Top 40 Aldis Hodge Quotes

I hear all the time from our audience about how it’s nice to see a positive African-American role model for the younger kids out there that are watching.

You don’t ever want to seem less than a person.

Nothing in my life has necessarily been easy, but eventually I see where it’s gotten me to, and I say, ‘Okay, it’s been worth it.’

Every job you do, somebody’s looking at it. You’re leaving an impression on somebody. What is going to be your footprint?

This country is not built on one culture alone. We all make up this industry.

A new setting is amazing cause it’s new for the team, and it’s new for our characters. It’s a breakaway from the normal deal. You get so tired, locked into a show for so many years. You get used to doing the same thing. A little shake-up and change is good.

With any good projects, I feel like the off-screen chemistry factors on-screen. It’s great when you don’t have to force it, but when it’s not there, you better focus on getting there because, as we live with these characters, we spend more time with one another than we do our families at home.

You get into these executive offices, and people say, ‘Oh, we have this project. Wait a minute, guys, we need diversity – let’s choose a black actor for this; let’s choose a Hispanic actor for this,’ instead of saying, ‘That’s not diverse, that’s just normal. That’s what makes up America.’

There’s a really great documentary called ‘Many Rivers,’ which documents the totality of slavery from its inception, and then it gives you a little history on how America came to prominence. It’s crazy – the first black man to actually step foot in America came as a free man, as an explorer, with the Spaniards.

My sister is raised to know her value and to know that she stands behind no man. You know, when she gets a husband, you stand side by side, equal partnership. You stand behind no one cause you have to lift each other up. You can’t do that if you’re 30 percent of the value in your relationship or the household.

You can’t just look like one culture and expect to inspire a multitude of people. That doesn’t work over time. Everybody wants somebody to look up to that looks like them so they can truly believe in that reality for themselves.

I’m constantly looking for ways to learn and elevate your craft, patience for yourself, and patience for this business. It’s not a fair business. You may be great, but it may take years for someone to notice what you’re capable of because of politics.

The danger in having modern music tied to a period piece is that hearing something may take you out of the moment.

For some reason, I think that I’m not doing enough work. People are like, ‘You’re on a series right now,’ but I’m always like, ‘Yeah, but I can do more!’

When you say ‘diversity,’ the term has been denigrated over the years because it has been used as a crutch.

Most people say they’re slaves, but in my opinion, to say that I am a slave is to take ownership of actually being a slave – to be a tool, be a thing. Basically cattle.

New Orleans is New Orleans. It’s a great city and fun and great food. It’s one of those cities that when you are working hard hours like we work, you have to do as much as possible to stay out of trouble. Not much of a problem for me, but in New Orleans, trouble tries so much to find you.

It’s crazy how intelligent kids can be at a very young age and how they know what they know.

It’s crazy: the first black man to actually step foot in America came as a free man, as an explorer, with the Spaniards. That’s something for me – as a black American, it gives me a little bit of pride because we were free and respected somewhere else before slavery became what it was.

As far as playing different characters within the character, I think that’s fun. Very rarely, on TV, do you get to do that on such a regular basis.

A lot of people are afraid of the idea of enslavement, and that’s because it’s tied to so much shame and guilt… That is the big elephant in the room, but a part of why we’re afraid to attack that subject matter is because of the way we’ve been taught about it.

I feel Noah has been alone for the majority of his life and inherently searching for a family, even though he may not express that outwardly. But his encounter with Rosalee gave him hope in finding someone who thinks like him.

I think the knowledge of where you come from gives you more of an affinity for understanding different cultures and learning.

You’re living with these characters for years and years, you need to have a lock on who they are as people, what they like, what they don’t like, what they experience, and what they go through.

For me personally, the way I’ve been trained, just through life experience – the harder something is, the harder you have to work for it, the more worthwhile it is, and you just have to know that going in.

We have far more options for black Americans to tell stories outside of slavery, but whenever it comes to slavery, it’s an uncomfortable subject. Why? Because it’s the most unresolved subject in American history.

I came out of the womb drawing on everything; I used to draw on my mother’s white furniture and her white walls with her red lipstick and my pencils. Little did she know that would later materialize into me doing what I do now – I’m a painter as well and a micromechanical engineer.

My approach is always the same. I try to be as honest as possible. Find the real honesty and humanity in the character because even a fictional character is supposed to feel real. And my job is to find that reality and bring it to the screen.

What is a superhero? They’re supposed to represent hope, opportunity, and strength for everybody.

Everybody wants somebody to look up to that looks like them so they can truly believe in that reality for themselves.

I’ve always known I wanted to be in design somehow. It was going to be architecture, but I would’ve had to quit acting for it. I realized with horology, I could learn at my own pace.

I think enslavement has evolved to what may seem appropriate to this day’s generation. Modern enslavement is imprisonment.

With contemporary music, you automatically get connected. It connects you to the emotion of the characters.

I’m not a starstuck dude. I’ve been in this game too long for that, but I do respect and acknowledge real work and real work ethic.

I am fortunate enough to find opportunities that have a lot of presence.

When I was 18, I began attending college for art and design, and I designed all sorts of things from furniture to industrial designs and even watches.

When you do learn these things, when you understand what inclusion is, then we can accomplish greater things together.

I remember, growing up as a kid, history class was very washed-over. They didn’t really get into the gritty bits of slavery. It’s a very, very small section in the history books. It’s not something they really touch on directly with American curriculums.

I want to have a resume that is substantial enough to hold itself as respectful.

I don’t understand actors who complain when they get work. ‘I’m working too much. I’ve got to get up too early …’ Isn’t this the point? There’s somebody right now who’s bussing tables who would love your problems.