Yalitza Aparicio and the fascinating history of non-professional actors

Non-professional actors are in the spotlight after the surprise nomination of non-professional indigenous woman Yalitza Aparicio for this year's best actress Oscar for her role as a domestic servant in Alfonso Cuar�n's critically acclaimed Roma. Professor Catherine O'Rawe, the University of Bristol's Professor of Italian Film and Culture (how's that for a job?!) gives insights on the treatment of non-professional actors by directors and the industry and what becomes of them. If Aparicio wins, she will be the first indigenous Latina Oscar winner and will join the small number of non-professional actors to win an Oscar in recent times, a number which includes New Zealand actress Anna Paquin for her role in The Piano (1993).