When Aldis Hodge says Cross, the Amazon Prime Video adaptation of James Patterson’s book series, came to him at the right time, the 38-year-old actor is not just talking about his on-screen portrayal of the famed detective.
Alex Cross, the Washington D.C. law enforcer dealing with grief, loss and social injustice, is a role Hodge says he could have landed in comfortably earlier in his career. What made the timing of the pulse-pounding thriller perfect is a role Hodge has spent decades in the industry preparing himself for. “I was looking for a leading position, not just as a lead actor,” he says. “I also wanted to be a partner.”
In Cross-showrunner Ben Watkins, Hodge has found a creative ally that not only provides him with career-elevating material but has taken him under his wing as executive producer on the series. “I told him, ‘I’ve been in this industry far too long as just an actor. That is no longer satisfying professionally for me. I know that I’m supposed to do more. Can you teach me?’” recalls Hodge. “We’ve been running this ball up the field together since I came into the fold, and he’s really been a magnificent partner and teacher.’”
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Since finishing up three seasons of City on the Hill, on which he was also an executive producer,Hodge had been biding his time, trying to find his next project. “When Cross came across the desk, it was like, ‘Now’s the time to definitely say yes,’” he says. “When I read the script, I saw how Ben took what was written in between the words in the book and put that on the screen.”
Hodge lauds Watkins for adding more cultural depth to the franchise by highlighting the community Cross serves. “This is a show that’s success hinges on the depiction of culture,” says Hodge. “A lot of times, on a show about Washington D.C., you see the monuments and the politics, and that’s the only part you see. The Black culture in D.C., that is what we get to highlight and celebrate on the show. Ben brought out the true foundation of that, and that’s what makes the show special.”
Equally, embedding movements like Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police into its tapestry was a vital element in bringing the narrative of a Black police detective into the present. “We’re not trying to commoditize the issues,” says Hodge. “We’re just speaking to our audience, and we know the conversation that they’re having. We want to have that conversation, too, because we live this in our real lives as well. It really comes down to: Are we going to be brave enough to tell the truth?”
From systemic racism within the police force to single parenthood after the loss of his wife, Hodge’s portrayal of Alex Cross examines masculinity, vulnerability and prejudice through a character usually viewed primarily as stoic. “Most people look at him as a titular hero from the books, and he is that, but you cannot become a hero without a few battle scars,” says Hodge. “I wanted people to understand him as a human being and as a person. Let’s look beyond a lens of ignorance — and don’t mean that as a slur, but simply not knowing, because you don’t engage with the culture. Can you see what this man is going through? Can you see that even if his fights and his battles are different than yours, he still deserves to win?”
It is in prevailing over persistent roadblocks where art and artist overlap. Even if Hodge’s resumé reads like it was crafted with great deliberation, getting to this point in his career feels hard fought. “To anyone on the outside looking in, understand most of these successes have been earned through some pretty egregious battles,” he says. “You’re constantly battling people’s perspectives and trying to educate people about your value — and you have to hold onto your value.”
Hodge started his career at just three years old, as a regular on Sesame Street. At 22, Dean Devlin’s heist romp, Leverage, gave him a steady gig as hacker Alec Hardison. From there Hodge went on to make historical thrillers Underground and TURN, entered blockbuster territory with The Invisible Man and Black Adam and tackled prestige drama in One Night in Miami… and Hidden Figures.
Even so, commercial or critical success has never felt like a guarantee for forward movement, says Hodge. “You can be a part of something that becomes a hit, but you don’t get to eat off of the success because of how things are treated behind the scenes,” he explains. “I feel like this is the first time in my career that I have felt wholly supported by a network and a studio, and the entire team. It’s new, and honestly, it’s an adjustment.”
With Cross, Hodge has entered conversations about accolades and opportunities that he feels have previously eluded him. As he fields praise for his most recent achievement, and is in some cases hailed as an overnight success — albeit three decades in the making — he vacillates between gratitude and polite restraint. “Someone said to me, ‘You’re doing really good work on this show. It’s the best work that you’ve done. You’ve gotten a lot better.’ With respect, I challenged, and I said, ‘No, it’s not that I’ve gotten better. My work has always been of this merit. It’s just that the opportunities got better.’”
In looking back, the professional strife is not for nothing. “Your preparation and your ambition for what you want to do with your craft, it’s all built through adversity, never the ease,” says Hodge. “If I had gotten everything that I wanted when I was 20, I never would’ve had the respect for the craft that I do now. I never would’ve had the respect that I have for my co-workers. It was all preparing me to be able to take care of my opportunities responsibly and not waste my moments.”
With the spotlight now on him, Hodge is figuring out how best to learn from the lessons of his trajectory and leverage success into his own endeavors, Hodge Brothers Productions and visual development studio 9B Collective, intended to give the BIPOC community a leg up in the industry. “Artists are already there, but how can we help support that next generation? I’m trying to crack open doors and leave them open for the right folks,” he says. “I’m a man on a mission right now.”