Danny Dyer Insists “Elitist” Critics Would Never Mock His Accent if He Was Black

Rivals star Danny Dyer has taken aim at elitist critics who mock his working-class Cockney accent, arguing that racial double standards would prevent similar ridicule of a black actor. The Mail has the story.

The former EastEnders favourite reveals on Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 today how one sneering review of his work was even written in a Cockney accent.

He says: “I felt like, ‘why would that be allowed?’ Because if I was a black actor you certainly wouldn’t do it in a Jamaican accent. I’ve had some awful reviews about me.”

The 47 year-old father of three from Custom House in London’s East End believes that coming from a working-class background has prevented him from being regarded as a serious actor.

“I think I’ve done some good work over the years but I’ve never really been acknowledged,” he says. “There’s a bit of elitism in our industry. I’m incredibly working-class and proud of my roots.

“I don’t work for critics in a sense, but the one that did do me was, ‘The biggest plot twist about Rivals is that Danny Dyer can act.’ And I thought, ‘wow.’ In a way it’s a compliment, but at the same time, not really.”

An early mentor to Dyer was the Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, who took the then 22 year-old actor under his wing. Dyer appeared in three plays by the writer, who also had working-class East London origins.

Worth reading in full.