The Invisible Man premiered this week to largely positive reviews, which highlight the film’s modern take on a classic tale as well as its subtle approach to domestic violence issues. While Elisabeth Moss carried the role admirably on her shoulders, her character and performance had an important support system in costars Aldis Hodge and Storm Reid.

In the film, Hodge plays Cecilia’s (Moss) supportive childhood friend, James. He invites her to stay in his home, and tries to remain understanding even as chaos ensues around them. Given the horror and trauma that Cecilia is facing, James is vital as both a sounding board and a layer of protection against Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

Hodge shared his take on the dynamic between Cecilia and James in an interview with Screen Rant. He also explained why he is drawn to films with social messages and what he’s learned from working with directors like Leigh Whannell and Regina King.

One of the most interesting aspects of The Invisible Man is how the relationship between Cecilia and James is totally platonic. He really supported her without wanting anything else and vice versa. Why do you think that’s so rare to see onscreen, and how much did you and Elisabeth discuss your characters’ backstory?

Speaking of him being a single father, he and Sydney have a very sweet bond as well. How did you and Storm develop that dynamic?

Aldis Hodge: In terms of rarity, I think that from a commercial standpoint, a purely platonic relationship may not be not be exciting for creatives or producers or whomever it may be. “We want to feel the tension, we want to feel the heat. Will they, won’t they? What could happen?” You know what I mean?

It’s just a tool that is used for cinema, but for this film it really didn’t work. And it was a discussion, for sure. Initially, Elisabeth and I both talked to Leigh about it, in terms of what it really would mean in the film. Leigh, he really is fantastic about allowing us to breathe life into our characters. We sat and talked; we had four different meetings of just talking about characters and story arcs before we even got to shooting.

What we all decided on was that this woman, rarely see on TV or film is when a woman can have a platonic relationship with a man and just leave it at that. They can really have a good friendship, and it’s just that. She’s running from one really horrible relationship with this man. Is she even ready or thinking about being interested in someone else? It just didn’t necessarily play out. Also, it almost would seem a bit predatory for James to be sitting there thinking, “Hmm, here’s my shot.” What’s really honest here? And the honesty of it all is that this brother really just wants to help his friend out. And that’s what I personally love so much about his character; that he didn’t have any ulterior motives. it was just purely him being a good guy; he’s got a daughter, and he’s a good single father.

I think we need to show that representation more, because there are plenty of men out there like that. It’s nice to see a man with a female friend who feels safe enough around you because you are safe to be around. It’s really quite refreshing to see.

I believe that you’ve expressed interest in directing and producing recently?

Aldis Hodge: That conversation first started with Leigh Whannell, and he was talking specifically about what I thought the relationship would be; how I think I would be as a father. And I said, “Look, man, I’ve got a sister that’s 10 years younger me. I raised her up.” My mom and my brother also, we all were in it together. But my sister and I have a very special relationship, and I talked to him on many occasions about the specifics of our relationship, and that’s what helped him structure my character’s relationship with his daughter. We just played off of that truth from me.

Then when it came to Storm, she has a lot of great people in her life; great family members. I was talking to her about her relationship with her father, and we kind of worked off the nature of her good relationship with her father and my good relationship with my sister. That’s kind of what brought to the forefront in James and Sydney’s teamwork.

Did you learn anything from Leigh Whannell on set that might help shape your future as a director?

Aldis Hodge: So, I’ve been in the works of producing some projects for the last year and some change, and I actually acquired a project last year. It’s a short film that I’m going to produce and direct. I’ve mostly been in the writing space, but I got this project with the intent only to produce it. We were talking about directors, and my team was like, “Well, why don’t you just direct?”

I’ve never directed before, but they thought that given my input with ideas and story, this is something I can handle. It’s a short; it’s probably something that’s going to be 30 or 40 minutes. It’s not gonna be too crazy. And it’s a really good and, I think, powerful story. It’s a good place to start sharpening skills.

Right now, it’s tentatively titled The Scent of You. However, that may change. Right now, we like the title.

Is it counterintuitive that as an actor you have to know where Adrian is on set, but as a character you can never know? How do you reconcile both?

Aldis Hodge: Yeah. I mean, he wrote and directed The Invisible Man; it’s his vision. It’s time-keeping, understanding story, being able to keep everything on the right note and keep everyone on the right page.

And also, honestly, it’s the ease that he had with directing. He didn’t seem manic. We stayed on schedule pretty well, but anytime a challenge was presented, he kept his cool. And he made sure that all of the actors still felt good and comfortable within their roles; feeling like they could really contribute to building this whole human thing. So, just the ease of being able to manage an entire team like that is what I really picked up.

