The comedian Lenny Henry is a national treasure, so I was annoyed recently when I heard him playing the race card when complaining about how only a handful of black actors in Britain actually appeared in films that were destined for the world stage. He strongly suggested that discrimination was holding back opportunities for so much black talent, and that racism was denying many actors the chance to star in block buster films that are produced in the U.K That's a funny view for a person of colour whom Im sure most people in the U.K love and admire with great affection. It becomes even more bizarre when I thought back about his early days on T.V when he was very famous originally for portraying a racially stereotyped over the top character that ive posted above ( God Bless YouTube ) So is he correct in his reasoning then ? Well another national treasure who is also an actor and comedian; Stephen Fry, answered Lennys assumption in a radio interview that I was lucky enough to catch a few days later .And what he said really surprised me...
Stephen Fry, another national treasure.....
Stephen Fry stated that in his experience the rest of the world had a very limited appetite for British made films. In fact it was limited solely to period dramas, or historical type films, hence black actors were not suitable to play many roles. He also suggested that black Britain's were associated with an urban image, and urban Britain unlike say urban America was not deemed sexy, exciting or relevant to film audiences in other countries. Of course films with a rural setting are popular abroad due to our Ye Old English Victorian image, but again these films were not big employers of black actors obviously. Its all basically a situation of supply and demand, not racism thats denying more black actors the chances they deserve. I just wonder why a man as experienced and loved as Lenny Henry expresses such views ? I think he knows that what he says is not entirely true, and like most people with axes to grind isnt bothered as long as it amplifies and serves his purposes better when getting his distorted " chip on the shoulder " message across. Most wont be bothered by this, but it really gets my goat !
