Before Becoming Alex Cross, Aldis Hodge Was on the Other Side of the Law in This Underrated Series

Jumping right in, Aldis Hodge fans probably already know he’s been in the game for a while. He got his start early with roles in Die Hard with a Vengeance and Big Momma’s House, but it wasn’t until later that he truly became a household name. Before he was solving murders as Alex Cross, Hodge was pulling off heists and cracking jokes in one of TV’s most underrated crime shows. Back in the late 2000s, he played Alec Hardison in Leverage, a show about a crew of thieves who used their unique skills to take down corrupt big shots. 

Although Hardison was the team’s hacker, he wasn’t your typical basement-dwelling computer guru. He had flair, an unusual wit, and a way of making cybercrime look surprisingly fun. Who would have thought that a decade later, he would be hunting down some of America’s most dangerous killers in Cross? I guess that’s what true range looks like. While Hodge has since taken on more intense, action-packed roles, Leverage was where he first demonstrated his ability to effortlessly steal the show. 

‘Leverage’ Breaks the Law to Enforce Justice 

In a world ridden with broken justice systems, sometimes breaking the law is the only way to make sure justice is served. That’s Leverage‘s whole shtick. The show itself is about a team of five professional criminals who find a way to use their powers for good. There’s Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton), a master thief and former insurance fraud investigator, who leads the team after learning the company he once worked for let his terminally ill son die. To take on the big bads, he recruits Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), a gadget-loving master hacker; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), a retrieval specialist who can take out a room full of thugs without breaking a sweat; Parker (Beth Riesraf), a socially awkward but utterly fearless thief; and Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), a grifter who’s such a good liar that even she doesn’t know the truth anymore. Together, they scam, scheme, and trick their way through elaborate cons, bringing down corrupt CEOs, politicians, and criminals who believe they’re above the law. Beneath the sophisticated heists and Hodge’s high-tech gadgetry,  Leverage is really all about meting out justice, just not the kind that starts in courtrooms or police stations.

The crew steps in when the law can’t or won’t. In the pilot episode, Leverage Season 1, Episode 1, The Nigerian Job, they are hired to steal airplane designs, only to discover they’ve been double-crossed. Far from cutting their losses, they turn the trap around on the employer, conning him into confessing his own crime. That first mission lays the groundwork for what Leverage is all about — applying unorthodox techniques to bring about actual change. Each plan extends beyond resourceful heists, it’s regarding bringing justice to individuals who believe they’re above the law. From shutting down Ponzi schemes to revealing corrupt CEOs, the team makes sure that those who manipulate the system ultimately get their comeuppance. Their methods don’t play by the rules, but Leverage makes a strong case that if the system is corrupt, the only way to win is to rebuild the game from scratch

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Aldis Hodge Went from Outsmarting the System to Defending It

Looking at his filmography, it is easy to see that Hodge has a talent for playing crime-fighting protagonists. He has had some of the biggest crime dramas on his resume, such as CSI, NYPD Blue, The Chicago Code, and even The Blacklist. In Leverage, he was the pulse of the operation, and with his beloved gadgets, he could crack security systems, forge identities, and hack networks second nature. But he wasn’t strictly a socially awkward computer wizard behind a screen. He was equally a gadabout, sharp-tongued, and an unapologetic self-declared geeky technophile. The way he outwitted the system made crime look like high-end art, and he was the artist.

Then Cross hit the scene, and all of a sudden, Hodge was on the opposing side of the law, switching from his mischievous hacker persona to a straight-laced detective committed to bringing in the most heinous criminals. As Alex Cross, he’s no longer outwitting the system, he’s fighting it. Instead of targeting corporate villains in swashbuckling heists, he now uses his instincts, training, and sheer determination to take down merciless killers. Don’t get it twisted, the charm is present, but it’s buried beneath layers of relentless determination. Hodge’s ability to command roles on opposite sides is mere proof of his versatility.

Until Cross returns to our screen, you can watch Aldis Hodge in action as a smooth-talking con artist in Leverage on Apple TV.