Inside life of Cross star Aldis Hodge from superhero roles to famous brother

The wait is finally over for fans eagerly anticipating a new adaptation of Alex Cross. A new Amazon Prime original series, Cross, lands on the streaming service November 14, with Aldis Hodge in the titular role.

The series does not adapt any of the original novels written by acclaimed author James Patterson but will instead tell a brand new story using familiar characters and settings within the established .

Hodge takes on the lead role, a part that has previously been played by Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry.

Cross is a crime thriller that follows decorated D.C. detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross (Hodge), who faces a sadistic serial killer leaving a string of bodies around the city.

But who is Aldis Hodge? What previous roles has he played, what are his family connections within the industry and where have you seen him before? Here's all you need to know.

Who is Aldis Hodge?

Born Aldis Alexander Basil Hodge on September 20, 1986 in Jacksonville, North Carolina comes from a military family. Both his parents served in the U.S. Marine Corps but Hodge made his big screen debut when he was just 11 years old.

He played Raymond, in Die Hard With A Vengeance, released in 1995, a nephew of Samuel L. Jackson's character.

While his acting career went from strength to strength, he also managed to find the time to attend Art Center College of Design in California.

Hodge is also a painter, having had work appear in exhibits in Los Angeles and designs his own line of luxury watches, called A. Hodge Atelier. He also plays the violin, a talent he has utilised during an episode of the series Leverage.

Where have you seen Aldis Hodge before?

Alex Cross is far from the first major character the actor has brought to the screen as Hodge has even played more than one person from real life.

He portrayed MC Ren in the biopic Straight Outta Compton, civil rights activist Levi Jackson in Hidden Figures and former star Jim Brown in One Night in Miami.

Hodge also returned to the Die Hard franchise in 2013, playing Lieutenant Foxy in A Good Day to Die Hard. Hodge has said he likes to think his child character from the third film, grew up to become Foxy.

Not unfamiliar with playing the hero, Hodge has voiced DC comic book character Green Lantern in two animated feature films, Beware My Power and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths.

He has also portrayed a live-action role in the DC universe when he starred alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in Black Adam.

Hodge played Carter Hall, otherwise known as Hawkman in the film.

Who is Aldis Hodge's brother?

Aldis Hodge's brother Edwin is also a successful actor in his own right and made his film debut alongside his sibling in Die Hard with a Vengeance.

Just one year older than Aldis, Edwin boasts his own impressive list of credits. He is the only actor to appear in the first three films in The Purge franchise, while he also appears in Bumblebee and The Tomorrow War.

Edwin has also a member of the main cast in FBI: Most Wanted since 2022.

The brothers wrote the 2024 film Parallel together, a remake of the 2019 Chinese film, Parallel Forest.

Cross is streaming on Amazon Prime from November 14