# Characters who have changed race from book to movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244 "2009-01-21T01:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/21 "2009-01-21T04:18:57Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Which is also not a change seeing as how Nick Fury’s look in the comics is based on Sam Jackson. In fact, there’s no movie that qualifies in the least for this thread since the comic Fury IS Sam Jackson. I suspect most non-Ultimates reading comics fans ( me, for instance 🙂 ) have in mind the iconic Nick Fury, a very [white dude](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Fury). But I agree he is the spitting image of the re-imagined Fury. A minor one - I believe the bouncer in the book _Striptease_ was a white trashy sort. He was transmogrified into Marcellus Wallace for the movie. A pretty neutral change if you ask me, that only sticks in my head because it inexplicably bugged a friend of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/22 "2009-01-21T04:21:16Z")
In the novel _Last of the Mohicans_, Cora Munro is part black, and is described as having dark hair and dark skin. In the 1992 film, she was played by the lily-white Madeline Stowe. I have not seen any of the numerous other film/TV adaptations. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/23 "2009-01-21T04:22:48Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > You must be thinking of the _Ultimate_ version of Nick Fury but **Atomicflea** was perhaps referring to the original 616 version of Nick Fury who is definitely white. I know exactly what **Atomicflea** was referring to. My point is that the Marvel movie adaptations are never a straight adaptation of any one universe or storyline. The mishmash of Marvel history is translated into a movie version. If they take a heavy helping of 616 and a dash of Ultimate Marvel, that doesn’t make the Ultimate Marvel pieces “wrong” in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/24 "2009-01-21T04:57:56Z")
The most blatant case should be Kevin Spacey playing the role of the scarred teacher on “Pay it forward”, a character originally black in the book. That created a bit of a hoopla back then. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/25 "2009-01-21T05:01:40Z")
Captain Nemo is of Indian descent, as evidenced in the novel _The Mysterious Island_, the sequel to Verne’s more famous work. In the movies, however, he is almost invariably depicted as having classic European features. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/26 "2009-01-21T05:17:39Z")
I don’t think it was ever stated, but I always pictured **Ford Prefect** as white. ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/27 "2009-01-21T05:25:37Z")
In the movie “Rising Sun,” the lead character was black. IIRC there was no physical description of him in the book, but I distinctly remember his (white) mentor saying that the reason he had left Japan was that he was “tired of being the n\*\*\*\*r,” with no subsequent reaction. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/28 "2009-01-21T05:27:01Z")
I mentioned this in another thread but, _Memoirs of a Geisha_. Just about all the characters went from being Japanese to Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/29 "2009-01-21T05:54:57Z")
Does _The Wiz_ count? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/30 "2009-01-21T06:02:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The kid named Doctor in Jumpstart started out white, but has been Black for quite some time. > > But why would they make Anansi Boys before American Gods? (Anansi Boys is very sort of a sequel to that book) Anansi was a character in **American Gods** , but \*\*Anansi Boys \*\*isn’t a sequel. It stands alone. (It took me a couple of minutes to catch the pun in the title, too.) It’s probably being sought after for a movie first because it’s got an easier plotline to convert to movie format. There’s only one truncated pantheon, rather than the huge number of mythologies used in **American Gods**. There’s a lot less that’s happening in dreams or dreamtime or “behind the scenes”. There are fewer subplots and no mezzanine chapters to cut. And it has a happy ending. **American Gods** is dense and epic. **Anansi Boys** is essentially a book about a family . . . with magic thrown in to complicate things. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/31 "2009-01-21T06:04:38Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I don’t think it was ever stated, but I always pictured **Ford Prefect** as white. He’s described in the books as ginger-haired and freckled, so probably a safe assumption. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/32 "2009-01-21T06:09:43Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > I mentioned this in another thread but, _Memoirs of a Geisha_. Just about all the characters went from being Japanese to Chinese. I understand that race is a social construct but I don’t think most of us here in the United States consider Chinese and Japanese persons to be of separate races. It’d be like an Englishman playing a Frenchman or an American. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/33 "2009-01-21T06:13:46Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I understand that race is a social construct but I don’t think most of us here in the United States consider Chinese and Japanese persons to be of separate races. It’d be like an Englishman playing a Frenchman or an American. Yes but there are obvious physical characteristics that differ between Chinese and Japanese people. You can’t look at a Caucasian person and say “Oh they’re Irish/Russian/German/etc” But you can look at an Asian person and say “Oh they’re Chinese/Japanese/Korean/etc”. Granted many Americans can’t tell unless they see the person’s name but that doesn’t mean physical differences don’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/34 "2009-01-21T06:24:06Z")
