counter what everybody has, see the lay of the land and see who has which careers in TV', he said during a speech in Parliament yesterday (January 18th 2016). 'Who makes TV, and who is allowed on TV and when they get the opportunity which roles do they play, off and on screen.'
More: Who missed out at this year's Oscars?
He adds that while black people are stereotyped when they do have roles, they are not the only minority to be misrepresented in the entertainment industry as women, gay people and disabled people all face similar struggles.
'The reason I went to America is because the USA has the most famous diversity policy of all and it's called the American dream', he continues. 'The problem is the gap between the dream and reality. Now the gap is what Martin Luther King set out to fill in his dream. To champion diversity is to champion the American dream.'
As well as 'Beasts of No Nation', the Golden Globe winning star is known for starring in UK detective drama 'Luther', Mandela biopic 'Long Walk to Freedom', Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' and Marvel's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'.
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