An Interview with Alexander Hodge from ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society’

GROSSE POINTE GARDEN SOCIETY -- "Pests" Episode 102 -- Pictured: Alexander Hodge as Doug -- (Photo by: Mark Hill/NBC)

Alexander Hodge is an accomplished actor that has appeared often on both the silver and small screen. Currently, he stars as Doug on the amazing new NBC series, Grosse Pointe Garden Society, and we had the honor of sitting down with Alexander recently to discuss his work on the show.
 
John Betancourt: First and foremost, what was it that attracted you to this project as an actor.
 
Alexander Hodge: I think it is… this project is what I believe network television is at its strongest. It is fun, it is exciting, it is playful. It is something that that feels scandalous in a way, where it's something that you look forward to talking about, and that's what to me, that's what network television is, it thrives in, is something that you look forward to finding out what happens next. Because these characters reflect some people in your life, whether you like them or not. It's really rewarding watching them go through what they're going through. And this is, I mean, I keep calling this a show that hearkens a bygone era of television when we would gather around in the living room after dinner, race to the bathroom in between commercial breaks and race back and see what's going on with our favorite characters and debate about who's right, who's wrong, who's a victim, who's the perpetrator. Because we all pick our favorites, and we all pick our enemies and we see, we weirdly see our ourselves reflected in this heightened world and this sort of hysterical responses that some of these people display, and I think that's what makes this show is so great. That's what I love.
 
John Betancourt: Now as an actor, you get to do so much as Doug. And I'm curious what it was about the role that just immediately called to you.
 
Alexander Hodge: I think it was, it was more so the people involved that called to me, you know, I'll be honest, there is so much progression in this story as we go episode to episode, week to week, that, you know, reading the pilot, I was left with way more questions than I had answers. You know, I was like, “So, what's what's going on? What's happening here? Where are we going? Where is this train taking us?” And so, I think reading the script, it was so intriguing. The world was set up very vividly, but I had so many questions, and so when I spoke to the creators, I spoke to Bill and Jenna, Bill Krebs and Jenna Bans, who created the show and with the casting team, it was more a conversation of real people and real stories in a heightened sense, in a heightened world, which is interesting, you know, it's, it's kind of like, surprisingly, a bit more nuanced than we would then we would be led to believe if we had just, you know, heard about it or watched a teaser. I think there is so much substance in it, which is delivered in a really fun, and a really playful way. And I love that. I love Birdie’s wrestle to try and become a mother that she was never told that she could be. And I love the idea of Doug and Alice really trying to toil through a hard part in their marriage in a way that's very real to a lot of people. You know, I think there are so many real-life stories that real people are going through, and we just get to explore it in a fun way, in a playful way that hits home, but is still a way that is endearing.
 
John Betancourt: I think what's cool too, is that everybody – this is also a series, I think, of want. Everybody's kind of searching for something, searching for some sort of meaning, which is also painfully relatable for all of us. And I'm curious, since you're so close to the character, what would you say ultimately, Doug is searching for in this story?
 
Alexander Hodge: John, great question, I think Doug is... Doug's a bloke who's spent his whole life trying to be what people tell him to be. You know, he's got very strong personalities in his parents, and he, as a result, is kind of interestingly, not flourished in his own identity as such, and I think as an artist, he's really trying to figure out his expression. He's really trying to figure out who he is and so his journey is really trying to understand that maybe, maybe all these people want what's best for him without knowing what he wants, and what really is best for him. So, his journey is really figuring out who the bloody hell Doug actually is. So, you know, I think, I think early on in the season, it creates more problems than answers. But I think hopefully as the show goes on, we start finding some answers.
 
John Betancourt: But I'm also curious too, since this is so relatable, and there is so much that we can just kind of pull from, what do you kind of ultimately hope audiences take away from this very realistic story in season one?
 
Alexander Hodge: I think audiences should take away self-reflection and understanding that our desires and our urges need to be reckoned with, whether or not we act on them, they can't be ignored. And so, I think, I think a bit of self-reflection, a bit of introspection on the things that we desire, the things that we want, and maybe understanding that we do have a little bit of chaos agent in all of us.
 
John Betancourt: That's very fair. We don't think about that stuff enough.
 
Alexander Hodge: We should also give ourselves credit for not burning everything down.
 
John Betancourt: Actually, that more so, yes. Especially since, there are those days.
 
Alexander Hodge: We definitely have them.
 
John Betancourt: Now every episode just keeps delivering something new and exciting for us to enjoy, and without any spoilers, can you give us a sample of what we can expect for Sunday’s (tonight’s) new episode?
 
Alexander Hodge: I keep calling Episode Four the husband episode so first three episodes, it's for the wives. It's the drama, it's the storyline, it's the sexy, it's the scandal. Episode Four is where consequences come home to roost, and Episode Four is where people cross a line and find out what happens. And I think Doug is a major component of finding out what happens when somebody crosses a line, and I think that's what's going to draw the husbands in. They might have seen this show on in the living room the past few Sundays. But when they see a certain decision made from a certain character, well, Doug, they'll… I think they'll probably start identifying a little bit more with some storylines at the show. A shorter version of that is, I think we open up a new dimension of the show where we don't offer the easy comedic relief suddenly anymore, it becomes a little more real.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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