Yesterday, we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Since his death in 1968; progress has been made. If it weren’t for King and what he and so many others worked and died for, I would not have been working yesterday.
I am a background actor, and I work in Hollywood. And I am black.
Blackground.The first African-American to win an Academy Award was Hattie McDaniel, who took home a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in “Gone With the Wind.” It was 1940. Twenty-four years later, Sidney Poitier made history with his Oscar win for “Lilies of the Field.”
Since 1940, only 13 black people have garnered the top prizes for acting: 1964, Sidney Poitier, Best Actor, “Lilies of the Field” — (1963)
1983, Louis Gossett Jr., Best Supporting Actor, “An Officer and a Gentleman” — (1982)
1991, Whoopi Goldberg, Best Supporting Actress, “Ghost” — (1990)
1990, Denzel Washington, Best Supporting Actor, “Glory” — (1989)
1997, Cuba Gooding Jr., Best Supporting Actor, “Jerry Maguire” — (1996)
2002, Denzel Washington, Best Actor, “Training Day” — (2001)
2002, Halle Berry, Best Actress, “Monster’s Ball” — (2001)
2005, Jamie Foxx, Best Actor, “Ray” — (2004)
2005, Morgan Freeman, Best Supporting Actor, “Million Dollar Baby” — (2004)
2007, Forest Whitaker, Best Actor, “The Last King of Scotland” — (2006)
2007, Jennifer Hudson, Best Supporting Actress, “Dream Girls” — (2006)
2012, Monique, Best Supporting Actress, “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” — (2011)
2012, Octavia Spencer, Best Supporting Actress, “The Help” — (2011)
2014, Lupita Wyong’o, Best Supporting Actress, “Twelve Years A Slave” — (2013)
A few weeks ago, Spike Lee got a lifetime achievement Oscar, and the president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, is an African American. Progress has been made. Even so, it seems a little odd that the nominations this year are devoid of color. That concerns me … to a point, but I can see how it works.
MOST of the calls for background that I come across are not for “African Americans.” Those that are pretty much only use a small number. I know this comes from the top and works its way down. I have been on numerous jobs where I am one of a few or a handful of black people, where the majority of background performers are white. Now that I have seen this firsthand, I can weigh in.
Things are changing, even though they are not ideal. Progress has been made.
The folks at the top, in this town, have their ideas of what constitutes “realistic” for television … and there is a quota. There is no way that anyone can tell me there is not. I have been on sets where I was the ONLY African American male — especially in my age range when it would seem that there would be more people of color in the mix. I haven’t done a “scientific” study, but all I have to do is look around. Yesterday, for instance, I was working on a show, and there were about 30 “BG” (background). There were about five black people. I’m sure that years ago, there would have been a much smaller number than five, so things are changing.
And to those who might read this post and want to mention that I've "omitted" one group or another: This is not to say that other ethnic groups don't get ignored: Hispanics, Asians, Indians, American Indians, but today IS Martin Luther King Day, so it would stand to reason that I'm thinking along these lines today.
I remember watching old movies, “Tarzan,” “Charlie Chan” etc., and seeing the black people and how they were depicted. I didn’t think a whole lot about it until I grew up. Now that I work as a background performer, I have a brand-new outlook.
Blackground.
And now that it’s Oscar season, I have another outlook yet. Maybe by the time my grandsons grow up, they'll be able to see more progress. I plan to do my part.
Hollywood blackground, 2016.
Stay tuned ... and don't blink.
Back2One
www.imdb.me/cliffredding
