Minorities, the TV industry's aliens

Hollywood remains a tough market for actors and actresses who aren't white. Few people know that better than Gabrielle Union.

Union

This fall, the African-American actress co-stars on "Night Stalker," but audiences know her best as the first black woman to set foot in the New York City depicted on "Friends." She credited her ABC show for reflecting the true diversity of Los Angeles -- something she can't say of every television series.

"As you're auditioning for different shows...you're sitting in the room, and it's you and a gorgeous Asian woman and a gorgeous Latina and a gorgeous woman from the Middle East and then, like, 12 blondes. And you're like, 'Hmm, wonder who is going to get it?'" she told critics.

"And then it's like, 'Well, we don't want to go black.' We're like, 'She's a secretary, or she's a...whatever. It's not like we're sisters. What does it matter what color they are?'

"...I'm guessing you've all sort of been in Manhattan and Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, where they love to have these shows take place," she continued. "The idea that there is a complete lack of diversity is -- it's like science fiction. If there can be dog people running around, there can be black people on television."