“John had to audition more than anybody else in Star Wars to get that role. Is that a reflection globally of how we perceive ethnic minority groups?”
Oguns also goes on to explain that the British film industry doesn’t give opportunities to non-white actors and filmmakers. “That’s the only way. The black community is too passive in this country. Fourteen per cent of the population is BAME but only five per cent of talent on screen is. The BBC is just ticking boxes. It has an ‘aspiration’ for 15 per cent of BAME screen talent by 2017 – why not just make it happen? Why are black directors in theatre only qualified to direct ‘culturally specific’ works? Theatre is still dominated by white middle-class decision-makers who are qualified not only to tell their life stories but over-qualified to tell yours also.”
‘We’re going to have quite a hiatus until you realise what you just said’. I kept her in exile for 18 months. She was very apologetic after that.”
In order to combat Hollywood’s racist practices, Oguns charges “reparations” – higher fees to producers who want access to his talents. “Trust me, when you do end up recognising what is here, I’m going to charge you even more money to compensate for all the time you’ve already wasted,” he says. “You will end up paying more to hire our actors to compensate them all for the time you’ve wasted.”
Oguns plans on creating a school, talent agency and management company in New York, Los Angeles, and the UK. “We have always encouraged the students to see that they are the architects of their own fortune. They have to have that work ethic.”
“We started off as a black drama school but the endgame now is to represent all communities – white, black or from whatever background. We have a sister school in Birmingham and we’re looking towards opening an acting school in LA. We have 25 clients positioned out there with more to follow in 2016. A New York school is on the agenda.”
