The former 'Doctor Who' actor reveals he demanded producers hire more diverse crew when he found out his new television project had mostly white members.
- August 26, 2020
AceShowbiz - Actor and filmmaker Noel Clarke told producers on his latest TV project to hire a more diverse crew.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Clarke admitted that when he walked on set he realised the crew was mostly white and told producers to "fix" the situation by making new hires.
"I'm on a job now which I can't mention and I came in on day one and I'm the lead actor I was like, 'The crew's not diverse enough, fix it, fix it'," he said, according to Deadline.
"(They said) 'Yeah but...' (I said) 'I don't want to hear anything else - fix it,' " the "Bulletproof" star continued. "I don't care if there's trainees because this job's trainees is the next job's runner then the next job's assistant, then they're a supervisor, then in five years' time or three years' time we have more people in the business from different backgrounds; socio-economic, not just about colour."
Although the "Adulthood" director refused to name the show, bosses at U.K. network ITV have announced he will star in new series"Viewpoint", which just began shooting in Manchester, England with cast and crew following COVID-19 safety protocols.
Discussing the importance of diversity, Clarke added, "We need to make sure that what's happening right now (about diversity) it's not just this quarter's hashtag and in six months' time it's going to be something else. I don't mind trainees; we need to get people in at ground level... change takes time."
