Samuel L. Jackson critiques trend of black British actors in American films

The veteran actor says black British actors don't cost as much, and are considered more classically trained than their American counterparts.

TheGrio Staff

Mar 9, 2017

During an interview with the New York radio station Hot 97, Samuel L Jackson blasted the Hollywood trend of casting black British actors for American films and passing over African-American actors for the part.

In particular, Jackson pointed to Jordan Peele’s recent thriller, Get Out, which has British actor Daniel Kaluuya as its lead.

“There are a lot of black British actors in these movies,” Jackson said. “I tend to wonder what that movie [Get Out] would have been with an American brother who really feels that.

“Daniel grew up in a country where they’ve been interracial dating for a hundred years,” he added. “What would a brother from America have made of that role? Some things are universal, but [not everything].”

Jackson also pointed to the casting of David Oyelowo for Selma as further evidence, saying, “There are some brothers in America who could have been in that movie who would have had a different idea about how King thinks.”

Asked why the trend toward British actors exist, Jackson explained, “They’re cheaper than us, for one thing. They don’t cost as much. And they [casting agents and directors] think they’re better trained, because they’re classically trained.”