Prime Video‘s crime thriller Cross is a dark and gritty series that delves into Washington D.C.’s criminal underbelly, led by the titular forensic psychologist and homicide D.C. Metro detective played by Aldis Hodge. But once you meet Hodge and Isaiah Mustafa, who plays Detective John Sampson, Cross’ partner in the series, you wouldn’t believe the pair ever shared a serious moment since meeting on the project.
Hodge and Mustafa were joined by director Nzingha Stewart at the Deadline Studio at Prime Experience, where they joked about everything from tequila, Mustafa’s former gig starring in Old Spice ads, and Hodge’s aging knees.
The photos in the gallery below highlight the strong connections made thanks to their work on the series created by Ben Watkins (Watkins wasn’t able to attend the event; he is in production in Toronto on his next project, the Muhammad Ali limited series The Greatest, also for Prime Video).
Check out the Cross trio’s conversation in the video, and scroll down for the photos.
“Whenever you do a pilot, the one thing that a director does not know until day one is, ‘What’s the chemistry going to be like?’ Sometimes it feels really cold and separate, but right away from the first scene, [Hodge and Mustafa] have that chemistry,” said Stewart, who directed the first two episodes of Cross and served as executive producer.
She continued, “Ben writes beautiful dialogue, but [Hodge and Mustafa] always add little pluses to it. I remember the scene where Aldis said, [Mustafa] smelled like Old Spice, and it was great. It made me laugh out loud. I ruined so many takes and had to go again because I laughed out loud at something they said.”
“Are we really going there, you guys?” asked Mustafa, pretending to use a stern voice while laughing.
“Yeah, we’re going there, bro,” joked Hodge, who also produced Cross.
Mustafa replied while pointing at Hodge, “I’m older than him in real life, but he treats me like a little brother.”
Aldis Hodge, Nzingha Stewart, Isaiah Mustafa at the Deadline Hollywood Portrait Studio at Prime Experience 2025 on May 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Aldis Hodge at the Deadline Hollywood Portrait Studio at Prime Experience 2025 on May 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Isaiah Mustafa and Nzingha Stewart at the Deadline Hollywood Portrait Studio at Prime Experience 2025 on May 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Aldis Hodge at the Deadline Hollywood Portrait Studio at Prime Experience 2025 on May 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Isaiah Mustafa at the Deadline Hollywood Portrait Studio at Prime Experience 2025 on May 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Hodge and Mustafa’s instant bond also helped make the many action scenes work flawlessly. They admit they declined to use stunt doubles; the work is heavily dependent on the trust forged between the two actors.
Hodge also highlighted his appreciation for the show having the perfect amount of fight scenes.
“The action scenes, everything is choreographed. The thing that I like about it is that it’s all tasteful, and it drives the narrative, tone, and style. Nothing feels egregious, it still keeps that sense of suspense and that sense of excitement because you don’t know exactly what they’re getting into, how they’re going to get out of it,” Hodge said.
He also spoke to the important role Stewart played in molding the series.
“There’s a tonal thing that happens, which I want to speak to on a few fronts. That relationship that [Cross and Sampson] have, Ben always intended that to be a big part of the heart of the show. With Nzingha, being the first director, it’s a bigger job for the overall show because you have to set the tone and basically the blueprint for what the show will look like in terms of our color palette. That’s Nzingha.
He added, “It’s those first two episodes that create the rules for how everything else flows. We got really lucky to work with her in that space and in that capacity.”
