Aldis Hodge on why returning to ‘Leverage’ was ‘surreal’

Aldis Hodge said that revisiting the world of “Leverage” for the show’s revival was “surreal.” 

“I don’t know how many times in anyone’s career they get a chance to return to a show they started years ago,” Hodge, 34, told the Post. 

“It’s been ten years since we shot the last season. [The cast] always stayed in touch, this is just the first time we’ve been together in person on set in a while. For me, I had to recall who and what the character was that I created.”

Premiering July 9 on IMDbTV (Amazon’s free streamer), “Leverage: Redemption” is a revival of the TNT series “Leverage” that aired from 2008-2012. The action crime drama followed a group of people with unique skills who help ordinary citizens fight back against injustices from corporations and governments. “Leverage: Redemption” brings the team back eight years later, sans Nate (Timothy Hutton), whose absence is immediately explained in the first episode. There’s hacker Alec Hardison (Hodge), hitter Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), grifter Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman) and thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf). The revival also adds some new faces to the team, including reformed corporate lawyer Harry Wilson (Noah Wyle) and Breanna Casey (Aleyse Shannon), Hardison’s computer-savvy foster sister. 

The “Leverage” gang is back together: Harry Wilson (Noah Wyle), left, Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), Breanna Casey (Aleyse Shannon), and Parker (Beth Riesgraf).

“Everybody is fantastic,” said Hodge. “Oddly enough I worked with Noah when I was like 12 years old on ‘ER.’ And Aleyse is hilarious and has great energy. I want people to keep an eye on her; she’s a rising star.”

Despite having a wide range of movies and shows under his belt, Hodge said that “Leverage” is still the project that fans approach him about the most. 

“The love for this show — I have never seen anything like it. I think it’s awesome. Fans typically ask me, ‘When is it coming back?’ and now I finally have an answer.”

He attributes the show’s cult following to its premise of fighting for the underdog. 

“Oftentimes, people tell us about feeling hopeless but then watching the show and getting into the fun nature of these guys getting justice for the little guy. I think people tie their personal journeys of dealing with tough times to our show. And to me, that’s the highest honor that we could be bestowed by our audience. I take that quite seriously.” 

Hodge started on the first season of “Leverage” when he was only 20. Since it ended, he’s become a star, appearing in movies such as “Straight Outta Compton,” “Hidden Figures,” and “One Night In Miami.”

“There’s a privilege that comes along with being able to grow in your career and then when something like this comes back around, you still step into it because of love and the dedication,” he said. “I can just do this job knowing it’s purely to enjoy myself. There’s a nice ease to it that rarely has been afforded to me in my career. It teaches me about the value of what it is that we do as artists. People have been asking for this show consistently and loyally for 10 years! That’s unreal.”

Hodge’s resume is nonstop today: in addition to “Leverage: Redemption” he’s also starring in Showtime’s ‘90s era police drama “City on a Hill,”(renewed for a third season), he’s developing an anime series (“It’s an original idea that I came up with myself — I’ve got to sell it first, that’s the plan” ), he’s starring in and producing the film “Parallel Forest” with his brother Edwin Hodge, and he’s co-starring in the superhero blockbuster “Black Adam” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (slated to hit theaters in July of 2022).

“[Dwayne Johnson] is a real cool cat, he’s really giving and supportive. We’re having some tough days when it comes to the physical aspect of [the shoot] and how we want to show what these characters are capable of,” he said. 

“But it’s nice to be around DJ and his camp. Everybody is swole and fit; it’s great motivation to stay in shape and to find new limits that your body can achieve. I look at this [movie] as a huge opportunity in many different ways. And it’s living up to the hype — in every way possible.”

Link to article: https://nypost.com/2021/07/06/aldis-hodge-dishes-on-leverage-return-and-black-adam/