“F9” actress Nathalie Emmanuel admits she’s not sure she would have reached the same level of success in the entertainment industry if she hadn’t looked outside of her home country.
The actress, whom many recognize from her role in “Game of Thrones” as Daenerys Targaryen’s trusted friend and advisor Messandei, is originally from the English resort town Southend-on-Sea and got her start in British television, but her career began to take off once she made the crossover into American television in one of the biggest TV series of all time. Since being cast in “Game of Thrones,” Emmanuel has also starred in two films in “The Maze Runner” trilogy, three “Fast & Furious” films, and the Hulu miniseries “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” among other projects.
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Emmanuel is one among a long list of names of Black British actors making it big in Hollywood. She joins the likes of Regé-Jean Page, David Oyelowo, John Boyega, Leticia Wright, Idris Elba, Lashana Lynch, and Thandiwe Newton, just to name a few. If anyone has ever wondered why such a large part of Black Hollywood is made up of Black Brits, the answer is one that Black people across the globe can understand: racism.
“I think it speaks to something that’s actually not so positive. The British industry hasn’t always embraced us,” Emmanuel said in a recent Essence interview when asked to share her thoughts on the reason behind the influx of Black English talent in Hollywood. “So many Black mixed people like myself have come out to America because the opportunities just weren’t here for us. Unfortunately, what’s happened is a lot of Black talent has been lost to the States.”
