History in the making A role as a young King Arthur came at the perfect time for Devon Terrell,
DEVON Terrell has a simple message for anyone critical of his casting as the first black man to play Arthur in Cursed, the new Netflix re-imagining of the knight’s tale.
Emboldened by the Black Lives Matter movement, even joining in protest marches near his new Los Angeles home, Terrell is seizing his moment with all the power of Excalibur.
“If you can believe in a magical sword,” he says, “you should be able to believe that a person of colour can play Arthur.”
The US-born, Perth-raised actor – who made his debut as a young Barack Obama in
Barry, another Netflix biopic, to widespread acclaim three years ago – has taken another step in his impressive international career.
In his latest role, Terrell stars as a young Arthur, a mercenary, who joins Nimue (Katherine Langford, also from Perth) in her quest to return an ancient sword to Merlin.
Yet, he hasn’t been offered a single job back home in Australia.
It’s an indictment on the local industry’s lack of diversity and a conversation Terrell hopes has been started by the racial uprisings around the world.
“I’m not trying to say anything controversial now ... but in terms of Australian TV, I don’t see anyone on it that looks like me,” he says. “I didn’t see my avenue into the industry being easy. I still haven’t, to this day, worked in Australia and I lived there for the majority of my life.
“It is upsetting, especially as an Australian actor. I know there’s so many actors of colour in Australia that don’t feel like they’re represented on the screen there. TV and film and media have such a huge impact on culture and it’s one of those things that just has to be better, in general.”
Born to an African American father and Indian Australian mother in Long Beach, California, Terrell confesses he’s been confronted recently by the scars of his own experience with racism – and is desperate to make a difference for generations to come.
“I remember growing up when I was in Perth ... people grabbing my hair and telling me I looked like a sheep. You try not to let it affect you, but it does affect you that people feel they can just grab you in that way and say those things,” the 27-year-old recounts painfully.
“I think it’s one of those things… every country is coming to terms with their form of racism or their form of discrimination. The best thing is the truth coming to light and real conversations are now happening with friends and family.”
CURSED STREAMING FROM FRIDAY, NETFLIX