The Old Guard stars on representation and diversity in the Netflix film

Stars of the new Netflix film The Old Guard have praised the diversity and representation it features on and off screen.

The action film stars Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne and and Chiwetel Ejiofor and follows a group of immortal mercenaries who are protecting the world.

The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who has previously made Love & Basketball and Beyond The Lights.

Harry Potter actor Harry Melling, who plays the pharmaceutical executive trying to capture the team and learn the secrets of their abilities, told the PA news agency: “One of the amazing thing about Gina was she was adamant on representation and diversity on the screen, not only on the screen but off-screen as well.

“There were so many strong female creatives involved and it was just really exciting to be a part of that.

“It always trickles down from the top, I always say that, and what your leaders are doing, or your director, it always trickles down, so it was very exciting to be on set with Gina.”

Ejiofor added: “I really enjoyed her film Beyond The Lights (which stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver and Nate Parker), which is a film I saw recently, and I was excited to see what she did with something of this size.

“And making it personal, that is our real gift, is making all of these things ring true on an emotional level.

“These personal dynamics really work and this great array of characters that she’s using and these inter-personal dynamics are quite rare, so seeing her approach the action genre but from this very interesting point of view and having these great female leads is really powerful and I was really engaged with that part of the script.”

The Old Guard is streaming on Netflix now.