From a CNN article:
“It’s also a form of commerce and it makes money,” the actor said. “But it’s an art. And no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give into the latest, most current idea of what morality is.” [...]
He then cited a bit of a history regarding Laurence Olivier being “the last white actor to play Othello,” referring to the 1965 film, in which the British actor performed in blackface. Dreyfuss praised the performance, saying Olivier played the role “brilliantly.” “Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man?” Dreyfuss said [...]
Hoover pushed back, asking if there’s “a difference between the question of representation and who is allowed to represent other groups … and the case of blackface, given the history of slavery and the sensitives around black racism?”
Dreyfuss said, “There shouldn’t be.”