Anthony Mackie Has an Issue With Harry Potter: "He Had No F—king Black Friends"
There was no place for black characters in the Wizarding World.
Sixteen years after the last Harry Potter book came out, Potterverse All-Mother J. K. Rowling is still being bashed for her stereotypical portrayal of non-white characters. One could expect that the film series based on her novels could take some artistic liberties and introduce a few non-white characters to the story — but alas, as we all know, that didn't happen.
Actor Anthony Mackie recently addressed the issue, pointing out that both the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings film adaptations don't feature any black characters at all — or, in the case of Harry Potter, the characters are never in the spotlight.
One of Hollywood's most successful Black actors, Mackie gained worldwide fame portraying Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, aka the next Captain America in the MCU films. Currently, the star is directing his first movie, which will explore the life of civil rights activist Claudette Colvin and her struggle against racism. With his work in the industry, Mackie is set to give Black actors more jobs and battle the issue of racial discrimination.
When talking about these industry problems, Mackie cited the two popular franchises, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, that apparently never feature or pay attention to characters of color.
'Harry Potter had no f--king Black friends,' the actor said. And he's absolutely right — in the adaptation, Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan, and Dean Thomas are the only Black Gryffindor students, but they hardly ever interact with Harry or his friends.
'Frodo walked across the entire universe and never met a Black dude. I want to see Frodo in the hood, which if I ever do Saturday Night Live is going to be a skit I'm going to do,' Mackie continued in jest.
Anthony Mackie's upcoming directorial debut will feature Saniyya Sidney as civil rights trailblazer Claudette Colvin. The status of the project is currently unknown, but the director hopes to film and release it as soon as possible, as he wants Colvin, who is now 82 years old, to see her story premiere on the big screen.
Source: Inverse.