The Oscars Attempt to Diversify, Invite 683 New Potential New Academy Members

Jill Pantozzi | June 30th, 2016

The Academy has introduced their class of 2016 and it includes a diverse crop of 683 people working in Hollywood today.

True to her word, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs has made a big push toward diversifying the Oscars. The new list is enormous and includes those who have been oddly passed over for invites in the past, many familiar names, and some which may raise eyebrows. As these are just invites, there’s no guarantee the Oscar voting pool will swell with 683 members.

You can find the full list which includes directors, casting directors, cinematographers, designers, costume designers, documentary creators, film editors, executives, musicians, makeup artists and hairstylists, PR, producers, short film and feature animation creators, sound and visual effects, writers and more at The Hollywood Reporter. Here are the actors who’ve been invited:

Mahershala Ali –““The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Parts 1 and 2),” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Anthony Anderson – “The Departed,” “Hustle & Flow”
Adam Beach – “The Departed,” “Hustle & Flow”
Kate Beckinsale -– “Love & Friendship,” “The Aviator”
Chadwick Boseman -– “Captain America: Civil War,” “Get on Up”
John Boyega – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Attack the Block”
Betty Buckley ­– “Wyatt Earp,” “Carrie”
Rose Byrne – “X-Men: First Class,” “Bridesmaids”
Julie Carmen – “The Milagro Beanfield War,” “Gloria”
Enrique Castillo­ – “Déjà Vu,” “Bound by Honor”
Morris Chestnut – “G.I. Jane,” “Boyz N the Hood”
Cliff Curtis – “Live Free or Die Hard,” “Training Day”
Idris Elba – “Beasts of No Nation,” “Pacific Rim
America Ferrera – “Cesar Chavez,” “End of Watch”
Vivica A. Fox – “Kill Bill,” “Independence Day”
Andrew Garfield – “99 Homes,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”
Greta Gerwig – “Frances Ha,” “To Rome with Love”
Jesse D. Goins – “The Ugly Truth,” “Patriot Games”
Bruce Greenwood – “Flight,” “Star Trek”
Carla Gugino – “Watchmen,” “Night at the Museum”
Luis Guzmán – “Punch-Drunk Love,” “Carlito’s Way”
Dennis Haysbert – “Dear White People,” “Wreck-It Ralph”
Tom Hiddleston – “Crimson Peak,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
James Hong – “Safe,” “Mulan”
Oscar Isaac – “Ex Machina,” “A Most Violent Year”
O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson* – “Ride Along,” “Friday”
Dakota Johnson – “Black Mass,” “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Cherry Jones – “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” “Signs”
Michael B. Jordan – “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”
Daniel Dae Kim – “The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” “Crash”
Regina King – “Ray,” “Jerry Maguire
Brie Larson – “Room,” “Trainwreck”
Byung-Hun Lee – “Terminator Genisys,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”
Nia Long – “Keanu,” “Boyz N the Hood”
Sal Lopez – “The Astronaut Farmer,” “Full Metal Jacket”
Ignacio López Tarso – “Under the Volcano,” “Nazarin”
Patti LuPone – “Parker,” “Driving Miss Daisy”
Peter Mackenzie – “Trumbo,” “42”
Rachel McAdams – “Spotlight,” “Midnight in Paris”
Eva Mendes – “The Place beyond the Pines,” “Hitch”
Tatsuya Nakadai – “Ran,” “Kagemusha”
Adepero Oduye – “The Big Short,” “12 Years a Slave”
Marisa Paredes – “The Skin I Live In,” “All about My Mother”
Nate Parker – “Beyond the Lights,” “Red Tails”
Harold Perrineau – “Zero Dark Thirty,” “28 Weeks Later”
Jorge Perugorría – “Che,” “Strawberry and Chocolate”
Silvia Pinal – “Vintage Model,” “The Exterminating Angel”
Freida Pinto – “Immortals,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
Michelle Rodriguez – “Avatar,” “Girlfight”
Anika Noni Rose – “For Colored Girls,” “Dreamgirls”
Cecilia Roth – “Lucia Lucia,” “All About My Mother”
Mark Rylance – “Bridge of Spies,” “The Other Boleyn Girl”
Pepe Serna – “The Black Dahlia,” “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez”
Martin Starr – “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” “Adventureland”
Elizabeth Sung – “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “The Joy Luck Club”
Sharmila Tagore – “Dhadkan,” “The World of Apu”
Tessa Thompson – “Creed,” “Dear White People”
Lorraine Toussaint – “Selma,” “Middle of Nowhere”
Glynn Turman – “Super 8,” “Men of Honor”
Gabrielle Union – “Top Five,” “Bad Boys II”
Jacob Vargas – “The 33,” “Jarhead”
Alicia Vikander – “The Danish Girl,” “Ex Machina”
Emma Watson – “The Bling Ring,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Damon Wayans, Jr. – “Big Hero 6,” “Let’s Be Cops”
Marlon Wayans – “The Heat,” “Requiem for a Dream”
Rita Wilson – “It’s Complicated,” “Runaway Bride”
Daphne Zuniga – “Staying Together,” “Spaceballs”

And here’s a handy chart they gave us so we could see the breakdown:

And THR writes:

The new invitees are heavily weighted to favor women (46 percent) and people of color (41 percent). If all elect to join, it will begin to shift the demographic makeup of the Academy, which has been criticized in the past for being too old, too male and too white. According to the Academy, its membership was 75 percent male before this year’s new members were recruited, and could move to 73 percent male once they join. Similarly, the Academy was 92 percent white before the latest list and could become 89 percent white in its wake.

The class of 2016 includes 28 Oscar winners and 98 nominees, who collectively represent 109 nominations. Of the new invitees, 283 are considered international members, representing 59 countries.

But as the news rolled out on social media yesterday, it seems the invites hadn’t yet reached everyone on the list. Supergirl and Punisher: War Zone director Lexi Alexander (who I interviewed here about diversity in Hollywood) revealed she found out she was invited through Twitter.

I found out on Twitter https://t.co/iocRPuVrtZ

— Lexi Alexander (@Lexialex) June 29, 2016

Star Wars (and soon to be Pacific Rim) actor John Boyega had this to say:

Always a blessing to be one of the many Oscar voters that will hopefully spark change. Big thanks! #classof2016 pic.twitter.com/IeElJWI0EB

— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 30, 2016

Other nerd-related actors invited include America Ferrera, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Dae Kim, Emma Watson, Freida Pinto, Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, Michelle Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Tom Hiddleston, and Vivica A. Fox.