Why Not an African-Swedish Scientist?

In his report on ethnic actors suddenly finding themselves in demand for TV auditions (“A Mad Dash for Diversity,” Aug. 9), Greg Braxton quotes actress Wendy Davis, an African American, as saying, “I’ve even been auditioning for roles that I’m completely wrong for, like this Swedish scientist. She is supposed to have a Swedish accent.” Guess what, Wendy? There are Swedish people of African descent, who do

indeed have Swedish accents, and some of them may even be scientists.

It’s obviously not just the studios, TV executives, producers, writers and casting agents who are not seeing the big picture. It’s also the actors, talent agents, managers and even acting coaches.

We do indeed live in a truly diverse world. America is not the only country with ethnic hyphenates. African slaves were taken all over the world, hence their descendants have continued to live all over the world. And let’s not forget the decades of immigration from Africa, Asia and East India to Europe and beyond. Such immigration spawned generations born and raised in Europe, and elsewhere, learning languages and cultures different from their ethnic heritage. In my travels I have met people of African descent who were born and raised in England, France, Germany, etc. and bear the accents of those countries.

One of my friends, Roy Van Duivenbode, is Dutch-Indonesian. His mother, who looks Indonesian, speaks with a Dutch accent. Roy visits family in Holland and ancestral graves in Indonesia. Is the picture getting clearer now?

It would behoove Davis and all actors of ethnic descent to start learning other accents. How wonderful for her to confidently walk into that audition and blow them away with a Swedish accent. There would then be no need whatsoever to rewrite that role. Such a rewrite would contribute to the problem Braxton identifies, that minority characters are being arbitrarily plugged into shows as a quick-fix solution, and that the additions are not necessarily organic or natural.

Ethnic actors, writers, directors and those in all the other crafts in the business long for a more colorblind entertainment industry. Perhaps this is one more way they can push the envelope. The NAACP and other coalition groups have done a tremendous job in forcing this issue to front-page news. Change can also grow from the ground up, and that means actors like Davis helping as well.

Remember Downtown Julie Brown? She was a veejay for MTV of African-English descent. It’s not much of a stretch to imagine Julie with a Swedish accent, or playing a Nobel Prize-winning German scientist. At least it isn’t for me. Maybe because I’ve met a few folks like that, whereas a lot of people, having not traveled beyond the United States, don’t have a clue they exist. So let’s start showing them.

Acting coaches, prod your ethnic students to learn European accents. Agents and managers, send those clients who have mastered an accent to audition for such parts and make no excuses. Actors, keep reading the news and clip out articles or search the Web for examples to match your roles and take it to the audition as a leave-behind. What better way to help coax the industry out of this slump than to make sure you are available for every single role in your age range that is written. Regardless of the country of origin or accent.

I hope to see Davis as an African-French artist or an African-English archeologist. Maybe I’ll turn on the TV one day and be thrilled to see she got the role of the Swedish scientist and the writers left the character completely intact. If Meryl Streep and Michelle Pfeiffer can do it, Wendy can too.

Kelley A. Barton is a writer-actress of English-Irish-German descent. She lives in Seal Beach.