Ep 5: Talent Manager Matilda Comers: On Representing Multiracial Actors, Diversity in the Industry and Her Promise to Mother Teresa

In the latest instalment of our "Mixed Actors in the Entertainment Industry" series, we sit down with power house Manager and Producer, Matilda Comers.

We dive into Matilda's unique vantage point on representing mixed actors, how she feels the industry has changed when it comes to diversity, and her personal multicultural story. 

We also tackle a pressing and complex question for actors: Should we set our own limits in playing diverse roles or let the industry decide for us? (How much of the onus should be on us, if any, especially when we have limited information when going up for roles).

 

Episode breakdown:

• Introduction to Matilda Comers and how we met
• Matilda’s own rich multicultural background and journey. From Sudan to the UK, Australia, and finally, America
• Our shared experience of childhood reluctance to speaking/learning our ethnic languages in an effort to blend in
• How not knowing Japanese and Hindi from a young age has affected us as actors and our opportunities
• The stereotypical ideas that can often shape casting decisions and therefore the challenges faced by individuals with mixed ethnicities 
• How the industry can lack nuance and understanding of people of diverse backgrounds
• Instances of when we've integrated our unique backgrounds into our roles and auditions
• The progress as well as the gaps in representation across different ethnic groups in the industry
• Is the onus on actors to determine their limits in portraying diverse roles, in an effort to help make sure that groups are represented authentically?
• Dilemmas that actors can face when they don’t fit neatly into a box
• Mixed Families On-Screen: A reflection on the evolving portrayal of diverse families in TV, film, and commercials.
• On opportunities to play mixed roles and how it feels to play a mixed character 
• Matilda’s promise to Mother Teresa

 

Special Guest: 

Matilda Comers

Manager/Producer

Matilda started out as a Promotions and Digital Editor at Universal Music Group, Australia. 

She then became the Director of Australians in Film, where she ran prestigious programs such as  The Heath Ledger Scholarship.

Following this she transitioned into producing and among other things notably co-produced together with Australians in Film; the LA version of the AFI-ACTA Awards Show, recognised as the Australian equivalent to the Oscars.

In 2016, she co-founded Fictious, a talent management and production company, in collaboration with partner Will Howarth.

 

Instagram: @fictiousmgmt

 

Additional info on the Podcast: 

Hosts: Amy Maghera -Taub, Hanna-Lee Sakakibara

Music: Mathias Kunzli - www.mathiasjunzli.com 

 

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