Will Smith thinks there is a major problem in Hollywood today.
Smith, who is actively working on getting an Oscar for his work on Concussion, was asked about diversity in Hollywood during THR’s awards-season Actor Roundtable. Will Smith argued that he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith had just been talking about the difference between “racism” and “prejudice.”
“Everybody is prejudiced,” he said. “Everybody has their life experiences that make them prefer one thing over another — it makes them prefer blond hair over a brunette; if you see somebody with dark skin walking down the street, you have a different reaction than you have [with] someone who is 5-foot-1 and white.”
The definition of “racism,” he said, implies something worse, the belief that “your race generally is superior.”
“And I have to say, I live with constant prejudice, but racism is actually rare — someone who thinks their race is superior,” Smith continued.
Will Smith said that, on rare occasions when he’s encountered someone in Hollywood who is actually racist, he immediately decides to stop working with them. And, surprisingly he says, it does happen.
The interview then asked if actors could do anything to fight this kind of racism. Samuel L. Jackson responded with a simple “No.” But, Will Smith was a little more open about their chances of change in Hollywood.
“As actors, we have the ultimate power,” he said. “Historically, story combined with imagery moves humanity forward. What we do — not that it’s a responsibility, but it is the ultimate forum for changing people’s hearts and minds.”
The last few years have been a rough patch for Will Smith‘s acting career after several big budget movies bombed in the Box Office. It has been a long time since the actor said that 1999 is “a great time to be black in Hollywood.”
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