Pedro Almodovar calls for better representation in the writers room

Pedro Almodovar believes Hollywood bosses need to hire more "minorities" to write movies.

The Spanish filmmaker doesn't agree that only gay or Jewish actors should play gay or Jewish characters and thinks the best way to promote true diversity in the film industry is by having authentic voices bring their experiences to the story.

He told The Hollywood Reporter magazine: "The essence of acting is, in fact, to pretend, to be someone other than who you are, even in your own essence. That is at the core of acting.

"So, for example, absolutely a heterosexual actor can play a homosexual character and vice versa.

"If Hollywood is so obsessed, as it is right now, with representing minorities, be they Latinos, Asians or people with disabilities, they should actually hire them to do the writing.

"Just so I’m not misunderstood, I want to make sure that it is clear that I’m very much in favour of minorities of all types to be considered for casting in films and also to be hired behind the camera and that they be able to tell their own stories.

"I mean, even when you talk about the Western, we don’t have many Westerns told from the point of view of Native Americans, even though this is a genre that speaks of them, often in very unkind and unfair ways."

Since releasing 'Pain and Glory' in 2019, Pedro has gone on to work on two short films, 'The Human Voice' and 'Strange Way of Life' and the 73-year-old filmmaker admitted they have given his career new excitement, as well as helping improve how he works in English.

He said: "I wrote those two stories, and the right format for them was the short. I didn’t want to artificially lengthen them because that was the right length.

"The thing that I discovered as I was shooting both of them is that I kind of recovered a sort of illusion, the feeling of a first-time filmmaker.

"I have a passion for every single film I do, otherwise I wouldn’t make the films, but there was something new and exciting for me shooting in this format, and it also allowed me a lot of room for experimentation, which has been exciting.

"I also think of shorts as practice — I’ve practiced through these two shorts to shoot in English, which I feel like I’m also prepared to do now."