Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn’t think the Academy Awards should be a barometer for Hollywood diversity.
The “Hamilton” creator, whose musical made a point to bring onboard a diverse cast to tell the story of a white figure, spoke to The Huffington Post recently about Latino representation in Hollywood.
When asked about why he thought the Oscars have improved when it comes recognizing black actors but not Latino actors, Miranda said he believes it’s perilous to “measure the health of an industry’s regard to diversity” through its awards.
“I think it’s a great way to get a lot of articles, but like we had a really diverse season on Broadway last season because we had the amazing good fortune of having ‘Color Purple’ and ‘Shuffle Along’ and ‘Hamilton,’ and it may not be as diverse this season and that has everything to do with when the theater is open and what shows are coming in,” he told The Huffington Post.
Miranda says he’d love to see more Latinos represented in Hollywood but said it doesn’t take away from the Latino talent that already exists in the industry, particularly the directors who’ve been recognized by the Academy in recent years.
“Would I like to see more Latino representation? Would I like to see Hollywood reflect what our country looks like more? Absolutely,” Miranda told HuffPost. “But again, we have amazing Latino directors who win tons of Oscars. We have Guillermo del Toro, we have [Alejandro G.] Iñarritu, we have [Alfonso] Cuarón. There’s no shortage of Latino talent, both in front of and behind the camera.”
As far as the star is concerned, there’s not a lot that comes out of scrutinizing the list of Oscar nominees each year.
“I just think to make every year a bellwether.. I don’t know. I don’t know what that does,” he added. Still, Miranda thinks the industry should continue “to try to make more work and make more opportunities available.”
The Puerto Rican actor, playwright and composer is currently nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category for “How Far I’ll Go” in Disney’s Moana. If he wins, Miranda will be one of the very few artist’s in the industry to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony and an Oscar ― not to mention he’s also a Pulitzer Prize winner and a MacArthur fellow.
While Miranda feels diversity in the Oscars changes depending on the year, Latino actors have proved to be repeatedly left out of the list of nominees. For example, a Latina has never won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and the last time one was even nominated in the category was in 2004.
