Idris Elba Defends Black British Actors Portraying American Roles
The conversation surrounding Black British actors taking on roles typically played by Black Americans is an “unintelligent argument,” according to Idris Elba.
Appearing on The Shop (via The Root), the British-born actor was asked by host Maverick Carter about British actor Naomi Ackie playing Whitney Houston in the forthcoming biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
“You know what I noticed?” Elba said. “You said Black women in America versus an English woman. Like being English makes you less Black? To me, that defines how unintelligent the whole argument is.
“No disrespect to anyone who has that feeling, it is what it is,” he continued. “But the fact is: we’re all Black… But amongst ourselves we want to point fingers because we come from a conditioning that makes people just make sure ‘Where’re you from?’ and ‘Are you authentic from where you’re from? How Black are you?’”
“It comes down to the caste system and it’s annoying to me, really annoying. My grandfather fought the Second World War for this country, U.S., comes from Kansas City. I come to this country and someone says to me, ‘You ain’t American’ and I’m like, ‘Huh?’ How dare you,” Elba concluded. “It’s acting. Cultural appropriation is definitely something we should pay attention to. But in the acting profession, one should be allowed to play.”
The debate reached its peak when Daniel Kaluuya was nominated for an Oscar for his starring role in Get Out, a film about racism in the United States. Even Samuel L Jackson weighed in at the time, famously commenting, “I tend to wonder what that movie would have been with an American brother who really understands that.”
Ackie’s biopic has been backed by the late Houston’s estate and is written by Anthony McCarten. Currently, it’s scheduled for a December 21 release.
