Disney parks performer says auditioning as a Black man was 'an uphill battle' for years, but now he's 'never felt more comfortable'

• A current Disney parks performer told Insider about his experience auditioning as a Black man.
• He said when he first started auditioning, he didn't think there were many roles available to him.

As a Black performer, Dante Payne told Insider that he didn't always feel like there was a place for him at Disney parks auditions.

He said auditions felt like "an uphill battle" when he started doing them in 2013.

"At the time, as a 5-foot-6 Black man, there weren't many shows that I could do at Disney World because they are very specific to a type, and I wasn't fitting any of those types at the time," he said. "There are no Black princes."

Payne explained that even the few princes of color, like Naveen, are lighter-skinned than he is.

He told Insider that at some auditions, it felt like trying to "fit the triangle in the square peg."

"Going into it, I just knew that it would be quite a bit more difficult for me to find the appropriate roles," Payne said.

Still, he said he's noticed Disney starting to add more roles anyone can do regardless of their race — such as Finn Fiesta in the "Disney Junior Dance Party," which he played at Disney World.

He currently performs in union equity shows at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Payne said he's started to see some positive changes, but the conversation has only just begun

Payne said he's starting to see a shift for the better in the audition process and that he's personally "never felt more comfortable" — especially after auditioning with a Black casting director for the first time.

"It was just very nice to walk in and see representation," he told Insider.

He also said he's noticed the company adding more shows to its lineup that require less "bending and twisting" into roles that weren't quite the right fit for him.

"To see more of a diverse platform of shows makes it easier to come in and just sing, just do what you love to do," he told Insider.

Payne added that in 2021 Disney updated "The Five Keys" — what the company calls its core values — to include diversity and inclusion. The Keys are part of the Disney training program for all employees, with the other four being safety, courtesy, efficiency, and show.

"You can feel it slowly starting to change," he said. "There's obviously big, big mountains to traverse to get through a lot of these conversations and to really bring some things to people's attention."

Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.