Acting legend Billy Dee Williams stunned comic and podcaster Bill Maher by saying actors should perform in blackface if they want to, prompting Maher to exclaim “The theater would be bombed!”
The practice of White people darkening their skin to portray Black and brown people has been at the center of many controversies, ending some careers and sidetracking others. But the Star Wars actor sees a carveout for his acting craft.
Williams was a guest on last week’s edition of Maher’s Club Random Podcast, during which he talked about his admiration for Sir Laurence Olivier, and singled out the actor’s “hysterical” portrayal of Othello.
After describing Olivier’s enactment of a physical stereotype, Williams stunned Maher by saying he thinks actors should be doing the same sort of act today:
BILL MAHER: I was just going to say, before you finish the story about Othello, for the people who don’t know what Othello is. And I know you hate to talk about race, but Othello is a Shakespearean play. He’s a Moor. He’s Black. He’s from North Africa, and his friend–
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: It was a Shakespearean play.
BILL MAHER: Okay, but.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Don’t forget to say that.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: I said that at the beginning of Shakespearean play. So it’s so racist relevant here. Sometimes race has to be brought up anyway.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: But this was a cute moment. I think. I think.
BILL MAHER: So Olivier would have had to have done it in Blackface.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: He did it. He finally did it.
BILL MAHER: He did it, in Blackface?
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: He said he didn’t want to. He he he wanted to do it. But he always had this vision of a picture of Robeson and Robeson’s stature and Robeson’s voice.
BILL MAHER: Paul Robeson was Black.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: And his voice.
BILL MAHER: For people who don’t know, Paul Robeson–
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Yes, he was a Black man.
BILL MAHER: Who sang (sings) Old Man River
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Yes, yes. And who was a communist.
BILL MAHER: Yes. And he was a communist.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: A communist socialist.
BILL MAHER: Well, a socialist is a communist.
(crosstalk)
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Anyway, he had this– his vision was this Robeson. So finally, when he did it, he did it. He filmed it. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it. Performance of it. If you ever get a chance to see this.
BILL MAHER: Oh, I’m going to try.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Is really interesting.
BILL MAHER: I bet you they don’t allow you anymore.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Well, he he. He. He did something that because he was known to be a bit outrageous, he. That there were two. Schools of acting at that time, the Edmund Kean School of Acting, which was like Gielgud neck-up. And then there was a–.
BILL MAHER: Neck up?
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Yeah. You know, it was from the words to the words rather than being physical. (Right. Okay.) Olivier was more and more physical. (Okay.) In fact, he got criticized a lot for being physical and doing things with his voice. And that was a bit outrageous. (Wow.)
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: But when he did Othello, I fell out laughing. He stuck his ass out. And in walk. To walk around it is less.
BILL MAHER: Problematic.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: You know, it was like, you know, because Black peopleare supposed to have big asses.
BILL MAHER: I understand how–.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: I fell out laughing, I thought it was,.
BILL MAHER: And Bradley Cooper thinks he’s got a problem, with the nose.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: I thought it was hysterical! I loved it, I loved it! Well, see, I love that kind of stuff.
BILL MAHER: Yes, big asses? Who doesn’t?
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: No, no no–.
BILL MAHER: I know yeah I agree (okay). But here’s the thing today. I mean they would never let you do that.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Why?
BILL MAHER: Blackface?!? Are you–.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: Why not?
BILL MAHER: Because–.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: You should do it.
BILL MAHER: That’s maybe that’s your point of view.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: You should. If you’re an actor, you should do anything you want to do!
BILL MAHER: I mean, that’s a great point of view, but the theater would be bombed!
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS: I mean, [Paul] Muni and I used to talk about this all the time. Muni was the one who was the first person that I worked with in those years who said to me, if whatever you as an actor, you should be able to do whatever you think you can do, you should be able to do it.
The exchange was the subject of a gag on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update this week.