‘Shots Fired’ Star Aisha Hinds on Playing Role Originally Written for a Man (Exclusive Video)

Show addresses “injustice and our youth being shot by police officers,” actress tells TheWrap

Hollywood seems to be expanding the thinking on gender roles these days, and a new star of Fox’s “Shots Fired” is just the latest example.

On the heels of the news that Laverne Cox landed a TV role not originally written for a trans performer, TheWrap caught up with Aisha Hinds, who plays a pastor who exposes hypocrisy in a small North Carolina town following an officer-involved shooting.

You see, Hinds’ role on the drama was originally written for a man.

Showrunners Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood “thought about it and wanted to flip the script and… they called me up immediately,” Hinds told TheWrap’s Stuart Brazell, explaining the backstory on her character’s gender swap.

The show addresses “injustice and our youth being shot by police officers,” she added, saying that the pilot episode sets everything off and twists the cliché when it shows the fallout after a black police officer shoots a white child.

After the first few pages, the story “jumped into my spirit and I felt compelled,” added Hinds.

“I feel like work comes and finds you where you are in life,” she said. “The project just sort of came and gave me a purpose.”

“Shots Fired” seeks to address the trends surrounding police brutality. It proposes a hypothetical: What would happen if the officer’s race were switched? Would it be handled differently? Whose lives matter?

“We for so long talked about these white officers that are killing these black youths, so now when you flip that trope, what now? You know, how is humanity engaged?” Hinds said.

“Shots Fired” premieres Wed. at 8 p.m. on Fox.

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