Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston has told Times Radio that straight, white, middle-class, male, actors like himself are “the new pariahs of the industry.”

Oh my.

When Russell T. Davies announced that Ncuti Gatwa's casting as the next Doctor Who was simply a matter of his being the best audition rather than a diversity hire, we expressed some doubt about that but felt that this and his whole message was very politically astute.

A role like Doctor Who where the character is essentially a periodic shapeshifter really shouldn't be bound by gender or race.

Coming out of a period of under or no representation for certain groups in entertainment it is right in our view to actively pursue opportunities to improve representation for both characters and actors.

Including clever character changes which respect established fictional history, eg. original straight Superman passing the Superman role onto his bisexual son.

However in our view Eccleston's statements are problematic and also potentially inflammatory.

Quite rightly I’m a dinosaur now. I’m white, I’m middle-aged, I’m male, and I’m straight. We are all seen through the lens of Harvey Weinstein et al. And I can feel that the opportunities are shrinking, as they should do.

I’ve lived off the fat of the land for 30 years of my career, but I still have to pay my mortgage, I still have to support my kids, so I don’t welcome the uncertainty at all. The unpredictability was far more welcome to a younger person.

Harvey Weinstein appears to have been a prolific sexual predator.

Sexual predation is inarguably wrong and no-one should have to put out to get a job.

But that's both unrelated to improving diversity in entertainment and also the sins of one straight, white male don't carry over to every other straight white male.

That's sexist and racist.

And could be a potent rallying cry for opponents of improving diversity in entertainment.

No-one should be a "pariah" in any industry because of arbitrary qualities like gender, sexuality or race.

Eccleston's intentions appear to have been good but we think he has missed the mark.

[ Main Image: Doctor Who poster - Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston. Credit: BBC via IMDb.com. ]

References

Frost, Caroline (June 10, 2022). “A Dinosaur”: ‘Doctor Who’ Star Christopher Eccleston Calls White, Middle-Aged Actors “Industry Pariahs”. Deadline.