--- description: Roald Dahl intended the hero of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be black, according the author’s widow and his official biographer. title: Charlie from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Was Supposed to Be Black image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f01566319b66637/6988a43c2dce0145f19ea7a5/willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Roald Dahl Wanted Charlie from _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ to Be Black by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2017 2:45 PM CUT  Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket on the set of the fantasy film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket on the set of the fantasy film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactorySilver Screen Collection/Getty Images by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2017 2:45 PM CUT Roald Dahl originally intended the young hero of his 1964 book [_Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142410314/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0142410314&linkId=588fb6a3100e0cf0a562a14d6d126fb3 "undefined") to be black but was dissuaded by his agent, according to both the author’s widow and his official biographer. “His first Charlie that he wrote about was a little black boy,” Liccy Dahl [said in a BBC Radio interview](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41257684 "undefined") Wednesday, on the 101st anniversary of Dahl’s birth. She also said the character was inspired by American sensibilities, and that it was a “great pity” her husband acquiesced to the change. > [](https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/907857636477075461) “It was his agent who thought it was a bad idea, when the book was first published, to have a black hero,” said Donald Sturrock, Dahl’s biographer. “She said, ‘People would ask why.’” Liccy Dahl added that seeing _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ as her husband envisioned it would be “wonderful,” and she’s not the only one who thinks so. Responding to the news on Twitter, filmmaker Ava DuVernay (_Selma_, _A Wrinkle in Time_) wrote, “\*raises hand for movie adaptation\*.” And when a fan replied to DuVernay’s tweet suggesting Tituss Burgess (_Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt_, Broadway’s _The Little Mermaid_) play Willy Wonka, Burgess wrote back, “Ummmmm oh the fun I would have!” > [](https://twitter.com/ava/status/908421804364058624) > [](https://twitter.com/TitussBurgess/status/908457964851392512) To quote [Wonka himself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2pt2-F2j2g "undefined"), “Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three …” _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/books/2017/09/14/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-black-protagonist-roald-dahl/?xid=time "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4943401/roald-dahl-charlie-black-character/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4943401/roald-dahl-charlie-black-character/"},"headline":"Roald Dahl Wanted Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Be Black","datePublished":"2017-09-15T14:45:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:26:56.019Z","description":"According to the author's biographer","url":"https://time.com/4943401/roald-dahl-charlie-black-character/","keywords":["Books","movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f01566319b66637/6988a43c2dce0145f19ea7a5/willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f01566319b66637/6988a43c2dce0145f19ea7a5/willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory","caption":"Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket on the set of the fantasy film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory","creditText":"Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4943401/roald-dahl-charlie-black-character/","name":"Roald Dahl Wanted Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Be Black"}}]}] ```