During the latest episode of Uninterrupted’s The Shop, Idris Elba got candid about the ongoing debate over whether Black British actors are intruding on acting roles portraying Black Americans.
Elba doubled down on his thoughts after the interview sparked the conversation around the recent casting of BAFTA-winning actress Naomi Ackie, who was recently cast to portray the legendary Whitney Houston in the upcoming biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
Businessman and The Shop co-host Maverick Carter asked Elba about Ackie’s casting, suggesting that Black American women may be critical of a Black British actress playing a beloved American icon.
In an exclusive clip sent to The Root, a baffled Elba rebutted with, “You know what I noticed? You said Black women in America versus an English woman. Like being English makes you less Black? To me, that defines how unintelligent the argument is. No disrespect to anyone who has that feeling, it is what it is.”
Idris Elba spoke further on the topic by comparing the theory to something similar to a “caste system.”
“The fact is: We’re all Black,” the actor said. “You get a Scottish actor playing an Irish character or an English actor — you don’t hear about a debate. But amongst ourselves, we want to point fingers because we come from a conditioning that makes people just make sure ‘where’re you from?’ and ‘are you authentic from where you’re from? How Black are you?’ And it comes down to the caste system and it’s annoying to me.”
However, this isn’t the first time that Elba has had to express his feelings on the topic. The debate surged in 2017 after Samuel L. Jackson called out Daniel Kaluuya’s casting in Get Out, for which the actor earned an Oscar nomination.
Elba also revealed that he shares American roots.
“My grandfather fought the second World War for this country, the U.S. [He] comes from Kansas City,” Elba said. “I come to this country and someone says to me ‘you ain’t American’ and I’m like, ‘huh?’ How dare you. … It’s acting. Cultural appropriation, no. That’s definitely something we should pay attention to. But in the acting profession, one should be allowed to play.”
