Aldis Hodge is currently doing a phenomenal job kicking ass and taking names as Detective Alex Cross on Prime Video’s new series, “Cross.” But if Hollywood would’ve had their way—we wouldn’t have seen him in the role to begin with.
In a recent interview with author James Patterson who created the popular Alex Cross book series back in 1993, he revealed to THR how he was approached shortly after publishing the first novel with a seven-figure check to turn the popular Black character into a Hollywood project. The only catch? The studios wanted to make Alex Cross a white man instead.
“When I wrote the first Alex Cross book, I didn’t have a lot of money, and Hollywood came calling—knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. They offered seven figures, and I did not have a lot of money,” Patterson detailed. “They said, ‘We just want one change; we want Alex to be a white guy.’ And I said, ‘Fuck you.’”
Now in a new interview with Buzzfeed, Hodge—one of our own 2024 Root 100 Honorees—recalled when he first learned that unfortunate fact but commended Patterson for staying true to the character and to his convictions.
“I was shocked, impressed and proud of that, For me to step into these shoes, any time I step into a position of power or representation, it feels like a privilege and a responsibility that I’m honored to even be tasked with. I just want to carry that the right way,” he said.
He later added of the show’s Black showrunner and old friend Ben Watkins: “I’m proud to be with a team that believes in the same values that I do, especially when it comes to the representation of the culture. Stepping in his shoes is just another opportunity to disprove stereotypes, represent the truth of who we are and help continue to open up doors of opportunity. That’s what it means to me.”
The entire first season of “Cross” is available to stream now on Prime Video. A second season is currently in the works.