When it came to the big fight scene, how much did you have to prepare for it?

Aldis Hodge: I actually had a pretty easy job, because I didn’t have to know where he was at all until it came down to the scene where I’m fighting him. That’s where I had to be aware of what’s hitting me, and where I’m taking my shots. When we did that scene, I fought myself. I had to throw myself around the room, which I really loved and enjoyed. I had a lot of fun with that, because I could just play, and I had to be more aware of myself - in terms of making the reactions look real, and selling the fact that somebody who’s not there really is kicking my butt.

So, it’s a different skill set. It’s a different muscle exercise, which I love. But in terms of playing the awareness, sometimes if you they needed the assist, they had a man walking around. Oliver walking around in a green suit. But for all of my work, there was never a green suit until sort of that last scene.

And what are your personal favorite horror movies?

Aldis Hodge: Oh, we started [early]. It took us three months to shoot the film. But when I first got to Australia - we were lucky enough to shoot in Sydney - the first couple of weeks were training with the stunt team to make sure to get that right.

They had this pretty cool rig that they built on the camera to shoot the action scene, which is what they did for Leigh’s previous movie, Upgrade. It’s really indicative of his style, which I thought was really awesome. When I saw how they filmed the stunts, I got really excited because I was like, “Oh man, this is going to be a whole new way to visualize horror.”

Is there any classic monster myth that you would like to be a part of?

Aldis Hodge: The Ring scared the crap out of me, but the original one: Ringu, the original Japanese version. The American version wasn’t bad either. I remember as a kid, Freddy Krueger and Chucky were the two I feared the most. I do like the Saw series, because it introduced a psychological game element to the idea of horror, and I’m a big analytical game type of guy. I like to figure things out. And I will say I enjoyed The Purge series, primarily because my brother Edwin and I starred in three of those.

Aside from directing, what other projects are you working on?

Aldis Hodge: I’ve always had a love for vampires. And I do sort of dig werewolves. An American Werewolf  was one of my favorites when I was a kid. But I’ve always been a big fan of vampires. Also, warlocks scare the crap out of me, and Children of the Damned. But for classic monsters, I think either a werewolf or a vampire would be awesome.

What is it like working with her as a director?

Aldis Hodge: I’m currently in the middle of shooting the sequel to City on a Hill for Showtime, and then I just finished a film that is Regina King’s directorial debut, called One Night In Miami. I was really lucky to be a part of it; I was proud and honored to work with her.

Magic Camp should finally be hitting Disney+ this year, and I must know: do you do magic in it?

Aldis Hodge: Oh, she’s great. She’s fantastic. She’s such a phenomenal actress, a well-seasoned actress, and she understands how to deal with actors. So, I took my time to learn a bit from her as well in terms of patience, pace, and keeping the whole crew together while she’s trying to keep this train moving.

I think she’s fantastic, and I think she did a fantastic job.

You’ve recently done some powerful films about the injustice of the justice system, such as Clemency and Brian Banks. And now The Invisible Man is, in a way, about the failure of the system to protect victims of domestic violence. Is it important for you that your work have a message?

Aldis Hodge: Magic Camp is finally hitting what now? Wow… You know the story’s about, really, my son and his journey going through magic camp. But my character is the person who taught him magic, and my son’s connection to magic is his connection to his dad.

More: Interview With The Invisible Man Director, Leigh Whannell

Aldis Hodge: For me, it is important. I understand that when you’re doing films, some of them are commercial popcorn films, and some of them are really deep dive into social or cultural awareness. Every film can’t have the same kind of message, or the same gravity of a message, but I love to attach myself to films that have a semblance of a message. Something I personally believe in, as I represent myself with my work.

Several years ago, I got on to the idea of doing effective art - meaning that I wanted to do art that did affect positively a shift that I believe is necessary. I don’t think we have a justice system; I think we have a “just us” system. Because to a degree, from my observation, whenever any semblance of equality has to be met, laws have to be broken. Equal rights for black people, equal rights for women, equal rights for the LGBTQ community… It has to be restructured and broken. Anytime we can expose the truth of these things and issues that we need to talk about in terms of progressing as a culture and as a human society, especially in America, I love to be a part of films that have that.

Again, like I said, not every film is going to have that message or any message at all. But if there’s something that needs to be spoken about, I want to be part of it.

The Invisible Man is currently out in theaters.

  • The Invisible Man Release Date: 2020-02-28 Invisible Man Release Date: 2020-02-28