David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, spoke out about his snub and his overall feeling about how the Academy Awards honors black actors. He believes that black actors are only honored when they play “subservient” roles.
Oyelowo sat down with Fandango’s Dave Karger at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this weekend and was asked how he felt to be at the center of a “snub” discussion. At first, he joked about it, but then turned very serious. He said that Denzel Washington should have won for Malcolm X and pointed out that Sidney Poitier wasn’t even nominated for In The Heat of the Night.
The British actor suggested that the Oscars have not recognized black actors in strong leading roles. They “have been celebrated more for when we are subservient, when we are not being leaders or kings or being at the center of our own narrative,” he explained, notesEntertainment Weekly.
“We have been slaves, we have been domestic servants, we have been criminals, we have been all of those things,” he continued, reports The Hollywood Reporter. “But we have been leaders, we have been kings, we have been those who changed the world.”
Oyelowo noted that films were black actors have strong roles have been hard to make, but that 12 Years A Slave and Lee Daniels’ The Butler “changed the narrative.” That gave Paramount the confidence to greenlight Selma, so Oyelowo thanked the studio for agreeing to make it.
Selma only ended up getting two Oscar nominations - Best Picture and Best Original Song for “Glory.”
image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com