HOLLYWOOD movies are under-representing non-white ethnic groups in the United States, a new study says.

    Hispanic actors played only 4.9 percent of speaking parts in 2013 blockbusters, despite making up more than 16 percent of the population.

    Black actors were cast in 14.1 percent of roles and 17 percent of films had no black speaking characters.

    The University of Southern California report studied almost 4,000 characters in the 100 top-grossing films of 2013.

    Although 2014 saw Steve McQueen become the first black director to win an Oscar for his film “12 Years a Slave,” the study found that there were only 1.1 percent more black characters on the big screen than in 2007.

    It added that if a film had a black director, more black actors were likely to be involved.

    It said there had been no “meaningful change” — which it set at 5 percent — in the frequency with which any racial or ethnic group had appeared in popular films in the seven years from 2007-2013.

    Hispanics were “clearly the most underserved” racial or ethnic group, the report said.

    Despite the changing demographics of the U.S. population, “films still portray a homogenized picture of the world,” the report said.

    The report also found that Hispanic women were shown in “sexualized” portrayals more than any other ethnic group.(SD-Agencies)