In town for the CIAA, actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner said blacks in Hollywood have an obligation to avoid roles that cast African Americans as unflattering stereotypes.

Warner said he often rejects roles that he feels would be demeaning. And while treading lightly, he also said he is no fan of actor/producer Tyler Perry, who has made a fortune playing the irascible Madea.

Warner, who got his first big break playing the role of Theo in the long-running hit “The Cosby Show,” made his remarks Saturday during a stop at Johnson C. Smith University, where he met with a small group of drama students.
___
Story continues below

Malcolm-Jamal Warner at Johnson C. Smith University, where he met with a small group of drama students, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (Photo: Qcitymetro.com)
___

“The issues when it comes to black produce is, any black film or television carries the unfair burden of representing all black people,” he said. “Mainstream shows don’t have that burden.”

Negative black stereotypes, he said, can be damaging to the psyche, especially for black youth.

Responding to critics who said “The Cosby Show” did not paint a true picture of African Americans, Warner acknowledged some validity to those claims but said no show or movie can capture the full range of black America.

“During the height of ‘Cosby,’” he said, “I was getting tens of thousands of letters from people who were saying, ‘Thank you for the show, because we are the Huxtables. My dad is a doctor, my mom is a lawyer,' or vice versa.”

Warner told the students that finding work in Hollywood can be daunting, even for experienced actors.

"There’s a lot of work that I don’t get," he said. "Last pilot season, I've gone out for 11 pilots. I've screen tested three or four times, and I'm always in the top three... I tell young actors all the time, you have to have a tough skin in this industry. Ninety percent of this business is rejection."

He currently is starring opposite Sherri Shepherd in the Lifetime Network comedy series "Sherri."

Between work, Warner said, he keeps himself busy with a budding music career. He plays base in a jazz/funk/spoken word band called Miles Long.

Sign up for our Weekly Email Newsletter Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Other Ways to Share Twitter Del.icio.us MySpace

Discussions and Submission Agreement