After nearly two decades in Hollywood, Tyler Perry is finally seeing diversity in the entertainment industry.
As Variety magazine’s cover star, the actor, 51, opens up about Black representation and why he’s finally speaking out on politics.
“Ten or 15 years ago, I could call any Black actor from Idris Elba to Viola Davis and Kerry Washington — they were all ready to go to work,” Perry said. “But now it’s like, ‘Oh, their schedule is [booked] out two years. There’s this surge of Black is in, hire Black and diversity is in.”
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And for Perry, representation for young Black kids is an important step.
“I don’t know if people really realize how important it is for young Black and Brown children to be able to see examples of what it means to be successful outside of what they see in the neighbourhoods. Growing up, for me the only people that were doing well were the pimps and the preacher,” he explained. “And now to be able to set an example for kids that there are other options outside of sports and what everybody tells you — ‘These are the only things you can do’ — [is important]. You can be CEO; you can run a studio; you can use everything you have to help someone else.”
But amidst it all, Perry is calling for a change in Washington, despite always trying to remain apolitical.
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“I really, truly don’t want to get political. What I want people to do is vote because everybody has very strong opinions about this. As do I. I have very, very strong feelings about the current administration. I have very strong feelings about a lot that’s going on. But I’m neither Democrat [nor] Republican — I’m an independent thinker. I vote for who I think is best to run the country,” he said.
Adding, “If you want more of the same, then you vote the way that you did in 2016. If you want something different, then we need to have a landslide out voting for Joe Biden.”
Read more from Perry here.
