Yahoo Finance Nathalie Emmanuel says there's a reason so many Black British actors find more success in Hollywood
Nathalie Emmanuel is known for starring in the blockbuster Fast & Furious films and the epic HBO series Game of Thrones, but the British actress says she might not be where she is today if she hadn't left the U.K., due to a lack of opportunities for Black and mixed-race performers.
Asked in a recent Essence interview what it feels like as a Black British actress to be part of a talent invasion of the U.S. from Blighty, Emmanuel said roles are harder to come by back home.
"The British industry hasn't always embraced us, and I think so many Black and mixed people like myself have come out to America because the opportunities just weren't here for us," Emmanuel said. "And unfortunately, what's happened is is that a lot of Black talent has been lost to the States."
Mike Marsland/WireImage Nathalie Emmanuel
Emmanuel, whose credits also include the Maze Runner movies and Hulu's Four Weddings, said there have been calls for change in the U.K. but little movement.
"And it's not like the industry - we hadn't been calling for this for many years," she continued. "It was just falling on dead ears. And I think, frankly, that the U.S. has so much more opportunity for people of all kinds of backgrounds, and all kinds of like people. The industry is bigger so there's more being made, and there's kind of space for more people. And while it has it's issues too, and while we're still calling for necessary, important change through every area of the industry, there seems to be just more opportunity."
Looking back on her career so far, the actress said she's "really proud and excited to be a part of people who have" just taken "a risk" by embarking on this acting journey. And the rewards have been tenfold.
"It's always really heartwarming when I have someone come up to me and they say, 'Oh, my daughter, she hated her hair, she hated her skin, she hated these things about herself, and then she saw you.' And then, she's now like, loves herself," Emmanuel said. "It literally makes me want to cry because I was that little girl, so the fact that I can be that for someone else is lovely."
Representation is something that's been on Emmanuel's mind a lot lately. She mentioned the Fast franchise's diversity, and how much it's meant to her to be a part of the "impact," in a recent interview with EW.
"I often feel so attracted to women who are so undeniably talented, and [my character] Ramsey is absolutely that," the F9 star said. "On a personal level, because of the impact that Fast & Furious has had for me as a woman of mixed Black heritage, and seeing the diversity of those movies and how they grow, being a part of that huge impact that those movies have across the entire world was just so exciting. The idea that someone might one day see me and feel represented the way that I did when I was a kid."
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