David Harewood has called for acting graduates to be taught “resilience” to steel them for the industry’s brutal side, as he prepares to take over as president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
The actor, who is to replace Kenneth Branagh in the role, has pledged to pass on what he learned after suffering with mental health issues as a young Rada graduate.
He said: “I had some problems when I left and I think it is incumbent upon myself and Rada to teach resilience and prepare students: give them financial skills – tax skills, for example – things that we were never prepared for.”
In the 2019 BBC documentary David Harewood: Psychosis and Me, the actor discussed his mental health struggles, which resulted in him being sectioned shortly after graduating. He was subjected to racist reviews and left with limited opportunities upon being pigeonholed as a “black actor”.
Harewood says it instilled in him a desire to pass on his knowledge as a very active and accessible president. “Rather than being a sort of standard bearer for the school in terms of a fundraiser, I really want to be there and as accessible to the students as possible,” he said.
The actor plans to use his connections in the industry to bring in stars who have found success, as well as actors who have found it hard, to share their experiences. “I intend to bring some of my successful friends into the drama school, those who have had successful careers and those who have struggled,” he said. “I think it’s important to hear both sides of the coin.”
Cynthia Erivo will join Harewood, who is the first black president of Rada, as the inaugural vice-president at the school. Harewood, who has long advocated for more opportunities for black British actors in the UK industry after having to move to the US to get his big break, said his and Erivo’s presence would send a strong message to students.
“It’s not a sticking plaster,” he said. “This is part of a concerted agenda to take diversity and inclusion to a new level and change the direction – we’ve had 120 years of Rada being one thing and it’s been very successful, but the future will be a very different playground. We have to embrace that and be a beacon for inclusivity and diversity.”
Rada admitted it was “institutionally racist” in 2021 after students complained about non-inclusive teaching, and the organisation apologised for its “inadequate response” to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Harewood said the school, which enacted an action plan after a review of its processes, was on the brink “of a new era” and had genuinely changed.
“Having been through the training at a time when questions of race were handled in a non-inclusive way, being part of an agenda where that discussion is open and honest is a good thing,” said Harewood. “We have to get on board with these things. It’s exciting to be part of this new wave and this new generation who want to build a new vision of how things should be. 40% of Rada’s intake on the BA acting course is either black or non-white, and I think it’s important that we represent those young people.”
Branagh, who had a nine-year tenure at Rada, said: “It is a thrill to welcome the brilliant David Harewood and Cynthia Erivo to their new roles at the academy.”