Edwin Hodge

Edwin Hodge's dream as a child of appearing on "The Cosby Show" (NBC, 1984-1992) came true when he was just five years old, and with its realization, he was bitten by the acting bug. Hodge continued performing as he grew up and by the time he was a teenager was appearing regularly on television shows such as "Boston Public" (Fox, 2000-04), as well as landing small roles in films. As an adult, Hodge's star continued to rise with regular appearances on "Mental" (Fox, 2009) and "Cougar Town" (ABC, 2009-12; TBS, 2013-15), along with larger parts in feature films including "Red Dawn" and (2012) "The Purge" (2013).

Hodge is the son of two Marines who left the service and divorced when he was still very young. Hodge's mother settled in New York City to raise him and his younger brother, Aldis. As a child, Hodge was a fan of "The Cosby Show" and expressed an interest in acting as a result. He told his mother that he wanted to be on the show, and in fact, "The Cosby Show" was one of his first jobs. Hodge went on to perform professionally on screen and stage throughout his childhood and teen years as did Aldis, who is best known as one of the stars of "Leverage" (TNT, 2008-2012).

After appearing a number of times on "Boston Public" in his teen years, Hodge was cast in his first role as a series regular in the political drama "Jack & Bobby" (The WB, 2004-05) as a close boyhood friend of a future American president. As an African-American actor, Hodge considers his choices carefully and works to avoid playing stereotypical characters while rejecting roles that show African-Americans in a negative light.

His standards could hardly be said to have limited his work as he has been on such popular television shows as "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ), "Heroes" (NBC, 2006-2010) and "Bones" (Fox, 2005- ), and again landed a starring role on a series with the short-lived "Mental." Multiple appearances on the sitcom "Cougar Town," as well prominent supporting roles in the action film "Red Dawn" and the dystopian thriller "The Purge" starring Ethan Hawke, followed.