Michael Caine: Black actors should 'be patient' about Oscars diversity
Among the many Hollywood stars voicing their opinions about the Academy Awards diversity controversy is Michael Caine, who offered this advice to performers of color: "Be patient."
Caine, who starred in last year's Youth, discussed his thoughts about the Oscars' all-white slates of acting nominees in an interview with BBC Radio 4.
“There’s loads of black actors. In the end you can't vote for an actor because he's black," he said. "You can't say, 'I'm going to vote for him, he's not very good, but he's black, I'll vote for him.'"
Caine cited Idris Elba's starring turn in Beasts of No Nation as a performance that deserved recognition. "Did he not get nominated?" he asked the host. "Well, look at me. I won [Best Actor at the European Film Awards] and I got nominated for nothing else."
"Be patient. Of course it will come. It took me years to get an Oscar, years.”
Listen to the full interview here.
More news about the Oscars diversity debate:
- Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling: Diversity outcry is 'racist to whites'
- Reese Witherspoon criticizes Oscars diversity
- Mark Ruffalo will attend Oscars, praises boycott