--- title: Idris Elba Calls for More Diversity in British TV and Film description: "I never saw myself on TV, I stopped watching TV…Instead I decided to just go out and become TV.” canonical: https://time.com/4184830/idris-elba-diversity-tv-film-oscars/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-19T13:01:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:13:59.946Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Idris Elba Calls for More Diversity in British TV and Film og:description: "I never saw myself on TV…instead I decided to just go out and become TV.” og:url: https://time.com/4184830/idris-elba-diversity-tv-film-oscars/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f95e54f29323ead/698879930b72e3638b6e7b53/idris-elba-parliament-british-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Idris Elba og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Idris Elba Calls for More Diversity in British TV and Film twitter:description: "I never saw myself on TV…instead I decided to just go out and become TV.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f95e54f29323ead/698879930b72e3638b6e7b53/idris-elba-parliament-british-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Idris Elba Says There is More Diversity in U.S. TV and Film Than U.K. > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Jan 19, 2016 1:01 PM UTC  British actor Idris Elba in London. British actor Idris Elba in London.Matt Dunham—AP  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Jan 19, 2016 1:01 PM UTC _Luther_ actor Idris Elba is calling for more diversity in British film and television as American actors and directors continue to push for similar change in the wake of this year’s Oscar nominations. The actor, best known for playing Stringer Bell on _The Wire_, said that British broadcasting “needs a Magna Carta” when it comes to casting opportunities for minority actors during a speech he delivered to the Houses of Parliament. “Because I never saw myself on TV, I stopped watching TV,” he said, [_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/17/idris-elba-black-actors-lack-of-diversity-uk-television) reports. “Instead I decided to just go out and become TV.” Elba said the roles available to him in the U.K. paled in comparison to the ones in the U.S., where he worked as a young actor. Had he stayed, Elba said, he would have been stuck playing “cop sidekick parts” and “best friends.” “I went to America because I was running out of parts,” he said. “The USA has the most famous diversity policy of all – the American Dream. I want that British dream.” Hollywood hasn’t exactly been a perfect model for on-screen diversity lately—Elba’s comments arrive just as actress Jada Pinkett Smith and _Chi-Raq_ director Spike Lee say they w[on’t be attending the Oscars](http://time.com/4184380/spike-lee-oscar-boycott-oscarssowhite/) following the lack of nominations for black actors. Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, [responded to the criticism on Monday](http://time.com/4184688/academy-president-oscars-diversity/) and promised imminent change. “While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion,” she said in a statement. “This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership,” \[[_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/17/idris-elba-black-actors-lack-of-diversity-uk-television)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4184830/idris-elba-diversity-tv-film-oscars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4184830/idris-elba-diversity-tv-film-oscars/"},"headline":"Idris Elba Says There is More Diversity in U.S. TV and Film Than U.K.","datePublished":"2016-01-19T13:01:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:13:59.946Z","description":"\"I never saw myself on TV, I stopped watching TV…Instead I decided to just go out and become TV.”","url":"https://time.com/4184830/idris-elba-diversity-tv-film-oscars/","keywords":["movies","Idris Elba"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f95e54f29323ead/698879930b72e3638b6e7b53/idris-elba-parliament-british-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f95e54f29323ead/698879930b72e3638b6e7b53/idris-elba-parliament-british-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Idris Elba","caption":"British actor Idris Elba in London.","creditText":"Matt Dunham—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4184830/idris-elba-diversity-tv-film-oscars/","name":"Idris Elba Says There is More Diversity in U.S. TV and Film Than U.K."}}]}] ```