“The hero must be white”: this mind-blowing request from the studio to the author of one of the most popular crime fiction characters.

It is currently the most watched series on Prime Video. On November 14, the platform launched the first season of The Cross, a detective show inspired by the novels of James Patterson. In 1993, an American author, specializing in psychology, imagined the story of this policeman. A loving but desperate family man, after his wife’s murder, he has only one idea in his head: to find the culprits.

In this TV version, it’s actress Aldis Hodge who steps into Cross’s raincoat and, in the first season, hunts down Fanboy, a criminal obsessed with America’s greatest serial killers to the point of physically transforming his victims to resemble them. .

Alex Cross must look like something else

But Hodge is not the first actor to portray this inspector, he is the third after Morgan Freeman (The Collector and Spider-Man) and Tyler Perry (Alex Cross).

But in the given interview The Hollywood ReporterThe American author revealed that none of them would be able to play this character in film or television if they received a very specific request from an American studio:

“When I wrote the first Alex Cross novel, I didn’t have much money. Hollywood knocked on the door. They handed me a 7-figure check and said, “We just want to change one thing. The hero must be white.” I told them to go and get away. It was difficult but I did it. So they didn’t make the movie right away.

A clear case of whitewashing, averted thanks to the justice of James Patterson, who is Caucasian: “At that time in Hollywood it was mostly Sidney Poitier or movies with black people carrying radio cassettes over their shoulders. It wasn’t real life and it wasn’t the experience I had. ” A developing writer, he tells the story of a family friend who lived with him for several years and with whom he discovered African-American culture.

Blackwashing: Why is diversity still discussed in TV shows and movies?

While Hollywood has come a long way since then, being more inclusive and focusing on diversity on screen, there is still work to be done. In the Prime Video series Cross, the writers wanted to answer pressing questions, including the following: How can a black police officer who grew up in the city protect the interests of his community without falling into the systemic racism of the community?

Cross, watch on Prime Video.