David Oyelowo, who has been praised for his role as Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie "Selma," has been discussing his feelings towards being a black actor and being snubbed at the Oscars.

In a recent interview with Radio Times, Oyelowo revealed that there is little opportunity for black actors in England, the country he was raised in, AFP reports. Oyelowo, who is of Nigerian decent, revealed the difficulties he had trying to make it as a black actor in Britain.

"We make period dramas (in Britain), but there are almost never black people in them, even though we've been on these shores for hundreds of years," Oyelowo explained.

He recalled the story of the time he pitched a historical drama about a black leader to a British executive. The executive turned him down because the main character would not appeal to the British audience.

"I remember taking a historical drama with a black figure at its centre to a British executive with greenlight power, and what they said was that if it's not Jane Austen or Dickens, the audience don't understand," Oyelowo recalled. "And I thought 'OK -- you are stopping people having a context for the country they live in and you are marginalising me. I can't live with that. So I've got to get out.'"

Though Oyelowo has garnered critical acclaim in the U.S. for his starring role in "Selma," he was still snubbed for a Best Actor nomination at the Academy awards this year. This snub has caused many critics and "Selma" fans to slam the Academy awards voting committee for its lack of diversity among nominees.

Oyelowo was asked to share his opinion on his Oscar snub.

"We made a film that is not your typical biopic, that doesn't feel like, 'Oh, here come the strings'. We made the movie we wanted to see, not what we thought the Academy would like," he responded.

Oyelowo elaborated on that statement in a separate interview at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Daily Beast reports.

Oyelowo shared his belief that Hollywood only praises black actors when they portray subservient characters in film.

"Generally speaking, we as black people have been celebrated more for when we are subservient, when we are not being leaders or kings or being in the center of our own narrative, driving it forward," Oyelowo said in reference to his Oscar snub. "There's a reason Hollywood at large shares The Academy's problem with strong black characters. White guilt."

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