Color-Blind Casting Quotes

I want to aspire to something like what Denzel Washington does, which is try to find scripts written for white actors - or Jodie Foster, who reads scripts for male actors.

Theater will cast in a more open way; Denzel Washington might play Richard III. Television and film don't really cast openly like that. The theater world has always been a leader in diversity.

Sooner or later, directors in Germany will start casting without regard to where a person is from. It shouldn't matter anymore.

In theater, you can be free. That's how Lin-Manuel Miranda got to do the most revolutionary piece of theater with 'Hamilton': color-blind casting in roles in which they would never cast Latinos if it were a film or TV show. It just goes to show that Hollywood and cable are way behind.

There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as any other white actor. That's what I'm trying to get at.

I think with 'Hamilton,' Lin-Manuel has really blown up the whole casting idea. It's miraculous. You look at '1776,' it's a bunch of old white guys and old white chicks. You look at 'Hamilton,' and it's just the faces of America.

It is not easy to get parts in mainstream films for most people of color. Hollywood and British writers are not writing parts for us, or the directors are not interested in casting us in parts that are color-blind.

It would be really cool to have some more roles where it doesn't matter how a character looks. You get a script, you see it, and it doesn't matter: there's no description of how the character looks in any way shape or form; it's just, whoever is right for the role is the person.

My hope is to see people of color in roles that do not emphasize race. Often times when movies are centered around people of color, they are movies where the storyline is based on some racial component. I want to see movies where people of color play more interesting, nuanced characters.

In the case of 'Thor,' it was just casting the best people for the part. Ken Branagh had the idea to cast Idris Elba as Heimdall, and we didn't blink at that chance to do it.

The number of Latino roles is very limited, and it's unfortunate there isn't more color-blind casting.

I'm not one of those people who's against all-black productions of Tennessee Williams plays, but there are lot more complex and natural ways to bring people of color into the theater.

I take every role seriously. Personally, I never look at any role as Michael White. I've done that my entire life. I've never excluded myself because of color. It's never been part of the radar, when I look at anything I do. The majority of the roles that I've played have had very little to do with being black. It doesn't matter what color you are.

That's another great thing about Think Like a Man picture. The cast is predominantly African-American, but color is never really an issue in the film. It's rarely brought up since, at the end of the day, these guys are going through universal relationship issues that anybody can relate to. So, while the characters like "The non-committer," "The Player," and "The Dreamer" might be recognizable as common stereotypes, color isn't involved.