Chiwetel Ejiofor on His Directorial Debut

OBVIOUSLY WE ARE HOT OFF THE OSCARS.

YOU YOURSELF HAVE BEEN NOMINATED IN THE PAST CERTAINLY FOR '12 YEARS A SLAVE' AS BEST ACTOR.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE CROP OF NOMINEES, ESPECIALLY THE CROP OF WINNERS?

DO YOU THINK THERE WAS ENOUGH HOW DO YOU FEEL THE DAY AFTER?

I THOUGHT IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY AND KIND OF WONDERFUL EVENT.

I THOUGHT THERE WAS A VERY DIVERSE RANGE OF NOMINATIONS.

A GREAT DIVERSE RANGE OF WINNERS.

I THOUGHT A REALLY INCREDIBLE ARRAY OF FILMS, DIFFERENT FILMS, DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW, DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, JUST DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE WORLD IN A VERY ARTISTIC IT WAS IN TERMS OF WINNERS AND NOMINEES IT WAS A VERY, VERY RICH EVENING.

I HAVE READ THAT YOU DECIDED TO BE AN ACTOR PARTLY BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT BEING BLACK, BEING AFRICAN, HAVING A NAME LIKE CHIWETEL EJIOFOR WAS NOT GOING TO ALLOW FOR YOU TO COMPETE ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN ANY OTHER ENDEAVOR.ST WONDER WHAT YOU MAKF THAT.

YEAH.

I THINK THAT'S TRUE.

AS I WAS GROWING UP I HAD DEEP CONCERNS ABOUT THE IDEA OF VERY DEEPLY STRUCTURED SYSTEMIC RACIAL BIAS.

THAT WAS SOMETHING I UNDERSTOOD FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE THAT CERTAIN THINGS WERE NOT GOING TO BE AS EASILY ACCESSIBLE OR AVAILABLE TO ME.

IT'S HISTORICALLY WHY A LOT OF BLACK PEOPLE HAVE GONE INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY OR SPORTS AND SO ON WHERE THEY CAN -- WHERE THERE IS A FEELING AT LEAST OR THE POTENTIAL THAT YOU CAN ALLOW SIMPLY WHATEVER YOU ARE PRESENTING, YOUR TALENTS TO SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES IN A WAY.

BUT YOU ARE NOT DOING IT THROUGH THE LENS OF A SYSTEMIC ISSUE THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT ALLOW YOU TO DO THE WORK THAT SOMEBODY ELSE MIGHT GET CHOSEN FOR.

YOU ARE NOT WALKING INTO AN INTERVIEW SITUATION WITH OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE YOUR CONTEMPORARIES WHO ARE WHITE, ESSENTIALLY.THEREFORE HAVE EITHC OR A SLIGHT ADVANTAGE TO YOU.

WHICH THEN REPEATED OVER SEVERAL YEARS OR INTERVIEWS COULD BE A VERY LARGE GAP BETWEEN WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE AND WHAT THEY ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE.

LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX OF THOSE THINGS WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND THINKING, WELL, HOW DO I THEN ACCESS THINGS THAT DON'T HAVE A RACIAL BIAS NECESSARILY?

THEY WILL TO SOME DEGREE, BUT A REDUCED RACIAL BIAS OR A RACIAL BIAS I CAN INFLUENCE MORE ACTIVELY?

THAT'S WHEN YOU LOOK AT ENTERTAINMENT, ATHLETICS, MUSIC.

THOSE PROFESSIONS, IN MY MIND ANYWAY, YOU CAN TRY AND APPROACH FROM THAT ANGLE WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE MORE CONTROL.