In regard to people mostly chosing white actors, part of it might be that people haven't had as much opportunity to become familiar with the work of POC actors. I've tried seeking out some films after following this blog and except for a couple that I've found on YouTube I've not had any luck. Even extremely famous films like 7 Samurai I can't find on any Streaming services, but every service has several Cary Grant films.
This is why video propaganda is so good, it makes me able to see "ah yes that person IS perfect for the part"
i can help!
video clips for actors you might not know already:
Mr. Collins
Laurence Criner (27:03 to about 29:26 if you don't want to watch the whole movie)
Victor Spinetti
Jack Soo
Fats Waller
Donald Meek (6:03-8:34)
Edward Everett Horton
Bhanu Bandopadhyay
Kitty Bennet
Evelyn Preer
Jeni Le Gon
Hitomi Nazoe—it's hard to find a good clip, but I included her because I was thinking of her role in Giants and Toys, which you can watch for free on Kanopy if your library has a subscription
Butterfly McQueen (1:00:48-1:02:06)
Lydia Bennet
Nina Mae McKinney
Marie Bryant
Martha Vickers
Machiko Kyō (Machiko has a big range as an actress so beyond this clip you could also find more of her serious work in something like Rashomon—cw for rape if you watch that)
Diana Sands
Mary Bennet
Maylia Fong (4:34-7:26—I haven't watched the whole movie so careful for content warnings beyond the clip)
Iris Hall (36:12-38:05—haven't watched the whole movie so again, careful for content warnings)
Barbara Steele
Theresa Harris (cw for stereotypical "servant" imagery)
Yoshiko Kuga (1:05:15-1:08:12)
Bonita Granville
