James Norton says he thinks people try so hard to be “inoffensive” that they end up not developing their own opinions.
The actor, 34, also said everyone in showbusiness should be thinking about diversity.
Norton, star of McMafia, The Trial Of Christine Keeler and Happy Valley, told Belstaff’s The Road Less Travelled Podcast: “It’s so hard right now, everyone wants to be so inoffensive.
“We spend more energy sort of wondering what not to say than actually thinking about what we should be saying and formulating opinions and thoughts.”
Norton, who studied theology at Cambridge before training as an actor at RADA, added: “I’m slightly wary of saying that I want my work to make a difference. But of course I do, I want to be a catalyst for a conversation.”
Norton said discussing diversity within showbusiness “should be in the front of everyone’s mind right now.”
“It does annoy me and upset me when you read interviews and someone is asked about race or gender and diversity in general and they go: ‘I don’t really know enough about that.’”
On the topic of white privilege, the actor added: “It’s your responsibility to educate yourself.”
“If you are one of those people who identifies white or as a man and you’re therefore incredibly privileged immediately from the word go. Then you have that responsibility to listen.”
The Belstaff podcasts are released Mondays via iTunes and Spotify
