Article: Herald Sun, January 9th, 2008

Leading a force for change

DON Hany is Zane Malik, East West 101's young Major Crime Squad detective
who also happens to be Muslim, living in a post-9/11 world.

Not only does he feel the pressure to prove himself over and over,
Malik also has a hunger for justice stemming from a crime against
his family many years ago.

Then there's his colleague, Sen-Det Ray Crowley (William McInnes),
a bitter man, weathered by a life in the police force and at odds
with his surroundings.

So far as McInnes is concerned, Ray seems a straight-down-the-line
kind of character, but demons from his past and personal life reveal
much more.

He plays a character consumed by his work but slowly being eaten away
by his resentment towards the outside world and deep-seated hatred
towards change and difference.

"He lives in the brotherhood of the police force and it's the only
real thing propping him up,'' McInnes says. "He enjoys his work,
but his personal life hasn't gone that well.

"He was born into a family that was the fourth generation of police,
so he's an old-style police officer. He's like a lot of Australians;
he admits not all Australians look the same, but the idea
of Australia is very homogenous.''

The concept behind East West 101 and the plight of the lead characters
was thoroughly checked, the series sparked by one real-life
cop's fight for acceptance.

After meeting an Egyptian detective in Sydney's police force, the
creators got a closer look at the ethnic challenges faced by officers
from multicultural backgrounds.

McInnes is careful to point out his character isn't a bigot, but represents
a very real portion of people who resist -- even fear --
change. For McInnes, this representation accounts for a large part
of the program's appeal.

"Not all Australians are actively racist, but they have a set view
of what Australia is, which usually is white, middle class,'' he
says.

"What this show is good at, and why I hope it works, is that it has
a brain behind it.''