This Article is From Oct 20, 2016

Game of Thrones Lacks Strong Ethnic Minority Roles, Says David Oyelowo

Game of Thrones Lacks Strong Ethnic Minority Roles, Says David Oyelowo

Nathalie Emmanuel and Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones.

Highlights

  • David Oyelowo slammed the use of ethnic minorities in secondary roles
  • No excuse why there aren't more prominent characters of colour, he said
  • Game of Thrones 7 will air in India in the summer of 2017
London: Actor David Oyelowo, who has been vocal in his plight to include more diversity in film and television, says there is absolutely no excuse for a fantasy series like Game of Thrones to only use ethnic minorities in minor and secondary roles. The Golden Globe nominee criticised the fantasy series while speaking to Radio Times, reports Daily Mail.

"The fact that they put any ethnic minorities in that means that there should be space for bigger characters because you are not just saying 'Okay, this is purely a white world, and here are very story-driven reasons why that is the case'," David said.

"So for me, there is absolutely no excuse in a show like that why there aren't more prominent characters of colour," he added.

The HBO series has featured several people of colour in its history but the British Nigerian actor chastised the show for not bringing them to the forefront in its five-year history.

He said that the lack of diversity was an issue across all types of TV and film as asserted that "we can all, I think, hope that our future is going be more colourful than what our past has been, certainly in terms of cinematic depictions."

Game of Thrones has featured some ethnic minorities in its ever-changing cast, including English actress of Indian descent Indira Varma. The seventh season of the show will air in India in the summer of 2017.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
.