“Cross” star Aldis Hodge told Buzzfeed that he was “shocked” when it was recently revealed that author James Patterson turned down a seven-figure deal offer to turn his book character, police detective Alex Cross, into a white man when he was originally shopping the first book around. Hodge now plays the character in Prime Video’s series adaptation of Patterson’s book series.
“I was shocked, impressed and proud of that,” Hodge said of Patterson’s reveal. “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.”
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Hodge also credited his “Cross” showrunner Ben Watkins for “celebrating all of the assets and facets of the Black community” on the show “in different ways that we haven’t really seen, or that we rarely get to engage [with].”
“He made that the fabric of the show,” the actor added. “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.”
“Cross” dropped all eight episodes of its first season on Nov. 14. Amazon Prime Video reported earlier this month that 40 million viewers watched “Cross” during its first 20 days of streaming availability, which makes the show its third-biggest season premiere of 2024 after “Fallout” Season 1 and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2.
Patterson was speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in November when he revealed that a seven-figure offer wasn’t going to persuade him to turn Alex Cross into a white man. As the author explained: “I said, ‘Fuck you.’ It was painful, but I did it.” Patterson added that he didn’t want to make Cross white because “that wasn’t who he was.”
Prime Video’s “Cross” has already been renewed for Season 2. The first season is now streaming.
