Have to look beyond resume to make casts diverse, says Olivia Wilde

LOS ANGELES, Apr 29: Actor Olivia Wilde believes it is important to give new people a chance and look beyond the established set of actors to bring diversity in the cast and crew of a film.

The actor, whose debut directorial venture “Booksmart” boasts of a diverse team with many newcomers on board, said she did not face trouble during the casting of the film.

“It turns out when you see all actors and you just hire the best people, you actually end up with a really representative set. The problem is most people don’t look at everyone. If we keep drawing from the same pool, it becomes this recycled pot of inspiration. There’s nothing new if you don’t take a step further,” Wilde said at the screening of the film.

The movie features Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein in the lead, and Wilde roped in professional skaters Victoria Ruesga and Nico Haraga to play the role of their friends.

“In order for casts to become more diverse and representative ?? the same goes for crew behind the camera ?? you have to look beyond resume. You have to hire people based on their talent, their skills, their ideas, their passion.

“If we keep hiring based on resume, we will just continue this paradigm and everything will be the same as it’s been. We have to break the mold, we have to change the way we hire people. Maybe you could be a little bit nervous to hire an actor who’s never been on a film set and has a pretty sizeable role, but I found that pretty exciting,” she added. (PTI)

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