Humans actress Gemma Chan on Hollywood sexism: 'You're more likely to see an alien than an Asian woman'
'Growing up, I never saw any Asian faces on TV'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hollywood may have come some way in tackling its diversity problem over last 100 years but there's still a long way to go.
Up-and-coming actress Gemma Chan, best known for her role in Channel 4’s Humans, has now given her thoughts on the situation, saying both sexism and racism are still problems within the film industry.
In an interview with the Telegraph, she claimed she would often be declined an audition as they were “only going to see white people.”
Speaking of on-screen gender balance, Chan said: "The statistics are really depressing. I remember reading some that made me think, ‘Oh, you are more likely to see an alien in a Hollywood film than an Asian woman.’”
The Fresh Meat actress, whose mother is Chinese and father grew up in Hong Kong, spoke about growing up in England and the TV she would watch, saying: “growing up, I never saw any Asian faces on TV, so it didn’t feel [being an actress] like a viable option.”
She also praised Humans for its diversity, even though the majority of non-white actors play synths/robots in the show.
Humans stars Chan as Anita/Mia, Colin Morgan as Leo Elster and Emily Berrington as Niska. The show has already been renewed for a second series, with the final episode of season one airing 2 August.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments