Friday 7 April 2017

Hope for Hollywood – Beauty in Diversity on Screen By: Marika Siewert



I recently went to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and I was pleasantly surprised in every aspect to see diversity completely at the forefront of this film. From the beautiful beginning song throughout the entire journey there are powerful characters, incredible actors behind the voices, and a very purposeful mission on Disney’s part to embrace diversity that we see in our every day lives. One particular thing that was pointed out on the press tour was that this was the very first Disney movie to contain a “mixed race” kiss – speaking of Stanley Tucci and Audra McDonald’s characters. Rightly so, Audra didn’t even realize it was a big deal – which is as it should be. She saw it as simply a right demonstration of love between two characters. But, for me as a woman, a woman of colour, and someone who is married to a handsome Caucasian fellow, with beautiful mixed kids, it was a delight to see what I saw on screen being portrayed as the norm. For every art, music and film lover, Beauty and the Beast is a must see, as it will ignite your passion for good cinema and bring joy through the amazing piece of art and entertainment that it is.

Now I didn’t just mean for this to be a big push for Beauty and the Beast, but seeing this film happened to coincide with writing this piece, and I felt that it was timely in my realization that there is hope for diversity in Hollywood and Hollywood North.

I will be first to admit that when I started the journey of being a professional actor, I was falling into the trap of feeling sorry for myself. I felt that I wasn’t getting the opportunities that maybe my Caucasian counterparts were getting. I was constantly being told “they didn’t bite” or “we’ll get the next one” from my agents. Then, when I saw that ultimately a Caucasian woman surely got the part, it would confirm my feelings that I may be playing a no named nurse or doctor for the next ten years of my acting career. I was doomed before I even really started. Then I made it a mission to visit a few different prominent casting directors and have candid conversations with them about being a diverse actor in Hollywood. I found out that yes - it’s difficult being a diverse actor, but if this is what I want to do, I need to just keep doing it and I need to constantly GET GOOD at it!

The reality is – there are advocates out there working on the frontlines to get diversity to the forefront of film and television. I have met some of these amazing people and they are doing great work. Where they didn’t see a place for themselves, they created one. They became directors, writers, casting directors, and producers. They made space because there is space. They may have had to work a little harder and fight way more battles than those who aren’t diverse, but they did it. They believed and they pushed through. And they still do that. They are just waiting for us to be SO GOOD THEY CAN’T IGNORE US! Yes – there will always be room for improvement but we need to be part of the solution, even if it means creating our own solutions to start. A friend of mine right now is working in Hollywood to advocate for “differently abled” actors to be working on network television – which means – we need more workshops and training for differently abled actors. We need more writers writing parts specifically for this kind of talent. We need to encourage those with hopes and dreams of being an actor, but never thought possible to believe again that it is possible, to get training, and start being visible in the audition rooms. In the same way, we as diverse actors need to have hope again in ourselves, in our talent, and in those that are advocating especially for us. I know it may sound trite – but reality is – there are really good diverse actors working out there. There can always be more, but let’s work hard to join the ranks. When I was asked by a casting director in a candid conversation “what are you anyway? “(he was referring to my race). I told him I was mixed (I’m actually a Trinidadian and Mauritian, who grew up in England and now I live in Vancouver), and his response was “oh you don’t fit anywhere…so you should be auditioning for EVERYTHING! “His response honestly changed not just my career, but my entire life. It has helped me educate my team, my agents, my friends even, and has given me a completely different outlook on my career. I then decided, I just want to be really incredible at what I do, so people will hire me because of my talent, not my differences. Since that day, only about a month later, I booked a recurring guest star role in a TV series. Yes, it was me against a bunch of other light skinned lovely talented people, but I went in the room with the idea of doing the casting director proud – not that I deserved this role, but that I would just deliver for him and for the production, and I BOOKED IT. I’m not saying it’s always going to be easy, and my journey to prove myself able of being a lead actress could be long. I’m not going to book every audition, but I want to be doing great things in this business for a long time, and I’m going to work hard for it and work alongside those that want that for me too. I also know, I need to continue to believe bigger. It is my motto that regardless of what anyone else thinks or says, that “I get to be the leading lady in my story” and so no matter how difficult it seems, I am going to continue to write a great story for myself. Everything else may be a big fight not worth fighting. I want to create a better space in the industry for myself and also for my kids who are coming up behind me (or more like in front of me because they are already such great actors ha-ha). I have decided to move forward, always aspiring to be more gracious and hopeful than bitter, angry and hurt and against all the odds, no matter what, to...Just keep swimming! (Wise words from a very inspiring diverse character herself  - Dory aka Ellen DeGeneres )

“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward “Martin Luther King Jr.


Writer Bio:

Marika Siewert is a professional UBCP/ACTRA actor, Top 40  recording artist, songwriter, industry coach and consultant. She is also a wife and mother and her three children are also professional working actors.  For more info: www.marikaonline.com

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