Larenz Tate: "Hollywood Finds More Value In Black British Actors; Theres a Decline In Black American Actors Getting Work!"

[2 Up 2 Down]

We have Black American actors who are classically trained though

• Jonathan Majors - Yale
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen - Yale
• Brian Tyree Henry - Yale
• Chadwick Boseman (RIP) - Howard
• Anthony Mackie - Juilliard
• Corey Hawkins - Juilliard

And many more.

And that is why they have gotten the roles and status they have obtained

 

[African Peasant]

Hollywood always had a Britsh fetish.

 

[HarlemHottie]

However, they’re also trying to eat due to the lack of opportunities in the UK. So, there’s no point trying to hold their hands. Everyone can eat & bridge the gap.

This again.

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

Well yes they are more talented its because they actually go to school for acting

And nikkas don’t?

 

[Formerly Black Trash]

This again.

It's nasty

"Yall benefited"

Meanwhile, Black Americans are doing the worst across the board in America

And I'm not saying British actors shouldn't come over here and try to get work

I blame us for being so accepting

But don't tell US it's yall fault because yall ain't go to school, when, like someone said, American schools are getting gutted and the arts aren't valued

And if, Black ppl were to wake up and say what about us, then it's xenophobic

Some ppl want it both ways

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

And that is why they have gotten the roles and status they have obtained

I think Morgan Freeman studied at a community college for the most part

 

[Buddy]

I think Morgan Freeman studied at a community college for the most part

Breh I'm still not sure if you've seen any Bollywood or Nollywood movies and if you haven't, how you know they exist.

 

[Still Benefited]

On the back of him and the character that played Jerome as well.

Definitely. And I cant sit here and say Amin Joseph was outclassed by Damson. Or that the actress who played Cissy looked small in her scense with Damson. They absolutely all killed it imo. So it just makes you wonder where the hell these actors have been.


But then you remember alot of black shows,would rather employ black american actors who come with a built in following on social media,music,reality show modeling etc. So instead of seeing some great unknown actor who is trained and can act they ass off. Instead we gotta watch Mary J Blige,LaLa,Asap Rocky,Gravy etc. Thats with all due respect,because most of them are passable as actors. But black american actors arent simply being hired based on talent. So we cant truly judge and say Brit actors outclass black American actors. But I do understand why that perception exist. But hiring on alot of these black shows is suspect as hell if we are being honest. Folks getting hired for non talent related reasons.

 

[GrindtooFilthy]

This again.

It's nasty

"Yall benefited"

Meanwhile, Black Americans are doing the worst across the board in America

And I'm not saying British actors shouldn't come over here and try to get work

I blame us for being so accepting

But don't tell US it's yall fault because yall ain't go to school, when, like someone said, American schools are getting gutted and the arts aren't valued

And if, Black ppl were to wake up and say what about us, then it's xenophobic

Some ppl want it both ways

You guy are being dishonest, like another poster said some of the biggest American roles like Batman and Spider-Man were given to British actors you can’t make it about race atp. What’s a known fact is that UK economy has a hard cap ceiling regardless once you reach your next step will be trying to step into the American market.

 

[GrindtooFilthy]

Definitely. And I cant sit here and say Amin Joseph was outclassed by Damson. Or that the actress who played Cissy looked small in her scense with Damson. They absolutely all killed it imo. So it just makes you wonder where the hell these actors have been.


But then you remember alot of black shows,would rather employ black american actors who come with a built in following on social media,music,reality show modeling etc. So instead of seeing some great unknown actor who is trained and can act they ass off. Instead we gotta watch Mary J Blige,LaLa,Asap Rocky,Gravy etc. Thats with all due respect,because most of them are passable as actors. But black american actors arent simply being hired based on talent. So we cant truly judge and say Brit actors outclass black American actors. But I do understand why that perception exist. But hiring on alot of these black shows is suspect as hell if we are being honest. Folks getting hired for non talent related reasons.

Hollywood has a hard on for foreign actors in general though, I just found out Keanu Reeves is Canadian and British

 

[Giselle]

He right. Why is Daniel Ezra playing Spencer James. A black American actor could’ve done that.


Yeah his accent is good but why not have a black American, play a Black American high school football star? Weird man smh

It’s not just the accent, it’s the culture and history that is specific to Black Americans yet they’re flying in others who claim that our culture doesn’t even exist yet they’re playing in it. It gives very much xenophobic

 

[Piff Perkins]

What material proof that British blacks are more talented at playing American blacks than actual American blacks? And this ain’t no diss, but y’all keep talking about the arts(music, film, comedy, etc) are taken more seriously over there than the states right?

If that is the case, what fruit have y’all produced in the last 60 years that have impacted the WORLD like a Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Harry Belafonte(island brother technically but still) Prince, Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Sidney Poitier, Fishburne, PAC, Wu, James Earl Jones, Pryor, Chadwick Bozeman, Ye, etc. etc.

Surely all that superior British acting talent would have been imported and resulted in some legendary US movies, TV over the last half century right? Cause Hollywood all about that bread at the end of the day. And if you’re talking about the arts, surely that includes music. Where are the legendary black British vocalists/performers? And like I said, this ain’t no diss by any means

They're better actors because they are better trained and more talented than a lot of American actors who get their first break in television due to non-acting/talent reasons. Your identity doesn't ensure you're going to act better than anyone. I think another problem in this thread, and this is largely the result of the type of film/tv content many people consume today, is that people don't view acting as an art or skill. If you believed acting was an art we wouldn't have to explain to you how someone who isn't African American can play the role on screen better than a less talented actor who is from that culture. Nor is this some unique issue only black people have dealt with. We've literally got decades worth of examples of Italian American actors playing Jews, or Jews playing Italian Americans, or whatever other culture. Drastically different cultures and mannerisms that can be done by an......actor.

In terms of music what we're seeing right now is a lot of British musicians starting to slowly take over jazz, which is second to blues as the most quintessential African American music, and American music in general. And just like with acting it's happening via school and training. LA, NY, NO etc have amazing jazz scenes and are breeding new musicians yearly but London is about to kick our ass soon. We need more black Americans playing instruments, and we need more doing it outside of our biggest cities. A lot of the top US jazz artists got scholarships from jazz legends as well as celebrities; Jay Leno famously gave Terrace Martin a scholarship when he was a kid for instance. But a system that relies on scholarships to create elite talent isn't gonna last as everything gets more expensive. Meanwhile there's more access in London right now. So yea I'm concerned about that.

 

[2 Up 2 Down]

Hollywood has a hard on for foreign actors in general though, I just found out Keanu Reeves is Canadian and British

It's been that way since the dawn of Hollywood

 

[null]

It’s not just the accent, it’s the culture and history that is specific to Black Americans yet they’re flying in others who claim that our culture doesn’t even exist yet they’re playing in it. It gives very much xenophobic

(American) wakanda forever sis

 

[Mister Terrific]

I read across the board British actors are preferred because not only are they classically trained they also don’t have the same worker rights in cinema that Americans have. You can pay em less and work em longer