'Homeland' Star David Harewood Makes Case For White Actors Being Able To "Black Up" For Roles: "The Name Of The Game Is Acting"

In an interview with The Guardian to mark his appointment as president of British drama school RADA, Harewood made the case for controversial casting decisions on the proviso that performers deliver.

"We're at this strange point in the profession where people go: 'Oh, you can't play that role because you're not disabled, or you can't play that because you're not really from there.' The name of the game is acting," he said.

"Yes, we've got to be representative, but I do think we have to be careful … That even extends to Othello in blackface. I say, if you want to black up, have at it, man. It'd better be f***ing good, or else you're gonna get laughed off the stage. But knock yourself out! Anybody should be able to do anything."

Harewood said he had experience of being cast against type. He told The Guardian that he got "slaughtered" for playing Romeo in an all-Black 1988 adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. More recently, he starred as white conservative William F Buckley in the play Best of Enemies.

Harewood said the Romeo and Juliet experience took him to a dark place after he was heavily questioned about his participation and compared to Mike Tyson in reviews.

"Literally the only way I could go on stage was to get hammered. I really didn't enjoy my experience: I hated acting, hated the profession, hated what I was doing, totally lost my confidence," Harewood recalled.

Harewood said he was overwhelmed and proud of the response to becoming the first person of color to lead RADA, but he also received hate mail. "It was all wonderful and complimentary … except the second to last one that began: 'The true patriots of England will be turning in their grave at your appointment …' I didn't read on, but I could see it was full of the usual," he said.

Harewood starred as CIA agent David Estes in Homeland. More recently, he played J'onn J'onzz in CBS series Supergirl.