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6 actors the Oscars ignored this year and how you can make a difference

6 actors the Oscars ignored this year and how you can make a difference

They won’t be winning Oscar gold, but their work should be consumed by as many fans of cinema as possible
09 Feb, 2016

The latest Academy Awards nominations have started a racial storm that has risen from Hollywood and caught the attention of the world.

For a second year running, the nominees in the four acting categories are all white performers. This has led to the question: were forty white actors better than any black, Latino, or Asian actor for two years in a row?

While many members of the industry seem to feel the controversy is too hot to touch, for others the battle lines have been drawn. Black filmmakers such as Spike Lee and actors like Jada Pinkett Smith have announced a boycott while veteran actor George Clooney has been heavily critical on Hollywood, stating that the industry is moving in the wrong direction.

As The Economist points out, of the 6000 plus voting members of the Academy, 94% are white. The paper goes on to say, “The chances of no single person of color being nominated across two ceremonies would be exceptionally small — even during a 15-year span, the odds of seeing at least one sequence of back-to-back whiteouts are around one in 100,000.”

Though a large chunk of the audience stands in solidarity with people of colour, some have hit back with claims of ‘reverse racism’ and also expressed the belief that black actors aren’t being nominated because perhaps they don’t deserve it.


Michael Caine actually advised black actors to be ‘patient’: “Of course it will come. It took me years to get an Oscar.”


This myopic view has been shared by old white actors such as Charlotte Ramping and Michael Caine. A few days ago, the Academy Award winning Caine said, “There are loads of black actors; I think in the end you can’t vote for an actor [simply] because he’s black. You can’t say [that] I’m going to vote for him [even though] he’s not very good but he’s black, I’ll vote for him. You’ve got to give a good performance.”

He also advised black actors to be ‘patient’, “Of course it will come. It took me years to get an Oscar.”

Caine later went on to contradict himself when he recalled Idris Elba’s brilliant performance in Beasts of No Nation —Photo courtesy: hngn.com
Caine later went on to contradict himself when he recalled Idris Elba’s brilliant performance in Beasts of No Nation —Photo courtesy: hngn.com

So is the Academy biased? Not necessarily.

Any organization that nominates an average film such as Slumdog Millionaire over The Dark Knight and fails to award one of the greatest black actors of our time, Denzel Washington, for his brilliant work in Malcolm X (1992) and The Hurricane (2001), yet goes on to award him for a less memorable turn in Training Day (2001), possibly because it was a year when black actors were being honored (Sidney Poitier was presented with an honorary award that day while Halle Berry took home the Oscar for Best Actress), clearly has a history of making unpredictable decisions.


I wonder: are black actors are more likely to earn accolades if they are fighting adversity on film? History seems to say, yes


Think of some of the white actors nominated over the years: The majority of those roles would have been unaffected by race, so why aren’t actors of color headlining more powerful films? One of the most nominated black actors of all time, Denzel Washington, has been typically nominated for a performance in a racially charged film. Are black actors are more likely to earn accolades if they are fighting adversity on film?

Take for example the controversy that started when John Boyega was revealed as a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens. Many white fans of Star Wars couldn’t stomach a black actor in the role and voiced their opinions ferociously. This racist mindset isn’t only restricted to whites; recently, a budding Pakistani filmmaker named Hassan Sardar, who interestingly enough teaches screenwriting and cinematography, criticized the film’s casting as ‘politically correct’ in an article.

Boyega as Finn in The Force Awakens —Publicity photo
Boyega as Finn in The Force Awakens —Publicity photo

Clearly giant hairy aliens are acceptable, but heroes of color can’t exist in space. Sadly, we are so conditioned to seeing white men star in films that we find it difficult to swallow a person of color in a leading role even when we happen to be people of color. How twisted is that?

While the producers of Star Wars must be commended for their realistic casting choices, with films being such a fragile investment, one can appreciate the risks producers of less bankable projects face. Ultimately, the trend can only be reversed through a holistic change, and it begins with us, the viewers.

Sometimes the whitewashing can reach ridiculous levels though. For example, some of the recent winners (not just nominees) in the Academy’s Best Actor category have been Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) and Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), to name a few. All of these performers starred in biographical films about real people.

Looks like the poster of an exclusive white man's club, doesn't it?
Looks like the poster of an exclusive white man's club, doesn't it?

It would be difficult to imagine a black actor playing Lincoln or Stephen Hawking, but at the same time, why are historical figures of color sometimes played by white actors? One of the oldest instances of this is Ben Kingsley playing Ghandi under makeup. Could Hollywood not have found an Indian actor to play the most famous Indian man of all time?

Of course, actors of color did produce excellent performances in 2015 in spite of the roadblocks. While they won’t be winning Oscar gold, their work should be consumed by as many fans of cinema as possible.

Here are six actors from diverse backgrounds that could have earned an Oscar nod but didn't:

1) Benicio Del Toro as Alejandro Gillick in Sicario

Benicio del Toro is a Puerto Rican actor, whose performance in Sicario was chilling to say the least. —Photo courtesy: thewatcherblog1.wordpress.com
Benicio del Toro is a Puerto Rican actor, whose performance in Sicario was chilling to say the least. —Photo courtesy: thewatcherblog1.wordpress.com

Although Denis Villeneuve’s fantastic crime thriller earned three Academy Award nominations; it was criminally overlooked in the acting categories. As a vengeful former prosecutor turned assassin, Del Toro delivered a chilling performance, and it is a shame he didn’t make the cut in the Best Supporting Actor category.

