Never Inclusive Enough: Hispanic, Latino Actors and Filmmakers Still Left Behind By Hollywood USC Study Says

Hispanic and Latino actors and filmmakers are still being left behind in Hollywood, according to a study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

Hollywood, which oftentimes preaches overrepresentation via its entertainment, only 8.5 percent of Hispanic and Latino actors taking on lead or co-lead roles across the top 100 movies of 2022, despite the group making up 19.1 percent of the U.S. population, the USC Annenberg study showed, according to a report by The Wrap.

The study examined 1,600 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2022 and more than 62,000 speaking characters. It also looked at behind-the-camera representation, assessing more than 13,000 directors, producers, and casting directors, as well as examined Hispanic and Latino portrayals across the top films of 2022.

The investigation found that only ten lead or co-lead roles across the top 100 earning movies of 2022 went to Hispanic or Latino actors. Among those, eight of them went to females.

Over the course of 16 years, only 75 Hispanic or Latino actors — which was a little more than 4 percent — were cast in lead or co-lead roles. Additionally, only five of them were aged 45 and older, with three of the older Latinas being played by Jennifer Lopez.

The study also examined issues involving financial support for films with Hispanic or Latino protagonists, as well as the influence that a Hispanic or Latino lead or co-lead had on the box office.

An examination of 126 movies from 2021 and 2022 showed that films with Hispanic or Latino leads received significantly less resources for production than films with non-Hispanic or Latinos in the lead.

Last year, 5.8 percent of speaking characters were Hispanic or Latino, a small uptick from 2007, when those characters made up 3.3 percent. But sample-wide, 4.4 percent of all speaking characters were Hispanic or Latino, TheWrap reported.

Moreover, almost 60 percent of the Hispanic or Latino characters that appeared on screen in 2022 were male or claimed that they identified as male.

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