#Hawkman Actor Compares Landing Black Adam Role to Winning the Lottery

Dwayne Johnson recently revealed that his upcoming DCEU movie Black Adam has cast Aldis Hodge in the role of Hawkman. Hodge recently opened up about his excitement over having landed the role of the winged superhero after years of trying to get his foot in the door of the superhero movie industry.

“When [Johnson] said, ‘Welcome to Black Adam,’ it was literally like what I imagined winning the lottery to feel like. I had been very, very much looking forward to being a part of any kind of superhero universe. I didn’t care what it was for such a long time just because I had been such a fan. I grew up on graphic novels. I got into the business so I could earn money to buy Batman toys, you know? It was like 13 to 15 years of constantly going up to bat and getting told no. So it really was a validation of those last few years of pursuit, hustle and preparation.”

RELATED: Black Adam Wants Aladdin Star Marwan Kenzari as Sabbac?
The backstory for Hawkman in the comics has seen many changes over the years. The general outline depicts the character as a police officer named Katar Hol from the alien planet Thanagar, who wields a mace, and who has reincarnated several times over the years on Earth in various forms.

Hawkman is a prominent member of the Justice Society of America, and Johnson has confirmed that the character will be depicted as the leader of the JSA. Johnson had also shared his take on the first, highly entertaining phone call to Hodge where he informed the latter that Hodge had landed the role of Hawkman. Aldis Hodge was able to confirm that Johnson’s account of the call was indeed true.

“My side of it is that it’s true. It’s exactly how it happened – except I would say that I probably had much more bravado in my voice. You know what I’m saying? I had a little bit more bass in my voice. I also don’t know if I was jumping up and down… (Laughs.) But no, it did happen because when he called me, I’m not sure what I thought. Earlier this year, people had been playing on my phone, pretending to be folks that I knew. But I didn’t know Dwayne before this, and when he called me, he was like, “Dwayne Johnson calling Aldis Hodge.””

“So I kind of froze because it was one of those moments where you’re like, “Did I hear what I just heard? Did this really happen?” So as he continued to talk, I was like, “Nah man, stop playing. Who is this?” He was like, “Ah, it’s D.J., come on.” I’m like, “Nah, stop playing on my phone. I said what I said.” (Laughs.) As we kept going, there was some part of my brain that said, “He’s calling to tell me that I didn’t get the job.” So I was preparing for that while I was in a state of disbelief.”

Fortunately, Hodge’s worst fears were not realized, and Johnson was indeed calling to congratulate him on landing the role. It now remains to be seen what Hodge does with the opportunity given to him as the DCEU’s latest superhero.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam features Dwayne Johnson, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, and Sarah Shahi. The film currently does not have a release date. This news first appeared at The Hollywood Reporter. The topper art comes from @mizuriofficial at Deviant Art.

Topics: Black Adam