Star Wars Star John Boyega Slams Game of Thrones for Lack of Diversity

2 minute read
By Megan McCluskey

John Boyega has called out Game of Thrones for its predominantly white cast.

During an interview with GQ, the Star Wars: The Last Jedi star slammed the HBO drama for the lack of diversity among its characters.

“There are no black people on Game of Thrones,” he said, seeming to reference the fact that the show has only two recurring black characters, Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel). “You don’t see one black person in Lord of the Rings.”

Boyega went on to further highlight what he sees as inadequate representation of people of color in these popular franchises.

“I ain’t paying money to always see one type of person on-screen,” he said. “Because you see different people from different backgrounds, different cultures, every day. Even if you’re a racist, you have to live with that. We can ruffle up some feathers.”

Thrones casting director Nina Gold recently defended the show against similar criticism in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Even though these are fantasy worlds, there are tribes, families, and dynasties. Once you’ve put one mark on the catalyst for the Targaryens or the Starks, you really owe it to the, oh I can’t think of the word, but the authenticity of trying to make them a family somehow. In the books, the Targaryens are these white, white people with silver hair and violet eyes. The Starks are kind of rough, like Northern English people. The Lannisters are golden, aren’t they? We really believed we were doing it like the books, basically…I guess I don’t know what to really say about it, because it’s not like there’s no diversity in the casting in Game of Thrones. We’ve turned Grey Worm and Missandei into really deep characters…I really do believe in diversity in casting, and always have done. I don’t feel I have to defend it, really.

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Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com