"I'm going to be very honest with you guys here today,
I am really, really tired of talking about diversity."
With his recent Best Actor Oscar nomination,
Daniel Kaluuya joins a growing list of black British actors finding fame and success in Hollywood
long before they achieve the same sort of recognition in the UK.
Both Chiwetel Ejiofer and David Oyelowo received acclaim for playing historical African-Americans,
and many people believed Idris Elba and David Harewood
really were American after their starring roles in U.S. television shows.
Why is this happening? Why is Britain losing so much homegrown talent to the states?
I think that a lot of black British actors are heading over to Hollywood because
simply because of the range of opportunity afforded by that industry,
while it is still kind of limiting for people of color, and women, in that industry
I think that it still offers a broader range of stories and
works of different scale than we normally see coming completely out of the U.K.
"Are there better opportunities for black actors, black British actors, in the U.S.,
as opposed to the U.K.? Duh! Is the first thing I think."
"All our stories are set in Cornwall in the 16th century."
It's formed around a lot of period pieces and dramas that might not attract
people of color, like maybe there's people who just don't think that the sort of films that they want to make
won't get made in Britain due to the general taste.
But it's difficult to provide catch-all answers for things like this because there's kind of a variety of reasons
I'd say that largest one is being that Hollywood is just bigger.
Hollywood may just simply be bigger but there is certainly a representation issue.
Idris Elba, British Asian actor Riz Ahmed, and David Oyelowo
have all spoken out about diversity in the film industry,
With Oyelowo being critical of the pressure seemingly only put on ethnic minority actors,
to comment on the problem.
"Within about 3 minutes of any interview I'm doing 'David, we've got to talk about diversity',
And my heart dies a little every time.
How can we increase opportunities for ethnic minority actors in Britain?
I think it's a question that should be pointed more at the people who are making,
who are like responsible around the production rather than just the actors
because asking someone like David Oyelowo 'do you think films should be more diverse?'
He'll probably just say yes. I think the more productive answers will come from people who have
responsibility over more than just the films that they're appearing in.
"Talent can't reach opportunity unaided, especially on our small island.
That's why Britain, Britain's talent gets exported all over the world and we, I don't think,
in my opinion, haven't done enough to nurture our diverse talent."
"You have to change the demographics of the people who are making these decisions."
It starts with making the industry more accessible and then specifically more accessible
to people from minority backgrounds. People are not being afforded opportunities because they're not
given access to education in film or opportunities after that education.
It's a really difficult industry to get into. There are boards that are working to
promote talent from different backgrounds like the BFI, BAFTA and the British Council
all have programmes that are targeted at promoting people from minority backgrounds but then,
I guess, sometimes it doesn't always bite and, I guess, sometimes—I think it's just something that needs to
continue happening and maybe, the access to education in film just needs to be wider spread
for people from different backgrounds to be able to get into film.
Fixing the problem then starts with making the industry more accessible to people from all backgrounds.
It’s not down to the on screen talent though, the rooms where the decisions are made
need to be more representative.
Only then can we get a more diverse range of stories on our television sets and cinema screens,
and the talent drain of black and other minority talent may become a thing of the past.
"It's got to be baked into the foundation of where the ideas flow from."
"We need to safeguard the opportunities and access to the creative industries
amongst marginalized and underepresented groups."
"All I'm asking for is some real imagination. Untold stories.The road less travelled.
Let's think outside the box, in fact let's smash the box. Oh f**k it, forget the box."