There’s been a lot of talk about diversity this year. Calls for more of it, celebrations of it, and we here at CinemaBlend have even done a few dream castings. But what is it like for an actor to have so much weight put on something like race or ethnicity, when the entire point of their job is to become someone else? Santiago Cabrera, star of Godmothered on Disney+, shared some insight on diversity in the film industry from an actor's perspective.
Santiago Cabrera is an extremely talented at his craft. You’ve seen him in Big Little Lies, Merlin, and Heroes to name a few. He originally thought he would be a professional soccer player, but then discovered that moving around a lot as a kid and experiencing different cultures prepared him to be an actor and he found his thing. In an interview with CinemaBlend, Cabrera said this of his experience:
Actors should always be cast for being people. That’s what acting is all about - telling stories about people. That being said, to tell a diverse set of stories, a diverse group of people is needed to tell them. So how can the industry make sure that happens? Santiago continued describing how things would work in an ideal world. In his own words,
Sounds like the key is for the work to begin behind the scenes, which makes sense, because the story needs to be written before it can be cast. And both the writing and the casting are done with a specific vision in mind. When more kinds of people are included in that decision-making process, the final product is able to touch a more broad audience. As Santiago Cabrera told CinemaBlend:
I couldn't agree more, and am personally very excited to see all the positive strides the industry is taking in the area. There will always be stories to tell, and as filmmakers keep finding new and inventive ways to tell them, actors like Cabrera are bringing them to life. You can catch Santiago Cabrera in his latest film, Godmothered, currently streaming on Disney+.