After a successful run as one of the last movies in theaters in 2020, The Invisible Man is coming to home release on May 26. The tense thriller received rave reviews for how it combined H.G. Wells’ classic tale with an exploration of modern-day domestic violence.
Aldis Hodge, who starred in the film as Cecilia’s (Elisabeth Moss) stalwart friend James, sat down with Screen Rant to share his thoughts on the story. From James’ personal mindset before the movie began to his own stunt machinations when fighting against a literally invisible man, Hodge shared all sorts of secrets from the set.
The Invisible Man is now available on Blu-ray and Digital.
I want to talk about your character, James. James is a stand up guy. Can you tell me about the backstory either you or Leigh created for James?
Aldis Hodge: Yeah. In terms of his friendship and relationship to Cecilia, they grew up knowing each other as kids. It’s just one of those good, healthy friendships. People grow, their lives go in different places, but their friendship remains – which keeps them close.
We talked about the priorities for James; James being a good father, because he is a single father. That for him was paramount; making sure that he’s setting a good example for his daughter. That has to be that, and it was sort of built off of my relationship with my little sister. Because Leigh would talk to me about where my points of inspiration came from.
As far as Cecilia, figuring out how to be a safe space and sort of a real protector outside of the logistics of everything else. Outside of him just being a cop and having to figure that out; outside of what else is going on with the mania of the Invisible Man, he just still had to be a safe space for her. So, it was built on the principles of really just trying to be a good, upstanding brother.
Where was James at before the movie began, mindset-wise?
Aldis Hodge: Mindset? For him, life was regular; average. He’s going to work, doing his thing. He’s got his daughter. Nothing is really out of the ordinary for him. I mean, he’s a cop, so you can only imagine what that reality is like – but he’s got a handle on that.
Things really kind of hit when Cecilia drops the bomb on him about what she’s been going through. And he didn’t know. You realize this was how serious [it was], and then you start seeing all these crazy things happening; now his whole world does a complete [180]. But for him, before that, life was a good life; an average life. Decent.
Let’s talk about Storm Reid, because she’s such a talented performer as well. What were some of the toughest scenes that you guys shared together?
Aldis Hodge: Some of the toughest scenes were… I wouldn’t say that we had tough scenes, because we had such a great rapport and great camaraderie on set, and we had a great crew. If anything, I would say the stunt scenes where – I’m giving spoilers – I have particular stunt and action-y scene with the Invisible Man, as does she. Those were probably the most physically taxing; shooting that throughout the day. But they were fun, though. They were just a lot of fun.
But other than that, I honestly can’t remember one tough day. This whole job seemed like one big vacation, honestly.
It’s interesting that you talked about those stunt scenes, especially with the Invisible Man. It seemed like that could have been, as an actor, like, “Wow, how are we going to do this with all this technology and green screen and blocking?” Can you walk me through some of that stuff?
Aldis Hodge: Yeah. The first week I got down there – actually, my first day on the lot on set was with the stunt team. We worked at it a couple weeks, and right before we shot the scene, we refreshed again. But they choreographed something, and they were basing it off of my comfort with a bit of my athletic ability and how I move my body or throw my body.
And then once they got comfortable with me, and they knew what I could do, they were like, “Alright, let’s push the limit a little bit.” Because I’m fighting myself and throwing myself around. There are points where I’m taking hits and swinging and kicking, and all that kind of stuff. You know, trying to really sell it. So, we worked on that, and worked on the timing and the reactions to make it honest.
But it was really a cool experience. It was just really trying to figure out how to really create this reality for my character and for the audience.
Have you heard any rumblings about any possible Invisible Woman sequel?
Aldis Hodge: I haven’t heard any rumblings from up on high. I have heard interest from fans, and if there’s a sequel, I think it would be cool. I have no idea what we’re going to do if there was a sequel, but I have heard people wanting a sequel. Do you want a sequel?
Of course. This is one of the best films I’ve seen this whole year. I absolutely want a sequel.
Aldis Hodge: If we hit a sequel, I’m with it. I’m all the way with it.
Let’s pretend that you were in charge of Universal and you had all these classic monster movies. Which one would you want to see be remade?
Aldis Hodge: Outside of Invisible Man, I think my next top choice would be Dracula. I’ve always had an affinity for vampires growing up, and I think there’s a much more interesting way to tell the story that we haven’t really delved into. So, I think Dracula might be the spot.
The Invisible Man is now available on Blu-ray and Digital.
