Fans have been enjoying Alex Cross star Aldis Hodge as a possible 007 (Picture: Keri Anderson/Prime Video via AP)
A new contender has been put forward for the role of James Bond after the actor wowed with his starring turn in a new crime thriller TV series on Amazon Prime Video.
While we continue the long wait for a successor to Daniel Craig’s 007 to be formally announced after he handed in his licence to kill following 2021’s No Time to Die, there have been many actors’ names on fans’ lips.
Chief among these is of course Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who has long been considered the front-runner after reports of a rumoured audition back in 2022 even made it as far as his casting being announced – before it was swiftly denied.
But he’s not the only popular choice.
Other actors who are seen as having a shot at landing the iconic role include Theo James, Bridgerton heartthrob Jonathan Bailey, Callum Turner and Damson Idris.
Now though, fans have fallen hard for Aldis Hodge thanks to his commanding performance as Alex Cross in the gripping new TV show Cross.
US actor Hodge leads the new TV show on Prime Video as a detective and forensic psychologist (Picture: Keri Anderson/Prime Video via AP)
He has thrilled fans with one scene in particular on the show (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Based on the novels by James Patterson, Cross is a forensic psychologist and homicide detective in Washington DC, who pursues some of America’s most dangerous killers alongside his partner, Detective John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa).
The 38-year-old, who would be the first American Bond were he to be cast in the role, had fans especially convinced of his suitability after one particularly macho – and slightly spicy – scene.
Hodge as Cross is seen interrogating a racist suspect, who announces he knows that he’s smarter than Cross as it’s ‘just a matter of genetics’.
Reacting supremely coolly, Cross quietly retorts: ‘Same reason my d**k is bigger than yours.’
Strolling over to present his crotch closer to the sitting man’s face, and throw his ignorant argument back in his face, he then repeats: ‘My penis is larger than yours. Goes without saying, right?’
Hodge’s Cross had fans obsessed with his macho energy (Picture: Keri Anderson/Prime Video)
Having clearly aggravated the suspect, Cross then reveals that he uses this play several times a week and ‘it works every time’.
When the guy denies this, Cross responds: ‘You sure? Your eyes tightened. Your neck’s flushed. Even now, you’re gritting your teeth – those are all tells.’
‘This thing has me up at 2:56 am watching it. I’m on Ep. 7 and about to be up till 4am! Thank goodness I’m off work!’ enthused one fan, while another exclaimed: ‘Aldis Hodge as James Bond is not a want, it’s a need!
‘Y’all prayed for a black James Bond and now we got it in the form of Alex Cross. Aldis Hodge may have given us a certified classic on his hands,’ added @justhugee.
‘Imo, Aldis Hodge would be a great James Bond,’ posted Hayley Ward.
He has previously been asked about Bond after working with Pierce Brosnan (Picture: Getty)
‘With the countless British actors getting Oscar nominations (and wins) for playing American historical figures it’s only fair that Aldis Hodge plays fictional icon James Bond and/or Sherlock Holmes tbh,’ pointed out @tortillablanket in a previous post.
Hodge has actually spoken before about playing cinema’s most iconic spy, after being asked if former Bond Pierce Brosnan – his co-star in Black Adam – had suggested he put himself forward.
‘No man, he ain’t nudged me,’ Hodge laughingly told Esquire. ‘I don’t think I can be Bond. I think you have to be British or European as like a requirement to play Bond.’
However, he didn’t seem to be ruling it out entirely, adding: ‘But I’m gonna get my accent game up, though. ‘Bond, James Bond.’ I gotta work on that.’
Hodge has also appeared in Straight Outta Compton, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back with Tom Cruise, NASA drama Hidden Figures and TV shows like Friday Night Lights and Turn: Washington’s Spies.
We still don’t know who will be following Daniel Craig in the role of 007 (Picture: Col Pics/Everett/Rex/Shutterstock)
Producers Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson have recently confirmed their vision for Bond.
They are focusing on actors in their 30s, which could revitalise the franchise for a younger audience but rules out long-rumored options like Idris Elba, 52, and possibly Henry Cavill, 41.
While most of the popular names in the running are white, the franchise runners have said that this is not a given in what could be a historic casting move.
Bond will still be a man though, after Lashana Lynch made history in 2021’s No Time to Die as the first Black female 007, Nomi.
‘Every time we cast a new actor, the films change. It’s the excitement of a new Bond, a new direction,’ Wilson observed. ‘Every one of these people who took on the role offered something new and different.’
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