Thandiwe Newton Opens Up About Representation of “Darker-Skinned Actresses”

Thandiwe Newton is addressing colorism in film and opening up about her own experiences.

In a recent conversation with Sky News, the star of God’s Country shared an apology for being “the one chosen” over “darker-skinned actresses” when it comes to casting. 

“My internalized prejudice was stopping me from feeling like I could play this role when it’s precisely that prejudice that I’ve received,” Newton said of her experience in the film. “…It’s been very painful to have women look like my mum feel like I’m not representing them,” Newton said. “That I’m taking from them. Taking their men, taking their work, taking their truth. I didn’t mean to.”

In the new clip, shared above, Newton says that “any woman of color… who’ve managed to help other actors get into this business, we matter.”

“Whenever they say that Black women have watched the movie and it’s really, really, really mattered to them, I just thank God that my light skin didn’t stop that from happening and hope that it didn’t cause more pain,” she added. 

The actress, who is a biracial and British, previously opened up about director John Duigan asking her to “be a bit darker” for the role, before she “spent the weekend covered in coconut oil and frantically bronzing” when she was interviewed for British Vogue last year. 

“Colorism has just been the funniest,” she previously shared. “I’ve been too Black, not Black enough. I’m always Black. I’m just like, whadda you people want!” 

She also previously opened up to  IndieWire about the topic, sharing that she was “rejected by Black Hollywood for not being ‘Black’ Black or American,” and that she “had a breakdown” with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“But who says Black Lives Matter is just about American people? I thought it was for every Black person,” she said. “As a Black person, there are so many places to be betrayed. It’s just constant.”