Good Morning POU! Here are some other times Hollywood decided to whiten roles based on black fictional characters.
“Hud,” 1963: Patricia Neal, a white actress, won an Oscar for her role as Alma, a sought-after housekeeper who fends off the advances of multiple men. In the book on which the movie was based, “Alma” was “Halmea,” a black woman. The movie’s screenwriter later said, “We would have loved to keep her black for the movie,” but “in those days you simply couldn’t do it.” He admitted it wasn’t “because the talent wasn’t there — there were at least a half-dozen powerhouse black actresses who could have played that role. But the times weren’t ready for it yet.”
“Othello,” 1965: Laurence Olivier played the title character in blackface so outrageous that New York Times critic Bosley Crowther was forced to use an exclamation point in his indignant review of the movie.
“Pay It Forward,” 2000: Kevin Spacey played social studies teacher Eugene Simonet, who was white in the movie but black (and named Reuben St. Clair) in the book. Rumor has it that Denzel Washington was offered the role of Reuben, but he declined. Obviously the next choice was Kevin Spacey.