Alex Cross. Meanwhile, Hodges’ version, which will be the character’s first television adaptation, is due to arrive on Prime Video on November 14.

Speaking with Screen Rant ahead of Cross’s imminent streaming release, Watkins revealed that he based his version of Patterson’s detective on Hodge even before casting him in the role. Explaining that he had first encountered the star as a teenager with his brother Edwin, he was impressed by both his commanding presence and innate curiosity. When it eventually came time to begin crafting his show’s version of the character, he felt compelled to sit down with the actor and figure out his availability and interest in the character. Check out his comments below:

I got to tell you that Aldis Hodge was actually the blueprint for the character. Even before I thought he was available. I had run into Aldis Hodge when he was a teenager. We played in a basketball league in Hollywood, it was an industry league, and I watched him navigate along with his brother, Edwin, and I was so impressed by these guys. They were just still teenagers, but they were humble, and they were respectful, but somehow they had a very commanding presence, and found out a way to carve out, among all these egos, their space. And then, I watched his career just sort of unfold, and every time I saw something, I was impressed.

Every time I saw him off-screen, I was impressed by how observant he was. I knew how curious he was, I knew that he was extremely intelligent and had wide interests. And I start thinking when I was crafting the character for Cross, "Well, there's one guy that sort of exhibits these characteristics just innately." So then, it became a question of, "Well, do you know that I want to take this version of Alex Cross on a real character journey?" And a lot of actors are scared of that, especially if you've played Hawkman and you get to just be a hero. "Are you ready to be vulnerable in front of audiences and be stretched as an actor?" So, I had to sit down with Aldis when it turned out that not only was he available, that he was interested in the part, and we had a three-hour conversation, and it very quickly went away from what the character was going to be to our views on the industry and our career paths and then life.

But it got back to that question, "Will you be okay with me throwing some things at you that are going to make you stretch and go places that are going to really go to a personal level?" And his answer was, "I'm at a point in my life and my career where I want that." And that made him the perfect Alex Cross.

What Ben Watkins’ Comments Mean For The New Alex Cross

The Character Has Never Really Been Given His Proper Dues

While television audiences have no shortage of fictional detectives based on the works of best-selling crime authors, previous adaptations of Patterson’s Alex Cross have never lived up to his character’s true potential. While Freeman’s version of the character would generate some moderate box office success, the movies largely fell flat with critics at the time of their original releases. Meanwhile, Perry’s 2012 version not only suffered a similar critical drubbing but also failed to recoup its original $35 million budget at the box office, putting an abrupt halt to plans for its intended sequel, Double Cross.

Perhaps the chief reason both iterations of the character have stumbled lies in the limited capacity for a movie-length feature to explore the various intricacies of Patterson’s original character. Sacrificing a more character-driven journey in exchange for a focus on each of the films’ primary mysteries, the result has often been a severely watered-down version of the detective featured in the source material. However, given Watkins’ faith in his star combined with his willingness to explore the character on a more personal level, it is possible that Cross could finally deliver the live-action version of Alex Cross that readers have been asking for.

Our Take On Aldis Hodge Becoming The Perfect Alex Cross

Cross Could Follow Reacher As Amazon's Next Acclaimed Book Adaptation

With only weeks to go before audiences will get a chance to see Hodge’s version of Alex Cross, only time will tell if Watkins’ belief in his leading star is well-placed. However, given that audiences have never really been given a truly memorable version of the character, to begin with, it is possible that Hodge’s detective could go on to receive the same kind of acclaim as Alan Ritchson’s version of Jack Reacher.

Much like the previous movie adaptation of Patterson’s books, the Tom Cruise-led Jack Reacher movies were often accused of failing to live up to the book version of the character. However, whereas Amazon’s Reacher adaptation would quickly earn widespread acclaim for its more in-depth exploration of Lee Child’s hero, Cross could deliver Patterson’s detective a pitch-perfect rendition of a beloved literary character.