It is so sad that in 21st century Britain we dont want to give our black actors any work of worth, and find we have to go the USA for work. Actors like, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Lenny James, Adrian Lester, Eamonn Walker, Treva Etienne, and so many more cant get any work here, it a shame.
"If God hadn't meant for them to be sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep"
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shareI agree. And the interesting thing is they have been in the best of American. Higher quality parts than they could get in the UK. "Without a trace" "Primary Colours" "Oz" "Pirates of the Caribbean". I'm pleased for them but yes, it does make you wonder what is going on here. I can see our talented writes and directors heading the same way.
shareYes, I agree that is truly a shame. And I think that black actors or actresses are often the toughest. Where would we be without Marianne, Will Smith and all the other great actors. Not to mention doctors, clerks, friends, singers who all help us.
When I watched "Without a trace" for the first time, I was so happy to see an African-American (I didn't know she's actually from Britain). Something like this is wonderful and it shows even the most conservative Republicans in the world that black people are there and ready to make a difference. I also think it is a pity that there are only a few African-American senators and congressmen.
A friend and I were speculating today on the possiblity that in the 2008 presidential election we could have a Condaleezza Rice-Barak Obama contest. What would the good ol' boys do??!!
shareOh, no Condoleezza Rice.
I want to go back to Montreal.
As I said on the previous board; I have never heard so much crap in all my life. She was not forced out of Britain due to racism. Yes there was the debacle with the actors group in Cannes but that was not Britain. She claimed racism, it was how she perceived it. She is in the States because her husband (who is a dancer) is over there. When you are an actor (Particularly one as good as Marianne), you go where the work takes you. Lets face it Without a Trace is going to pay substantially more than a main part on something like Casualty over here.
It has nothing to do with skin colour; Kiera Knightley , Hugh Grant, Ricky Gervais,( and that's just off the top of my head) they are all over in the States, why? Because the opportunity presented itself to A) Make more money and B) be viewed by a wider audience.
So, if her husband and the chance to appear in an International TV show are both in the States, why would she stay here. She was not pushed out. That would be like saying that Hugh Grant was pushed out. Rubbish, you go where the better paid and more prestigious jobs are.
I get so fed up these boards hearing the fascination in where actors are from or what ethnicity they are, or that they suffered some form of bigotry. The only country in the world that feels the need to segregate by 'ethnicity' is America. You have to be Latino, or Albanian or African American. In Britain, if you are born here then you are British. We tend not to see colour as much as the US.
Londonbird never said it had nothing to do with race, she said that race is less of an issue in the UK than it is in the US. In the UK it is class issues which remain the biggest divider, source of discrimination and leads to unequal oppurtunities.
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