Michael B. Jordan Opens Up About How He Told His Agent He Only Wanted to Audition for White Roles After “Fruitvale Station:” I Don’t Want Any Pre-Bias on the Character”

During Variety’s interview show “Actors on Actors” Issa Rae and Michael B. Jordan talked about their careers as actors and how their race influenced the types of roles they were able to get. Jordan shared how he told his agent he no longer wanted to audition for black roles.

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Following Jordan’s hit film ”Fruitvale Station,” the actor says he told his agents he wanted to audition for more white male roles rather than African American roles.  “I said, I don’t want it. I want to only go for, like, [roles written for] white males. That’s it,” he said. “Me playing that role is going to make it what it is. I don’t want any pre-bias on the character.”
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Rae, who too has been exposed to racial disparities between roles created for black actors versus white actors, shared how monumental it is to have films like #BlackPanther garner such great success. She also mentioned the image of what a lead actress looks like is starting to change because of “Black Panther.”
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“If it were a leading woman of a certain type, I just knew the type that they would go for, so I’m just not going to even bother,” Rae said. “People have been receptive. Even just the confidence that a movie like [“Black Panther”] and other films by other filmmakers of color that have come out have really just changed what people perceive as a leading lady, as the beautiful person, the daring or the bold action-adventure type. That just feels so dope to me.”
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Rae and Jordan’s episode is set to premiere in two episodes on PBS SoCal KOCE. The first episode will go live Tuesday, June 19 at 7 p.m. and the second on Thursday, June 21 at 7 p.m.