Lin-Manuel Miranda Quotes

There's not enough black films out there. There's not enough Latin films, or films that have an Asian, Indian or Middle Eastern lead. The list goes on and on.

We can now have action movies with two stars where one might be African American and one might be Asian American. One of them doesn't have to be white, and the other one doesn't have to be the ethnic sidekick. We're way over that. And I think it's happening in society, too.

Poitier opened the doors to so many artists, not just black artists. There is a line that goes from black to Latin to Asian with regards to roles.

I don't want to be super aggressive, but I think it's an issue that the population of America isn't reflected accurately in a lot of movies. I'm just disappointed that there isn't an Asian leading man or an Asian leading woman. There's an obvious gap that should be filled.

There has to be more opportunities for Asian or black actors.

Growing up, there were no families on TV that looked like mine.

All films are a challenge and they are a harder challenge when dealing with characters of color.

The Sixth Sense is not a good white film. Insomnia is not a good white film. They're just good films. So why we can't we have good films that happen to have black people, or Asian, or Latino, or any other minority group in them?

Certainly, living in the U.S., as I have for over two decades, you see how Asians are portrayed in the media... I didn't see myself represented, you know, when I used to look at ads on TV.

I will play the characters with last names like Sanchez and Gonzalez until the day I die, but I also want to play the 'Michelle Smiths.'

Theatre has always been better disposed to colourblind casting than telly or film. Given that most television is contemporary, and it reaches 56 million people, I am disappointed there still isn't more representation.

I would like to see more films being made with people of color behind the camera and in front of the camera, because the more times at bat we have, the better we get.

My hope is that shows like 'Fresh Off the Boat' open the door for even more of those kinds of characters for Asian actors and actresses.

When I do a picture and it's 90% black, like 'Bird,' I use 90% black people.

In England, you feel like a member of the revolutionary guard the minute you even mention race. But I do think that the OscarsSoWhite phenomenon will have to reflect back on England. What people are essentially saying is that they want to see more diverse stories. It's not about putting three black people in the back of the shot.

I have lots of hopes for black actors in general, whether they be on TV or on stage or in movies, and that is that we move beyond the tokenism of what it means to be black in a particular set of circumstances.

In my opinion, it would be a lot better for the culture - meaning the culture of America - if there was more diversity in terms of storyline. In terms of the kind of content that you see about Americans of African descent on the screen.

I have a responsibility to diversity onstage, but one of the things I've heard about our production of 'Boys' is that it's a bunch of white guys. Well, race is a component of this play. You can't just drop people in willy-nilly and say, 'Well, we're going for diversity.'

If you're going to make black movies only about black people, that's as bad as white movies only about white people.

I would love more stories with strong characters of color who don't always fit the mold that Hollywood has created in the past.

I get that people want more diversity in TV and film, and I stand by that. I stand in solidarity with better diversity in TV shows, especially for Asian actors. I agree with that 100 per cent.

It should be very normal to see people of different races and ethnic minorities playing different parts.

I like representing different kinds of black people - showing they exist.

With my representation of a black woman in the world today, there's such a powerful response from my community about what it means to have black representation on television. That response is so overwhelming and so strong that I just have to express my own gratitude for it, because I understand the necessity for it.

Having brought diversity to the air in the way that we have with Kerry Washington and Viola Davis toplining their shows, and then shows like 'Fresh Off the Boat' and 'Black-ish,' have been very important. I look forward to continuing in that vein.