The State of Latino Actors
Latino Actors, Actresses Taking a Stand
As of this posting, for the first time in 43 years, actors in Hollywood have gone on strike, bringing the U.S. film and television industry to a halt. Last Friday SAG-AFTRA, a union representing about 160,000 Hollywood actors, officially went on strike after failing to reach a deal with studios. Hispanic Lifestyle 2017 Latina of Influence Patricia Rae is among those striking for better working conditions for union members.
“As artist we are already struggling to make a living. Take away fair compensation for pay, residuals, streaming, AI and you are literally crippling the working actor.” stated Ms. Rae
Recently The Latino Data Collaborative Think Tank (LDCTT), the research branch of the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), released the 2022 Full-Year LDC U.S. Latinos in Media Report©, a five-year benchmark that measures U.S. Latino representation in shows and films. Highlights from the report include;
- Latino actors were cast in lead roles in only 38 out of 1462 shows (2.6%). Latino directors only directed 1.5% of the almost 14,620 episodes that aired during our measured season.
- Only 38 out of the 1,462 (2.6%) shows that aired during primetime television and streaming in 2022 had a Latino actor in the lead role. Additionally, of those 38 shows, 18 shows portrayed Latinos negatively or perpetuated false stereotypes about the U.S. Latino community.
- The most glaring platforms where U.S. Latinos are underrepresented are Cable and Premium Cable, with premium cable having zero Latino leads and only nine out of 800 episodes directed by a U.S. Latino. Traditional cable didn’t fare much better. Out of 458 shows, only five had a Latino lead actor, and zero had Latino showrunners.
- Latino representation in films is 5.1% (16 of the 313), significantly under-indexing the 25% U.S. Latino moviegoing demographic. Latinos consist of only 3% of leads and 5.8% of co-leads in films aired in theaters.
For more details their report, visit their website, https://www.latinodonorcollaborative.org/
About The Latino Donor Collaborative
The Latino Donor Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It is a self-funded, non-partisan effort created by an accomplished group of generous Latino national business leaders and philanthropists. It promotes friendly high-level dialogue with the goal of finding best ways to grow revenue and market share, by engaging, targeting, and serving the Latino audiences.
