Idris Elba Quotes

The white actresses I have known have been allowed to do 10 times more than I shall ever do.

If you're African American, you are forced into making different choices, in a lot of cases, than you are as a white person.

In L.A., I was a talent manager for many years. I represented many African-American actors. After a while, I became disheartened over the shortage of roles for African Americans.

I've been fortunate in my career, but, yes, there have been many times when I have been told my audition has been cancelled because they're only going to see white people.

The industry looks for white actors and actresses, but it's not the same for black actors. We have to really put the work in.

Diversity in the industry is very lacking, and equal opportunity comes very far and few between for people of color.

I get it - there are very few black female actresses who have been given chances.

As I often say, we have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways. Though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable.

If money, education, and honesty will not bring to me as much privilege, as much equality as they bring to any American citizen, then they are to me a curse, and not a blessing.

We're not willing to give black leaders second chances because, in most cases, we're not willing to give them first chances.

As a black actor, you always have the feeling that there's not as much work out there as for a white counterpart, but is America after all; you have to play ball if you're going to play ball.

The deals that were made for Black artists at that time were not the deals that were made for white artists.

There were lots of smart black people at Harvard before Barack Obama, but none of them ever got to head up the law review. There has been a history of discrimination.

I don't feel that I was often compartmentalized as an African-American actor, yet I am fully aware of the plight that actors, directors and producers of color face in our industry. I choose to focus on being proactive in creating opportunities for myself and others while acknowledging that we are not playing on a level playing field.

A Negro woman has the same kind of problems as other women, but she can't take the same things for granted.

It is frustrating to be a Black woman in the entertainment industry.

I like to work and there's no movies for actors, period, especially black actors. When white actors are like, 'Man, there's no work out there,' then black actors are like, 'Are you kidding me?'

When you allow racial disparity and institutional inequity to affect one part of the country, eventually it's coming back to get everyone.

I thought the Navy at times resembled a Southern plantation that had somehow escaped the Civil War. Blacks swabbed the decks, shined shoes, did the cooking, washed the dishes, and served the food. Virtually no other jobs were open to them.

You know, women not making dollar for dollar the same as a man is not new. It's been that way since day zero, since the founding of this country. And when you put African-American women and Hispanic women into the mix it's even worse than that.

Without mentioning any names, there was a film that was being done, and I ran into the producer on the plane. It was a book that I really, really loved, and I said, 'I'd love to be a part of this.' And they made it clear that that was not going to be possible - for no particular reason other than that there was just no part for a black person.

Colorism and racism don't stop when you're a musician or when you have wealth or when you're in any given position.

As a black, you find you have to be two or three times better than a white even to play. And when it comes to front-office jobs, management believes you'll never be as good.

People across metro Detroit face discrimination every day in housing, employment, insurance - the list goes on. It might not always be explicit and in your face, but my residents know when they're being mistreated.

I am black in a predominantly white industry, and I have been luckier than most.