Now Playing
Jonny MarlowBrandon Kyle Goodman is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry and now he’s ready to shake up Hollywood.
After writing for season four and five of Netflix’s Big Mouth, Goodman tells ABC Audio his next steps are focused on diversifying Hollywood, starting with its writer’s room.
“I think it is incredibly important that Hollywood diversify its voices and the writers’ rooms,” says Goodman. “The make-up of our country and our world is not white, cis, and heterosexual. The make-up of our world is far more intricate, nuanced, and beautiful than that. And we deserve to be represented. All these [points-of-views] and stories deserve to be told.”
The Modern Love star said the important nature of Hollywood and the media are what pushed him toward “this industry.”
“If all you see are negative images or stereotypes of Black people or queer people, as a young child growing up, as a young Black child, as a young Black queer child, you consume that,” he continued. “You internalize that and that makes life challenging because then you’re an adult.”
Based on his personal experiences, Goodman said he understands those “trying to undo all of that really harmful and dangerous and horrific conditioning where you’ve been taught that you are not valuable, that you are not worthy, that your story does not deserve to be centered.”
He also believes Hollywood has a “duty and a responsibility” to diversify “its production teams, its cast, as well as the writing rooms” to tell more “authentic stories.”
“It’s making sure that [Hollywood’s] interested and invested in telling stories about queer people, about women, about Black people, about indigenous people, about all of us who make up this incredible world,” said Goodman.
By Rachel George
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
brandon diversifying explains Goodman hollywood importance rooms Voices Writers
