Adeel Akhtar Quotes

As I got further into my career, as a character of color, if I was going to have the types of opportunities I felt I deserved, and continue to have them, I was going to have to start creating those opportunities for myself.

Children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States.

Theater will cast in a more open way; Denzel Washington might play Richard III. Television and film don't really cast openly like that. The theater world has always been a leader in diversity.

I was surprised by the attention and visibility on me as a black woman CEO. I look forward to the day when this is the norm and not the exception.

I believe it's important to have equal opportunities as a black actor. My way of fighting for it is through my art, by not accepting that there are roles that aren't for me.

You always make a film with the hope that all types of people will want to see your work and that it doesn't matter about your color, but unfortunately it still does.

We don't want to be our own niche. We're filmmakers like everybody. How many years in a row are we going to talk about the fact that we make films and we are women? Enough already.

When I was a kid, it wasn't very often that I could go to the movies and see an entire movie carried on the shoulders of someone who looked like me.

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.

I think my roles have been wonderfully varied. Not one has been racially stereotypical, and I have purposely chosen them like that.

Every one of us is different in some way but for those of us who are more 'different,' we have to put more effort into convincing the less different that we can do the same thing as they can... just differently.

Every one of us is different in some way, but for those of us who are more different, we have to put more effort into convincing the less different that we can do the same thing they can, just differently.

A lot of my students are Asian-American, and it has been thrilling to watch them break through the stereotypes into something alive and surprising.

Not being white has never prevented me from enjoying Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. These are heroes of mine.

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.

Our culture today that we live in is getting so diverse, yet in Hollywood, there's not a lot of diversity.

Sooner or later, directors in Germany will start casting without regard to where a person is from. It shouldn't matter anymore.

It's not just about casting female protagonists. It's gotta be across the board throughout the industry.

My grandmother probably never thought she would see a day where, you know, a young black woman would be seen as a leader, which is incredible.

Spike Lee really gave us a platform, men and women of color.

I think it's really cool that someone could have ovaries and the presidency. Growing up, I thought I could never be president because I was black and female. Now I know that's wrong. Within my own lifetime - that's different. Within my lifetime, interracial couples are more common. Within my own lifetime, biracial folks are able to claim that.

I was very proud and grateful to be the first African-American woman in the position. I thought it said a lot about our country that we had back-to-back African-American Secretaries of State, Colin Powell and then me. I also thought it said a lot about President Bush that he didn't see limits on the highest ranking diplomat in terms of color. It's a hard job, but really the best one in government.

One picture and one win cannot right a million wrongs. It's a step in the right direction.We have to get to a point where a movie like "Moonlight" winning [Oscar] or Barry Jenkins being nominated and winning, you know, for a screenplay or being nominated for best director - that it's just commonplace. They shouldn't be a novelty.

One thing that I've been very vocal about roles I take, and my representation has been very smart about, is that I didn't go to Juilliard to be "Thug #2" in movies. I like to be challenged. I'd say that about 40% of the roles I've done have been written for white men.

My hope as an actress is knowing that I'm someone who is more privileged - I'm biracial and lighter-skinned - and I hope it can open up the door for more women of color, especially darker-skinned black women. I hope everyone hops on the bandwagon and decides to start putting women of color in movies that aren't just about race.