The Real-Life Diet of Aldis Hodge, Who Worked Out in Tom Cruise’s Trailer Gym
Aldis Hodge knows that an actor’s work extends far beyond their physical form. While audiences might look at him and simply see the 38-year-old playing homicide detective Alex Cross, legendary rapper MC Ren, or football players Jim Brown and Brian Banks, they may not know that behind the scenes, Hodge has endured multiple back surgeries and intense mobility exercises that “whoop his butt.” But, thanks in part to his background—Hodge grew up in a military household and still believes that a disciplined mind is the key to finishing a grueling workout—there’s no physical challenge too daunting for him.
The second season of Cross is in the can but does not have a release date yet. Before it drops, we caught up with Hodge about embracing painful workouts, how he makes room in his diet for his favorite Japanese candy, and gaining 30 pounds for a movie role.
GQ: Are you pretty diligent about staying in shape?
Aldis Hodge: It depends, man. Sometimes I’m diligent, other times—my health, I think like many people’s health—is often tied to their emotional state and mood. So, if I’m in a good progressive state, happy, flowing, everything’s good, it’s easier to keep a schedule. When emotions are down, or when you’re distracted, or dealing with some weight, or some stress, then it runs away a little bit. I think that’s an interesting thing to discuss, because your emotional state has a high effect on your habits, which then affects your physicality.
For you, what does that look like? Are you a depressive eater?
Sometimes I will get away from drinking the water that I need to drink. Oftentimes we run around dehydrated, not realizing that we are. Sometimes you won’t carve enough time to prepare the right meals, so you start relying on quicker meals, or even restaurants, but you can’t control what goes in there. So, you’re ingesting a lot of different things that you’re not necessarily aware of as it relates to your physical needs.
I think emotional health is what dictates your physical. It’s a state of mind. When I talk to my fellas who do this on a regular basis—like Corey Calliet, who’s a friend of mine, he’s a trainer, he’s also an actor, but he’s made a big presence in the training world. Every time we talk, he’s like, “Look, prioritizing physical health will help you maintain a better state of mental health.” And there’s a balance there. I think there are different properties to physical health than just looking at one’s physique. There are different effects. It should always be a part of the conversation when people think about why they want to get fit or why they want to eat this way. It’s going to help improve everything mentally, emotionally, spiritually. It will!
Your parents were both in the military, right?
Yeah, both my parents were Marines.
How do you feel like that informed your relationship with health, fitness, and discipline when you were younger?
It informed everything on discipline. I was raised in a single-parent household by my mom, and yeah, discipline was everything. To be on time, you were late. To be early was to be on time. I had to prioritize reputation, decorum, cleanliness, had to hit those chores. We had a disciplined environment growing up. We had to do our best at it. We had to give it our all.
When it comes to physical training and working out, I don’t really think about what I’m doing in the moment. I think about the goal I’m doing it for. That’s what helps you push through a couple of those last reps that hurt like hell. Growth is in the pain, not in the ease. Sometimes you have to switch your brain, discipline your brain to know that when your body starts feeling that strain, or when your body starts feeling weary, you can push further. A disciplined mind is going to help you get there. That’s where your growth really starts.
