Billy Dee Williams is defending actors who need to put on blackface of their performances.
The Star Wars actor appeared on Invoice Maher’s podcast and recalled Lauren Olivier’s efficiency in 1965’s Othello, the place the actor wore blackface.
“When he did ‘Othello,’ I fell out laughing,” Williams stated of Olivier on the Membership Random podcast. “He caught his ass out and walked round together with his ass, , as a result of Black individuals are alleged to have massive asses.”
He continued, “I believed it was hysterical. I liked it. I like that type of stuff.”
Maher talked about that actors couldn’t put on Blackface immediately, to which Williams stated, “Why not? It is best to do it. In the event you’re an actor, you need to do something you need to do.”
The podcast’s host famous that Williams “lived in a interval the place you couldn’t play the components you need to’ve performed.”
“The purpose is that you just don’t undergo life feeling like, ‘I’m a sufferer,’” Williams added. “I refuse to undergo life saying to the world, ‘I’m pissed off.’ I’m not gonna be pissed off 24 hours a day.”
Williams famously portrayed the function of Landon Calrissian in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Again in 1980. The actor reprised his function in 1983’s Return of the Jedi and once more in 2019’s Rise of Skywalker.
In an interview with The Guardian earlier this yr, Williams stated he didn’t “assume when it comes to Black” concerning the characters he portrays in media.
“I by no means consider myself when it comes to the one Black character. Everyone else would possibly consider it that means. In my reasoning in my very own head, I’m only a character,” he stated. “A personality has sure qualities that make a personality a profitable character in a film or a personality that isn’t capable of translate very nicely. I’ve been capable of translate very nicely throughout the board.”
Watch Williams’ full interview within the video under.