Daniel Dae Kim: "Why not hire minorities in Hollywood?"

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"I'm such a fan of films and books like Lord of the Rings and even Star Wars, despite the fact that, as an actor, I'll never be employed by them," Kim tells PEOPLE of his decision to speak out about the lack of representation in big-budget films. 

"There are people whose work I greatly admire who just don't write to my experience in any way," he says. "I don't fault them for it; writers tend to create and write to their own experiences and to their own circle of friends and if they don't have people in their lives who are ethnically diverse, then there's never really much thought to making roles ethnically diverse." 

"At the same time, there's nothing to preclude a minority from being in those projects – 90 percent of the time – because they're not about something that would exclude them such as language or a different experience of growing up." 

Kim, who was born in South Korea but moved to the U.S. when he was 2 years old, considers himself an American. "Most of those movies and roles call for Americans; they don't call for someone who is white, or someone who is black or someone who is Asian. They mostly call for Americans," he says. "It requires is a little bit of mindfulness to be inclusive. That is something that takes an extra step of thought, but I think it would really help integrate what we see on our screens and also integrate our lives as Americans in general." 

The actor says that he is certainly not making any demands of these big-budget, "top-notch" filmmakers. However, "all I am saying is that that I'd like to see is people asking the question, 'Why not? Why not hire a minority in these roles?' " 

Adds Kim: "If there is a reason based on a historical figure or a certain subculture of America where it's important that the race is white, then I'm all for that kind of authentic casting. But if there isn't a reason, then why not?"

 

http://www.people.com/article/daniel-dae-kim-hawaii-five-0-lost-diversity-hollywood-interview

[jarrylf]

WOW very good read and points!