The Fast and Furious actress Nathalie Emmanuel has come out and said that Black and mixed-race actors from the United Kingdom are not welcomed to Hollywood.
While talking to Essence about her latest film, F9, she explained the reason why there are very few actors of color from the U.K. Emmanuel said,
The British industry hasn’t always embraced us, and I think so many Black and mixed people like myself have come out to America because the opportunities just weren’t here for us. And unfortunately, what’s happened is that a lot of Black talent has been lost to the States.
The Game of Thrones said that despite several calls for more inclusion, the British entertainment industry has no interest in listening to the demands or make any changes.
It’s not like we hadn’t been calling for this for many years, it was just falling on dead ears.
According to the actress, several representational barriers exist for Black actors who want to make their way to Hollywood. She added,
I think, frankly, that the U.S. has so much more opportunity for people of all kinds of backgrounds, and all kinds of like people. The industry is bigger so there’s more being made, and there’s kind of space for more people. It’s always really heartwarming when I have someone come up to me and they say, ‘Oh, my daughter, she hated her hair, she hated her skin, she hated these things about herself, and then she saw you. And then, she now like, loves herself,’
She also said that she is getting meaningful responses from several people. F9 is now out in theatres.
