Chiwetel Ejiofor is not a controversial person. Perhaps that speaks to his intelligence, his work ethic, his even temperament. But it’s really rare that he makes news, because he generally comes across as thoughtful, earnest, compassionate and utterly unscandalous. Even when he made news this week, it was because he was just trying to be an LGBT ally and it sort of went sideways because he forgot about intersectionality. Now Chiwetel has a new interview with The Daily Beast, and he got pulled into the conversation about #OscarsSoWhite. It should be mentioned that Chiwetel got a Best Actor Oscar nomination in 2014, the last year any actor of color got nominated for anything. You can read Chiwetel’s full interview here. Some highlights:

What he thinks of the police unions threatening Quentin Tarantino: “Well, it truly is one of the more bizarre things that any sort of government official has done. But it speaks to a corruption. When you start to try and censor people because they march, or whatever. ‘Well, we’re going to hurt you…’ So we shouldn’t do that because the police are going to come out? It’s the language of a very corrupt system.”

The #OscarsSoWhite conversation: “I feel like the conversation in terms of the Oscars is in a way dealing with the alter ego. It’s not really about The Academy, necessarily. It’s about equality in our society. And that’s why it’s become such a hot issue. That’s really what people are talking about. And that has been the elephant in the room for a long time around arts and media. What kind of society are we looking to live in? I feel like we are negotiating that in real time now, whether it comes to race issues or gender issues or sexuality issues.”

Diversity in the world, diversity on screen: “Things are moving in a different direction—in this country, England, Europe. It’s not going to get less diverse. What are we going to do about that? Do we want a society where people are equal, or don’t we? If we don’t want that, well then let’s go out and state that! Let’s not hide the issue. But if we do, I think there are a number of people on all sides of the equation who are going to be on board with that and encourage it and create a very beautiful society for our children that we can be proud to leave behind us. I, for one, am one hundred percent in favor of that concept. That’s what people are sort of struggling with and asking about. It’s right to ask questions of your society. It’s insane that people try and shoot down people who are.”

Whitewashing is a choice: “I like the idea that these things become a choice. Casting or green-lighting a film that is essentially an all-white film was, at a certain point, just considered normal. But now, it’s a choice. You are doing something very directly. You are making a choice to cast this thing entirely white, or green-light an entirely white movie. That is a choice.”

[From The Daily Beast]

See? Thoughtful. Non-controversial. He’s actually talking substantively about what the #OscarsSoWhite conversation is really about. And I agree with him – he says at one point that, contrary to what the Coen Brothers say, the Oscars are important and he was proud to have been recognized with an Oscar nomination and proud to have starred in a film that won Best Picture. But he’s also saying that the #OscarsSoWhite controversy is the vehicle by which we’re having these larger conversations about representation, diversity and the choices people make. I also love this: “It’s not going to get less diverse.” So true.

Photos courtesy of WENN.