2) Michael B. Jordan as Adonis "Donnie" Johnson Creed in Creed

Michael B. Jordan in a still from Creed —Photo courtesy: wired.com
Michael B. Jordan in a still from Creed —Photo courtesy: wired.com

This Rocky sequel was one of my favorite films of 2015, especially because of the amazing performances. I was pleased that Stallone earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination but was surprised that Michael B. Jordan was ignored.

3) Tessa Thompson as Bianca in Creed

Tessa Thomson as Biance —Photo courtesy: filmweb.pl
Tessa Thomson as Biance —Photo courtesy: filmweb.pl

Tessa Thompson played the complicated role of a singer-songwriter slowly turning deaf, who falls in love with the son of a boxing legend, and has enough self-respect to draw the line when the relationship takes a worrying turn. As Bianca, she landed all her punches.

4) O'Shea Jackson, Jr (Ice Cube), Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre), Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E) in Straight Outta Compton

The infamous trio  —Photo courtesy: hollywoodreporter.com
The infamous trio —Photo courtesy: hollywoodreporter.com

These were my favorite three performances in in one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2015. Strangely, the only nomination for this biographical film about five black hip-hop artists starring a cast of talented black actors, directed by a black filmmaker, produced by mostly black producers, was for Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff, who happen to be two white screenwriters.

Yes, like Creed, Straight Outta Compton is a largely black film about African Americans where the only nominees happen to be white.

5) Idris Elba as Commandant in Beasts of No Nation

Idris Elba received much critical acclaim for his role in Beasts of No Nation —Photo courtesy: mashable.com
Idris Elba received much critical acclaim for his role in Beasts of No Nation —Photo courtesy: mashable.com

That this harrowing film by Cary Joji Fukunaga about a child soldier in West Africa was completely ignored by the Academy is surprising. Earning acclaim from both fans and critics alike, it featured a riveting performance from Idris Elba as a warlord, who by missing out on a nomination for Best Supporting Actor has a case for snub of 2015.

6) Abraham Attah as Agu in Beasts of No Nation

This 14-year-old could have given the current nominees a run for their money —Photo courtesy: mashable.com
This 14-year-old could have given the current nominees a run for their money —Photo courtesy: mashable.com

This 14-year old Ghanaian actor’s debut performance as a child soldier is nothing short of stunning. He has deserved every award he has won so far, including Marcello Mastroianni's Best Young Actor Award at the Venice International Film Festival. For my money, he should have been a strong contender in the Academy’s Best Actor category.

Comments

sheryar Feb 09, 2016 11:50am
sorry no just dont force equality its not the oscars fault if all the other "color" folks werent up to the mark
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wellwisher Feb 09, 2016 01:36pm
Discrimination against black skin is everywhere.In India mostly gora from northwest get hero,s role and black south Indians are baddies.But strangely heroins from south are winners.
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TRUTH Feb 09, 2016 03:21pm
"Average film such as Slumdog Millionaire" Wow! How did you come to that conclusion. Hope bias did not get the best of Noman Ansari. That would be unbecoming of a writer.
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Aditya Feb 09, 2016 04:02pm
C'mon... do you know how difficult it is being in the shoes of an Oscar judge? But I do agree Dr. Ahmad role should have been nominated. But the acting of Finn, I think it was clumsy acting. I don't think SiFi actor will ever be nominated... however, creativity of showing fiction into reality is worth billions. There are excellent black actors but recently none new actors are
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Aditya Feb 09, 2016 04:06pm
C'mon... do you know how difficult it is being in the shoes of an Oscar judge? But I do agree Dr. Ahmad role should have been nominated. But the acting of Finn, I think it was clumsy acting. I don't think SiFi actor will ever be nominated... however, creativity of showing fiction into reality is worth billions. There are excellent black actors they just have to work hard... after all, mr. M. Cane is right. Give it a time, that is, earn respect by hard work, acting is one difficult task.... not just 8 to 5 job.
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Syed Ganga Din Feb 09, 2016 04:12pm
May be they should all join Malala and get Nobel Prize. Forget Oscars.
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Fried Chillies Feb 09, 2016 04:19pm
As an Indian I agree with one sentence the most "a mediocre film like Slumdog millionaire" earned an award! In a globalised media you can't have diabolical standards.
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Zohaib Feb 09, 2016 04:47pm
hmm....actually Sir Ben Kingsley is not "all-white" as you claim but half-Indian! His birth name is Krishna Bhanji, which sounds pretty much Indian to me. You could have cited castings of Charles Lee as M.A. Jinnah in Jinnah movie or Johnny Depp as Red Indian in The Lone Ranger or Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart. Anyways, as you mentioned yourself that 94% of Academy members are white, it is not a surprise to see Oscars being so white. Besides, problem is far deeper with non-white actors not getting any major roles, Industry as a whole is culprit. This mindset won't change till ppl gonna keep in marketing fairness creams.
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Ahmad Feb 10, 2016 03:01am
i didn't see other above mentioned films except Sicario... n i'm agree with u that Benicio's acting was hall mark of this movie, i watched it thrice only due to his acting ... he should be nominated!! btw is he considered as 'color one'...?? to me he is fairly white...
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Jehanzeb Feb 10, 2016 03:29am
I think it is wrong to call out The Academy for its lack of diversity. When you do not have enough films to compel the Academy members to votes, it is not the fault of the Academy and its voters. The problem is clear and simple and it is pointed out well enough in Viola Davis' Emmy winning speech, where she points out that you cannot win the awards for the roles which are simply not there. The irony lies in the films being produced as the films about mop invention gets more momentum as compared to other films. Secondly, I think Jada Pinkett Smith is overreacting, she has a production company which has achieved nothing other than the glorification of her husband's acting chops, as the majority of the films fail to incorporate stories or even actors of colour.
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