Recently there has been much advancement in the diversity of casting for period drama. Bridgerton was the main example, but other screen projects such as last year's remake of the David Copperfield story, The Personal History of David Copperfield, where for the first time a POC actor (Dev Patel) took on the title role, showed us that perhaps all-white period dramas were a thing of the past.
However, the backlash that followed the announcement that Jodie Turner-Smith would be portraying Queen Anne Boleyn for a TV series in the UK, shows that perhaps audiences aren’t quite as ready for diverse casts in period pieces as we thought. Not that it has stopped Turner-Smith talking about her own reaction to the backlash.
"If anything, recent times have shown us that we’re not beyond that in any way. So I was not shocked or surprised," she told The Guardian when asked about the backlash. "I will say that over the last four years there has been a wave of extreme right-wing ideas and that individuals are very vocal on social media in their limited ways of thinking.
"Racism is at work in our industry. Full stop." She goes on to talk about the perceived limited number of opportunities for black actors looking for work in the UK.
Turner-Smith came to the attention of the mainstream after she started dating Dawson’s Creek star Joshua Jackson, even though by then she had forged her own successful career as an actor by taking on the lead role in Queen & Slim, actor and writer Lena Waithe’s 2019 debut film.
A secret wedding followed along with the announcement that the couple were expecting their first child.
Then in 2020 it was Turner-Smith’s appearance at the Bafta awards while heavily pregnant, with Jackson in tow, that had Vogue writing about how they were the red carpet's best dressed couple.
But as Turner-Smith has gained celebrity, she has also leveraged this to talk about things that matter to her, including the reality of being black in Hollywood.
In a recent interview with Glamour magazine, the actor spoke about what it's like having hair stylists on set who are not experienced in dealing with black hair.
"It’s frustrating as a performer, when you go on set and the people are not qualified to deal with your texture of hair. While we’re in this time where diversity and inclusion have become the buzzwords of the day, it’s important that filmmakers go the whole length of what that means. If you are hiring a diverse and inclusive cast, you must also hire people who know how to deal with their texture of hair.”
If you are hiring a diverse and inclusive cast, you must also hire people who know how to deal with their texture of hair.
Turner-Smith took it upon herself to ensure that when she was playing Anne Boleyn she had the texture of hair that suited the role.
"It was really important to me that Anne had Afro-texture hair. In my mind I was like, my Queen Anne, this is a woman who I did not want to put on European texture hair."
It's easy to forget that until very recently, white actors were being cast in roles meant for POC. Scarlett Johansson, for example, played the lead role in a live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell, amongst other controversies. The New York Times also has a handy slideshow with some more examples of whitewashing.
In contrast, Hamilton, currently performing in Sydney, has shown how colour blind casting can not only work - it can be a stomping success.
The backlash facing Turner-Smith is another example of a microaggression, which as the actor told Glamour magazine, can have big consequences on black women’s lives.
“White people are always very uncomfortable with being called on their microaggressions and unconscious biases, but in order for us to move forward, we have to be able to have these conversations.”
The actor’s influence has clearly rubbed off on her husband as well, who has also spoken out about racism and his own racial blind spots.
“It is so easy to be blind as a white man, white person, inside of this society, to the constant drumbeat of oppression against [black] skin,” Jackson told Vibe magazine.
And while we stan Jodie Turner-Smith, we also stan her and Joshua Jackson as a couple.
"Thank you for choosing to share your light with me. Thank you for walking this path of life as my wife. Thank you for bringing our daughter into the world." He recently wrote on his Instagram to mark Turner-Smith's birthday.
And that is the sort of love and dedication we are here for.
