Aldis Hodge is presently doing an exceptional job kicking ass and taking names as Detective Alex Cross on Prime Video’s new sequence, “Cross.” But when Hollywood would’ve had their means—we wouldn’t have seen him within the position to start with.
In a current interview with writer James Patterson who created the favored Alex Cross guide sequence again in 1993, he revealed to THR how he was approached shortly after publishing the primary novel with a seven-figure verify to show the favored Black character right into a Hollywood mission. The one catch? The studios wished to make Alex Cross a white man as a substitute.
“After I wrote the primary Alex Cross guide, I didn’t have some huge cash, and Hollywood got here calling—knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. They provided seven figures, and I didn’t have some huge cash,” Patterson detailed. “They stated, ‘We simply need one change; we wish Alex to be a white man.’ And I stated, ‘Fuck you.’”
Now in a brand new interview with Buzzfeed, Hodge—certainly one of our personal 2024 Root 100 Honorees—recalled when he first realized that unlucky truth however recommended Patterson for staying true to the character and to his convictions.
“I used to be shocked, impressed and pleased with that, For me to step into these sneakers, any time I step right into a place of energy or illustration, it appears like a privilege and a accountability that I’m honored to even be tasked with. I simply need to carry that the correct means,” he stated.
He later added of the present’s Black showrunner and previous buddy Ben Watkins: “I’m proud to be with a crew that believes in the identical values that I do, particularly in the case of the illustration of the tradition. Stepping in his sneakers is simply one other alternative to disprove stereotypes, characterize the reality of who we’re and assist proceed to open up doorways of alternative. That’s what it means to me.”
Your entire first season of “Cross” is out there to stream now on Prime Video. A second season is presently within the works.