Nicole Byer Quotes

Any comedic roles that I've gone out for usually end up going to a white woman or a gay man instead.

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.

When I was young, I dreamt of being a starlet in Hollywood. But there comes a point in every African American's life when you realize the limitations, that you could only play maids or some little supporting role. Even Lena Horne couldn't get good parts.

I know some black actresses who have to wait every 19 films for a role. I can be cast in practically every one as a young white male.

A lot of things that I can't get into the room for, even just to be seen, is because they're just saying 'No. they're not casting non-white.' You're lumped into a category with people who are just not white.

In general, the auditions I go up for are very sparse, I guess because of my ethnicity. And the characters are very similar: shy, innocent and naive; the connotations that come from the way that I look.

That's one of the problems with Hollywood. It'll say 'policeman,' and an unless it says 'black policeman,' a lot of times you won't even get the opportunity to read for it, which is kind of crazy, but that's the way it is.

There are a lot of limitations and stigmas that are placed on young actors, specifically young black actors.

The pilots I did test for, I was the only black actor testing against white actors for parts that were written white.

I had to endure the worst time of all in terms of racial discrimination in Hollywood when I first started out. It was inconcievable to American directors and producers that a Mexican woman could have a lead role.

What's hardest for me to swallow is when there is a love story, say, with a really high-profile male star and there's no reason I can't play the part. They say, 'Oh, we love Halle, we just don't want to go black with this part.'

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

It's just a fact of life that I don't think I've ever been taken particularly seriously in movies by movie makers. I don't know why.

All the roles are for boys. The girls' roles are either small or all the same. There's just nothing interesting.

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

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

For the most part, the roles Asians can get aren't necessarily well-rounded, and more often than not, they're stereotypes. But that's all we have. And then we see each other all the time at auditions, because we're all going for the same role. I've made a lot of friends that way.

When I joined Bollywood, I too wanted decent and challenging roles but there were no offers. Directors and producers look at me as a woman who is willing to expose and that is the only reason they want to sign me.

I don't know what's wrong with me - I don't know why I only get picked to play strange characters!

I've witnessed racism all my life. And of course there's racism and discrimination in Hollywood. You go for a part and they say, 'Oh, we really liked her, she's amazing, but we wanted to go with something more traditional'. As if I'm not a traditional American!

I never ever played the lead role in a play, except at school. I guess the industry that we're in, boys that look like me don't get the lead role.

I think the stereotypes many black men are put under, even in the entertainment world, can sometimes have a dark or negative undertone.

I'm guilty of reverse discrimination. I'm white, and people don't think that white fighters are any good.

The ingrained image of black men being searched by the police feeds into the collective illusion that black men everywhere need to be policed more than others.