Why are Black British Actors Heading for the US ?

Black British Actors

Acclaimed actor David Harewood hit out last week at the lack of strong parts for black actors.


When Resident Evil is released in cinemas in the autumn the arrival on screen of the man they call The One, the mysterious leader of a commando unit, may surprise British audiences, and its not because he was chopped up into pieces by a laser in the first of this franchise of American action films. No, the reappearance of The One is unexpected because he is played by British actor Colin Salmon.

Salmon, 49 is part of a growing group of distinguished black British stars making big budget US film and television projects to supplement a British acting career. but weather black talent is drawn to Hollywood by he money or more by the substantial roles on offer is not clear.

David criticized the British TV industry for failing to take risks with black casting. " Unfortunately there aren't really that many roles for authoritative, strong black characters in this country. We just don't write those characters, its a fact., i don't want to trash this place but i do think there is a certain lack of ambition in terms of telling a global story."

Fellow black actors Idris Elba and Adrian Lester have both executed similar a manoeuver.

"its not possible to sustain a film career by just working in Britain, black or white, whoever you are." Lester said last year.

David Oyelowo, the first black actor to play an English king in the royal Shakespeare company's 2001 histories series starred in last years release The Help and now has a part in Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln.

The strong evidence that worthy parts only come to those black actors who travel is disputed by the iconoclastic US director Spike Lee.  " They know nothing about black people"
Lee's words echo that of Viola Davis " I find that when you;re a black character, you only have maybe seven puzzle pieces to work with all the time... really all you have is funny, strong, dignified, sassy, and that's pretty much it."

Pam Grier made the same point,  speaking in Torronto she said " I know a lot of African American women that they had lived it as little girls. It brought back horrible memories and they couldn't see it, nor will they read the book."

Star Wars director George Lucas complained about how hard it was to make the money make Red Tails, his film about black US airforce pilots because there were no white stars. The film was eventually completed and made 19 million at the box office on its opening weekend in the US last month.

British actor Giles Terera who played Sammy Davis Jr in the West End says " A friend of mine who just came back from LA said what black actors always say. Go out there and get parts rather than just playing another drug dealer or mugger over here."

Terera has noticed that while actors of mixed race are cast in black roles they are not cast in white roles. He said "It's more difficult to be black anyway, not just in the theatre. When i went to hail a taxi in London, i know it;s going to take three or four before one will stop for me."

Terera played Horatio in Hamlet at the National last year and remembers a friendly older white audience member explaining to him that Horatio would never have been black in real life.
The actor felt like pointing out that the actors were all speaking English not Danish.

Cush Jumbo, star of the National's new production Stoops To Conquer is more optimistic " The majority of roles i have played so far have been classical and that is not what i expected, having grown up in Lewisham and having a bit of a South London accent, and i hope that it was not because the director wanted to make a statement."

Jumbo believes there is good television work for black talent in Britain too. " I understand what David Harewood is saying though, because there is so much good quality television made in America. Here it's about having an agent who will push you towards the roles that are non-colour specific... When i go back to the Brit School to talk to kids, i especially the black kids, i will tell them to make themselves the most versatile actor they can. That way you can give them "The kid from the council estate" if they want, but you can also give them Shakespeare's Rosalind."