In the book _Flight of the Intruder_, Commander “Dookie” Camparelli is never described in any way that would make you think he’s anything but a white guy of southern European descent. In the movie, he’s played by Danny Glover (but still maintaining that he is Italian, third generation Mafia :D). This wouldn’t be noteworthy except that the book seemed to make a point of pointing out when someone stuck out in some way (Little Augie was black, the Air Force Skyraider pilot and the Navy Intruder squadron XO were both from Texas, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/35 "2009-01-21T06:33:00Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Yes but there are obvious physical characteristics that differ between Chinese and Japanese people. You can’t look at a Caucasian person and say “Oh they’re Irish/Russian/German/etc” But you can look at an Asian person and say “Oh they’re Chinese/Japanese/Korean/etc”. Granted many Americans can’t tell unless they see the person’s name but that doesn’t mean physical differences don’t exist. Well, the characters were still Japanese. The actors portraying them were Chinese, but the characters didn’t change. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/36 "2009-01-21T06:46:33Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Well, the characters were still Japanese. The actors portraying them were Chinese, but the characters didn’t change. Yes, but it still fits in with the context of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/37 "2009-01-21T06:55:41Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think it was ever stated, but I always pictured Ford Prefect as white. IIRC, when the film was still in early, early discussions, Douglass Adams said that Arthur absolutely must be English, but all of the other characters had no ethnic constraints whatsoever, and whoever was best for the part should get it. So there’s no problem there. Speaking of comic book characters, by the way, how about Catwoman? No, not _that_ Catwoman; I think it’s best if we all just ignore that. I’m referring to Eartha Kitt. And for a case where it does matter, but where they nonetheless managed to pull it off, Patrick Stewart starred in a version of _Othello_ with the race of all the characters reversed: Stewart was the only white. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/38 "2009-01-21T07:13:56Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I can think of a few where characters went from white to black: Denzel Washington’s character in _The Pelican Brief_… In both of these the characters were pretty much “race neutral” in the story So how do we know he was white? Just an assumption? I can’t remember him being physically described. But then, it’s been a while since I’ve read the book. To push the probe in deeper (but possibly going OT), I’ve always wondered if the race change in Grantham is the reason why the romance between him and Darby Shaw was pulled for the movie. Or if that’s seeing blatant racism where there is none…? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/39 "2009-01-21T07:29:01Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > However, when studios approached Gaiman for the rights to the book, it was (per him in interviews) always with the condition that they could change the characters to white (and American). They didn’t feel fantasy would work or make money with a mostly black cast (Charlie, his girlfriend, his brother, his parents, the old ladies, and the vast majority of the supporting characters). Gaiman, to his credit, has refused the offers; while Fat Charlie being black isn’t something that is heavily dealt with in the novel (i.e. there’s no sideplot about racism or any real addressing of his race at any point other than in passing) and while it’s even possible the transition to American would work, it is absolutely essential that he and his family and the old ladies be black. Shia LaBeouf or Matthew McConaughey just wouldn’t work as the sons of a West African trickster god anymore than The Golden Girls would be believable as women who could conjure African deities. [hijack] I doubt Gaiman would have a problem with Charlie being American. I heard him speak a couple of years ago as the guest of honor of Israel’s sole annual SF convention (which is held 50 yards from my house) and he told the audience that he had, in fact, originally envisioned him as an American, but realized then that he had no idea how black Americans talk; he did, however, know how black \*Englishmen \*talked. So for the sake of believable dialog, he decided to make the character English. [/hijack] As for the paucity of black characters in fantasies - didn’t \*Hancock \*do pretty well? Or this that covered by the Will Smith Exemption? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244/40 "2009-01-21T07:34:07Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Anansi was a character in **American Gods** , but \*\*Anansi Boys \*\*isn’t a sequel. It stands alone. (It took me a couple of minutes to catch the pun in the title, too.) Okay, I feel like a fool: what pun? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-have-changed-race-from-book-to-movie/482244.md?page=3)