Minority Actors Lose Ground in Film, TV Roles

The number of roles going to Latino, African American and Native American actors declined in 1998 for the first time in the six years, a Screen Actors Guild study released Monday found.

The analysis of casting in film and television indicates that minorities are vastly underrepresented. But Latinos, who constitute 10.7% of the U.S. population, continue to be the most underrepresented ethnic group in both mediums, garnering only 3.5% of the available roles. The representation by Latinos in film and TV is less than one-third of their proportion to the population, the report said.

“Throughout the 1990s, the America portrayed in films and television was moving slowly but steadily toward the reality of the American scene,” said Richard Masur, president of SAG. “This is the first time [since 1992] the guild has seen those numbers decline.”

On Wednesday at a symposium of industry and political leaders, SAG will issue a report on the state of Latinos in Hollywood and the box-office clout of the Latino audience.

The casting data cover 56,701 roles cast in productions for English-language films and prime-time television that are signed to guild contracts.

Overall, black representation dropped to 13.4% of available roles in 1998 from 14.1% in 1997. Latino representation fell to 3.5% in ’98 from 4% in 1997, while Native Americans dropped to 0.2% from 0.4%. Asian-Pacific Americans saw a slight increase, from 1.9% to 2.1%.

“Our studies indicate very clearly that we’re largely absent on television,” says Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group. “We’re portrayed more negatively than any other group in this country.”

Among all actors, men received 63% and women 37% of SAG jobs in 1998. This split has changed little since 1992, although the gender gap has narrowed slightly since 1997, when men captured 64% of all roles.