Brie Larson Isn’t Letting Her ‘Captain Marvel’ Press Tour Be ‘Overwhelmingly’ White and Male

Brie Larson is committed to making the press tour for “Captain Marvel” as inclusive as possible. For her recent interview with Marie Claire, the Oscar-winning actress handpicked Keah Brown to be her interviewer. Brown called the designation the “biggest opportunity” she’s had in her career and noted that “nobody usually wants to take a chance on a disabled journalist.” By becoming more active in determining her press opportunities, Larson is hoping to heighten inclusive voices.

“About a year ago, I started paying attention to what my press days looked like and the critics reviewing movies, and noticed 
it appeared to be overwhelmingly white male,” Larson said when asked about her reasons for choosing Brown as her interviewer. “So, I spoke to 
Dr. Stacy Smith at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, who put together a study to confirm that. Moving forward, I decided to make sure my press days were more inclusive. After speaking with you, the film critic Valerie Complex and a few other women of color, it sounded like across the board they weren’t getting the same opportunities as others. When I talked to the facilities that weren’t providing it, they all had different excuses.”

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Larson’s celebrity is about to hit new heights with the release of “Captain Marvel,” the first solo outing for a female superhero in the decades-old Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actress said the role has given her an opportunity to begin working on solutions to Hollywood’s gender parity.

“I want to go out of my way to connect the dots,” Larson said. “It just took me using the power that I’ve been given now as Captain Marvel. [The role] comes with all these privileges and powers that make me feel uncomfortable because I don’t really need them…It’s a by-product of the profession and a sign of the times. But any uncomfortableness I feel is balanced by the knowledge that it gives me the ability 
to advocate for myself and others.”

Larson made headlines last year for calling out the gender imbalance within the film criticism world. While accepting an award at the Crystal + Lucy Awards, Larson called the lack of equal representation among critics an “issue that’s been bubbling.”

“Am I saying I hate white dudes?” Larson said. “No, I’m not … [but if] you make the movie that is a love letter to women of color, there is an insanely low chance a woman of color will have a chance to see your movie and review your movie.”

“Captain Marvel” opens in theaters nationwide March 8.