Earlier this week, actor Idris Elba addressed the U.K.’s Parliament, delivering a powerful speech about diversity.
Maybe you know him from his role as Detective John Luther on BBC’s “Luther”? Maybe you saw his powerful performance in “Beasts of No Nation”? Maybe as Stringer Bell on “The Wire”? Or maybe you just know him as that really good-looking guy who was rumored to be taking over as James Bond a while back.
In any case, he was recently at the House of Commons to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Channel 4’s 360° Diversity Charter. And while the timing coincides with some of the uproar over the lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominees, Elba reportedly wrote the speech a couple weeks ago, back before the return of the #OscarsSoWhite discussion.
Here are five of the most powerful moments from Elba’s speech:
1. Diversity is more than just race.
2. Being able to see yourself in the media around you is important.
3. Being typecast, being stuck in a box, is no place to be.
4. Diversity starts from the ground up with decision makers.
5. It’s time to take risks if you want to survive and see rewards.
