4. Laurence Olivier – Othello (1965)
In 1963 Sidney Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for the brilliant Lilies Of The Field. In 1965 Laurence Olivier felt a little left out by all the furore surrounding Sidney and made the decision to black himself up and take on the role that is most arguably the most famous black role of all time, Othello, a Moorish general.
He could make this list for the despicable black make-up alone but when you put it next to the Civil Rights Movement of the time and the fact that Katherine Hepburn turns up rocking a faux-Chinese tinge there has to be some accountability. The Academy Awards didn’t think so – he got nominated for an Oscar – and I’m happy to confirm he was not the second black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.
