Meet the new Alex Cross: Aldis Hodge tells us everything

The Black Adam actor arrives on Prime Video today in the inspector costume created by James Patterson. A role made famous in the cinema in the guise of Morgan Freeman. But Hodge wanted to do his own thing. Encounter.

FIRST: What kind of detective do you think Alex Cross is?
Aldis Hodge : To me, he's a fiercely intelligent and also deeply tortured cop. When we find him at the start of the series, he is in mourning, he is trying to remain who he has always been. He fights not to change course.

Were you able to talk about it with the other of the novels, James Patterson?
I hadn't read the books before doing the series. I spoke with James Patterson, who has a very specific idea of ​​the character. But I didn't want to know too much about this vision actually. I didn't want it to influence my interpretation too much. So I stayed away from the books, but I still spoke with Patterson so he could tell me what he found important, what he thought we should find in the Cross of the series.

Did you feel a certain pressure, taking up such an emblematic role in detective literature?
No, not really. I don't really know the pressure. I played for DC, I've been through this kind of adaptation before, but I never really feel any pressure from the outside, because I play for myself first and foremost. I play to grow, to evolve personally. Either way, you can't please everyone. And beyond my incarnation of Cross, I hope that people will like the world we have built. There are lots of characters who revolve around him, a terrifying serial killer as his absolute rival… This series is not just one character, it's a whole universe.

How were you cast for the role? What did they see in Alex Cross in you?
Ben (Watkins), the creator, has known me since I was a teenager. When I was 14 or something like that, he saw me playing basketball in a junior league. He saw that with my brother, we were very well educated, hyper-disciplined. My mother wasn't kidding about that. You always had to behave yourself. I think that impressed him. And then the years passed. He saw that I had a career, how I behaved on set and he said to himself that it would be good to work with me. My personality echoed his vision of Cross.

You took some inspiration from the old Alex Cross films (The Collector And The Spider's Mask) with Morgan Freeman?
No not at all. This is my process as an actor. I try to have a personal approach, and I want to keep that perspective. I don't want to think about what was done. Of course, Mr. Freeman's work is exceptional. It's a legend. I love the idea of ​​sharing the same role, of having navigated the same universe as him. But we play two very different versions of this role.

“We’ve already shot season 2, it’s finished! »

And for good reason! Morgan Freeman was 60 years old when he began playing the character in films. You are twice as young…
Yes, that's absolutely correct. This really is a whole new story. This is also why Ben (Watkins) did not adapt an existing book, but imagined a completely new investigation. I almost want to say that we introduce Alex Cross, as if it were the first time. The public must understand that we are opening a new era of the character, something very modern. The authors have written a very contemporary thriller, with an atmosphere that fits with its time. And at the same time, for those who love the books, I believe that the series can be seen as an extension of the universe Alex Cross.

There are around thirty books Alex Cross. Are you ready to play the role for multiple seasons?
All Amazon has to do is order 10 seasons at once and I'll be all in! I really want to play this role for as long as possible. And besides, I can tell you that we have already filmed season 2 of Cross. It's finished.

Cross, on Prime Video, season 1 in 8 episodes to watch this Thursday, November 14.