Emmys 2015: Viola Davis strikes diversity chord with black British actors

It seems hard to believe that it took more than50 years, but on Sunday night Viola Davis became the first black woman to win the Emmy for outstanding actress in a drama.



Davis, 50, picked up the award for her portrayal of Annalise Keating in the acclaimed US television series How To Get away With Murder and used the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the glaring lack of opportunity for black women on television.

It was a speech that prompted tears from her fellow African-American nominees Kerry Washington and Taraji P Henson, as well as a wave of support from actors such as Idris Elba, who has complained in the past there is a lack of roles for black actors in UK television. He tweeted: “Congrats Viola, truly an inspiration to many. Well done, so proud of you.”

In America, black women make up just 2% of the characters on television, and when the drama Scandal debuted in 2012 with Kerry Washington as the lead, she became the first black female protagonist in a network drama in nearly 40 years.

However, following Davis’s win, Campbell said that as an actor from an ethnic minority “you can find that your avenues are depleted, your opportunities to shine and play fantastic leading parts hindered by the colour of your skin”.
She added: “Viola is correct, ethnic minorities cannot excel in this industry until there is more equality, opportunity and diversity in the casting system. I was shocked to discover I’m the first non-white actress to win best leading actress at the TV Baftas.

It was a view echoed by Bola Agbaje, an award-winning British-Nigerian playwright who has written screenplays for film and television, who said the UK was still decades behind the US when it came to developing television programmes that featured black characters in leading, interesting roles.