Kayvan Novak Quotes

One of the things I have an allergic reaction to playing, especially as a black actor, is the mandatory kind of best friend/cop/detective type. You will never see me in that movie.

I've only auditioned for one non-culturally specific role. I went through drama school and studied classic texts and played lead roles in 'Measure for Measure' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest' alongside a very culturally diverse group of acting students. But as soon as we graduate and enter the industry, all of those roles fall away.

Casting directors now just see me as the hard-core sniper or prison guard.

I read the script, and I knew it was a good part. It was written for a white actor. That's what I'm up against - I have to try to make roles happen for me that aren't written black.

I'd go for roles that would say 'for all ethnicities,' but what they're pretty much saying is, 'We want a Caucasian guy or a black guy.' One or the other.

If I were to limit myself to the opportunities that were presented playing only Chinese-American parts, I would be virtually without a career.

From my experience, I would say no: actors of East Asian descent don't get the opportunities white actors do. I know that's inherently a problem in a country that produces a lot of period drama, but I have to fight so hard to get parts that don't have something to do with China.

I think you get the parts that people are comfortable with seeing you play.

I always think it's really hard if you are Asian or Chinese to be really in Hollywood. There are not so many really great characters for you.

There aren't as many roles for people who look like me, and it was always complicated when it came to casting my parents. But now I couldn't be more grateful that I have a different look.

As you know, Hollywood loves to pigeonhole all the actors and actresses, and suddenly I got 're-pigeonholed' as an action actor.

A Latino actor can't play this and a Latino actor can't play that because they're Latino.

I know the only reason that I haven't gotten many good parts is because I am Latin - and they tell it to my face a lot of times.

I don't want to play fat cops for the rest of my life.

If I were to wait only for roles that clarify my racial makeup, I'd be waiting for a very, very long time.

It's difficult because usually when they cast things, the main characters are Caucasian in absolutely almost every situation.

I have the strangest time to get cast in anything. 'Ghost' was the same thing. Six months I had to wait for them to decide they had seen everybody possible. Why not? What limits me? I'm black? Oh, am I black?

I've played a lot of bad guys, 'cause that was the only work I could get. People saw my face and went 'oooh'.

Hollywood typecast me as the secretary. I could have worked as the quirky secretary for the rest of my life, but I decided not to do that.

Any time you're a type, your career's over.

I'm a little concerned I'm always going to be playing a black guy, you know what I'm saying?

If I only get to play Malaysian roles, there wouldn't be very many roles for me to play.

I'm dying to play a nice guy! No one's willing to cast me. They know I'm all right at bashing people up, but they don't know if I can do the other stuff. And I can.

I get offered a lot of black roles, because apparently I don't look Latino enough.

If you're a sexy actress, it's hard to get serious roles. You get offered the same thing they've seen you in. People are like sheep, and they're like, 'Oh, that's what she does well.'