Isaiah Mustafa Warns Alex & John’s Issues Might Not Be Solved After That ‘Cross’ Finale

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers about the full first season of Cross on Prime Video!]

It might seem like the bromance is fully back on at the end of Cross‘ eventful finale after not one but two baddies have been dispensed with. But don’t get too used to this precious bit of peacetime between our heroes just yet, actor Isaiah Mustafa warns.

Speaking to TV Insider about the crime drama’s explosive first season, the actor warned that while his character John Sampson and Aldis Hodge’s Alex Cross make nice just in time to save the day from the person who’s been harassing and endangering Cross’ family — perhaps surprisingly, not the same person they’ve been chasing down all season long — it doesn’t mean all is well between them. And he would know, having just completed filming on Season 2.

Mustafa also reflected on how he and Hodge created that up-and-down familial bond throughout the season, what it was like to film some of the most heart-racing moments of the series, and what else fans can expect to see in Season 2. Read the full interview below. 

How did you and Aldis Hodge work to create the almost brotherly bond between your characters?

Isaiah Mustafa: The one thing that really helped us form this relationship was we learned how to be detectives. We went to the D.C. detective division and we spoke to detectives and asked them what it was like for them. We asked the African American detectives, we asked the Puerto Rican detectives, we asked everyone there like, ‘What is it like being a detective in D.C.?’ And they gave us some really in-depth conversations and answers. And we took that and we kind of applied that to our characters, and that was the job portion of it.

Then we had a moment where we actually got together with our producers, and we sat around, and we talked about life, and we talked about being fathers, being brothers, being sons, and what that’s like in today’s world. And I think those two conversations with the job and also with our personal lives kind of created this perfect space for us to have that bond.

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You guys have a lot of really tough conversations in this series. Can you talk about filming those?

I think we looked forward to those conversations. Some of the stuff that we did in the script was redacted because Ben [Watkins, show creator] likes to hide all the good stuff sometimes and then give it to us like the day before. But I think we were really looking forward to having conversations that dealt with the way the police are portrayed in the neighborhood and two friends have to kind of hold each other accountable. Those hard moments that you see in our show, we truly enjoyed that. 

You know, there’s a moment in the show where John and Alex have a heated conversation. That is both of our favorite scene because we were able to truly put that friendship, those bonds, to the test and say the things that are hard to say to your best friend. 

There’s also a fun one in the finale when Alex comes to ask for John’s help and you say the line, “You had me at motherf**ker.” Then going to the cabin we get a needle drop of DMX. Can you talk about filming those scenes and bringing some levity as well?  

Yes. One of our showrunners and writers called me and he’s like, “You know what the episode is titled?” And he told me, and I was like, “Oh, that’s cool man.” He’s like “Yeah, you say that,” and I was like, “Oh, I’m the one that says it?” I’m like, “What’s going on?” He goes, “Man, you don’t understand.” He goes, “This is one of the funniest episodes we’ve had. I’m really looking forward to seeing how you both come at this, how you both attack it. And it is that moment where everything kind of comes together and it happens.” So it was so much fun to film that. Just everything about it was like, I could tell like this is gonna be a moment of where the audience really goes like, “Yes! All right. I’m so glad that happened now. Let’s go.” Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I didn’t know the needle drop was gonna be what it was, but when I saw it, I was like, “Oh, thank you.” 

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Can you talk about filming that fight scene? Did you do your own stunts flying through the window and such?

I’ve always done my own stunts. I’ve always asked to do my own stunts. I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be doing that. I think as you get older, you start to get a little more humility, and you don’t have to be like, “I’ll do it myself.” You’re like, “You know what? If you wanna do that, go right ahead.” The first season I did do my own stunts, and that was fun.

They prep everything for you, and you get ready and then you burst in or whatever and then the excitement of it is running around to video village and watching it back on playback to make sure you did it right, and then it came through and it looked good. And it looked great in the moment. So our director on that episode, I was thankful that he allowed me to do it myself. It was so much fun. You get your adrenaline levels all up and everything. It’s exciting.

Talking about the ending, do you think that John really burned the book?

I’m pretty sure he did. The book’s not coming back, I don’t think.

Now that John and Alex have worked through their problems, and they’ve come through the other side of this serial killer, what do you think is next for them in their relationship?

Well, yeah, they definitely come through the other side of the serial killer. But have they worked through everything? Maybe there’s still some stuff on the table to discuss. That’s the benefit of having a second season.

We already wrapped a second season. What I can tease is that you are introduced to the characters in the first season, you get to know everybody. Whatever you know about those characters in the first season, be prepared to see something completely different in the second season. You will learn more.

Cross, Season 1, Streaming Now, Prime Video