Brie Larson is saddened to think Hollywood has been "segregated" for so long.
The 29-year-old actress stars alongside Michael B. Jordan in the upcoming biographical drama ‘Just Mercy’ – which is the first Warner Bros. film to come with a so-called inclusion rider – and Brie has spoken about the difficulties of implementing the policy, which is designed to increase diversity among the cast and crew.
She explained: "When it came time to implement it, Warner Bros. wasn’t quite [comfortable with] an actor implementing it. So Michael worked with them [as an executive producer].
"’Just Mercy’ filmed in Atlanta, so they were able to pull from a certain talent pool there, but I also think they had to fly in certain people in order to meet the quota they were committed to."
Brie relished the experience of making the movie, which is set for release in 2020.
However, the shoot also led her to reflect on the lack of diversity in the film industry more broadly.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: "The movie was made with more than 70 percent people of colour, and it was the best experience I’ve ever had. It was the first time in my career that I had hair, make-up and wardrobe crew that were all people of colour. I’ve been in the Screen Actors Guild since I was seven years old.
"Twenty years I’ve been surrounded by white people. It saddens me to recognise that we’ve been segregated in this way within our industry."
But Brie intends to encourage greater diversity moving forwards, revealing how she’ll approach the issue ahead of the release of ‘Captain Marvel’ next year.
The actress – who plays the iconic superhero in the upcoming movie – said: "On the ‘Captain Marvel’ press tour, I’ll be pushing for representation across the board: my interviews, magazine covers, the clothes that I’m wearing. It means spending more time thinking about things than you sometimes want to, but it’s worth it."
Brie Larson saddened by ‘segregated’ movie business
