When Alexander Hodge got the call that hed be returning for Insecures fourth season, he knew it was inevitable: the shirt, sooner or later, would be coming off.
When Hodge originally joined the cast of HBO's hit show in 2018, his character was into Issa's BFF, Molly, but she didnt quite share his enthusiasm: he wasnt quite as chiseled as the other guys onscreen, his man-bun earned some roasts, and the show, to its credit, openly wrestled with the fact that Andrew is an Asian man, a demographic thats notoriously undersexed on TV. Then, last April, Hodge got the news that his character, Andrew, was being upgraded to full-fledged boyfriend status. By the time shooting began in August, Hodge had moved out to L.A., hired a trainer, and gone totally organic and alcohol-freeall in the name of, as he put it, doing justice to the character. Which he's done, as the Insecure's new beefcakebrimming with confidence, dripping in Valentino, and routinely shirtless.
These days, Hodge is sheltering in place with his girlfriend at their home in L.A., and live-tweeting Insecure episodes every Sunday night. He's getting his workouts back on track after a brief post-season-wrap hiatus, and is committed to a dairy-free pescatarian diet. A few hours after Insecure was renewed for a fifth season, Hodge called up GQ to tell us how he got in shape for the roleand he shared a few hot culinary takes.
GQ: How much time did you have to get in shape before shooting?
Alexander Hodge: For four months I was working out on my own at a gym in New York. Then I had to move out here [to L.A.] to shoot, so I ended up working with a trainer while I was shooting. With the added motivation of knowing I had to take my shirt off onscreen, it was the perfect storm needed to get me to the gym. It was equal-parts me not wanting to look like crap on the camera, and also wanting to do justice to the character.
I was doing a lot of strength-and-conditioning stuffmajor muscle group movements and high-intensity interval training. We'd do circuits of tri-sets: a push, a pull, and cardio, just to burn as many calories as possible while also trying to build a little muscle. Working with a trainer really elevated my workouts. It's hard to push yourself to the sickening lengths that a trainer will do, gleefully. And then I would do cardio on my ownI'd go for runs.
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Did you keep that routine up once the season had wrapped?
Oh, no. I let myself go completely. I took a long break over Christmaslonger than I should'veso I actually was struggling to get back on track, and quarantine has been really good for me because of all the time I have at home. I go crazy if I sit still for too long. So it's actually really motivated me to get moving on my own and get outside.
At the moment, I'm working out a minimum of 35 minutes a day, maximum two and a half hours, depending on what I have to do. If I don't start a workout before midday, it's not gonna happen, so I do 10 a.m. home HIIT workouts with my girlfriend. YouTube has been our personal trainer for the last two months. Sometimes well go for runs or stair climbs. After that, Ill usually do my own second thing and my girlfriend will do her yoga separately. This week I bought a barbell and some bumper plates, so I've been doing some deadlifts in the living room, much to my girlfriend's chagrin. We've been going for 14-mile walks just to spend some time outdoors in the sun. I recently bought a bicycle, so I'll also go for two-hour rides.
I give myself one day off a week, just to give my body some recovery time, and also let myself be a lazy slob because that's my true form. Don't tell anyone.
Did you play any sports when you were growing up?
I played rugby through high school, and I really wanted to be a professional rugby player. But unfortunately, around 2011, I suffered a pretty horrific knee injury. Somebody shoulder-tagged me, I woke up on the floor, and that was the last time I walked for about 3 months. I tore my ACL, MCL, PSL, PCL, dislocated my patella, fractured my femur, tore my lateral and medial meniscus, all in one. It was kind of like a car crash. I ended up having to get a complete knee reconstruction, and I was in a wheelchair for a few months and had to learn how to walk again.
Do you still need to do maintenance for the injured knee?
I ride my bike a lot more than I run, because my knee really struggles. I have to listen to my body a lot when I'm working out. Some days I can do calisthenics, some days I just gotta keep my two feet on the floor. I'm just grateful to be able to move still.
And I have to stretch. Especially when working outor even just being sedentary during this quarantined timeit can start really pulling on the muscles and the tendons. I try to get at least 15 minutes of stretching in every day.
What other changes did you make to your routine to prepare for the Andrew we see in Season 4?
I was really intentional about getting good sleep. I would make sure to get at least six hours, and ideally eight hours. I switched to eating only organic food, which I try to maintain now. Even when it came time to having a cheat meal, I would still make sure all the ingredients were really good quality, and everything was pesticide-free or hormone-free. And I gave up drinking, which also helped cut the calories. While I was shooting, I was intermittent fasting. I was doing 16:8, so starting eating around 12 pm and finishing at 8 pm every day.
I imagine thats a pretty challenging regiment to keep up on a shoot schedule.
It's stupid and I don't recommend it. But switching to all-organic is easy when you don't have places to be, though my grocery bill pretty much doubled. I've recently gone pescatarian and non-dairy, and I thought that would lower my grocery bill. I'm still spending ridiculous amounts of money on food. But it gives me a lot more energy, and I feel satisfied and full for longer.
I like cooking in the kitchen, so I've actually had a lot of fun going online and researching different recipes and trying to make vegan versions or healthier versions of things I love. My next mission is to find a healthy brownie. That's the final frontier for me.
I've... had a lot of brownies lately. But because I've been cooking all my meals, I'm controlling everything that goes into them. There's not too much salt, there's not too much fat. I'm making a lot of stir fries and curries and vegan pastas. I made a vegan carbonara that was a hit. I did jerk salmon tacos, and I baked my own vegan pot pie.
I read that youre not a fan of red velvet cake.
Red velvet is trash! Youre not eating anything, youre just eating food dye. I would rather have a regular, non-dyed cupcake. Red velvet is just a vanilla cupcake thats been dyed.
What did you eat growing up in Australia?
Australia has a largely multicultural eating experience, because there are so many different immigrant cultures that have strong international roots there. My mom is one of those phenoms in the kitchen. She can make anything. She'll taste it once and she can make it. I grew up eating Italian, Chinese, Thai, and British cuisines. We also definitely ate Spam. I don't know if that was something that was widely consumed amongst other people...
Do you want to defend Spam to balance out your red velvet cake take?
I'll defend Spam to the grave. Spam is basically sausage in a can. If you don't like Spam but you eat sausages, you've gotta take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror. Spam is kind of like the meat version of tofuyou can cut it and cook it and do whatever you want with it. It's really versatile in that way. Spam and rice. Little bit of ketchup? Undefeated.
What about visiting Singapore with your motherwas experiencing the food culture there formative for you?
Theres no place I love more than a hawker center. You end up with things like roti in the same stands as a char kway teow noodle dish. These are very much comfort foods for me. Just being able to say the words makes me feel like I'm a little bit closer to my home and my mother.
You've spoken about how Andrew as a character is much more calm and level-headed than you are. How do you ground yourself if you feel like you're spinning out?
I have breathing exercises that help me regulate my breathing patterns. A voice coach once taught me that your body never has a problem with bringing air in. The issue is with exhaling. So I'll just focus on trying to remove as much air as possible, and counting there until I absolutely need to take a breath. Once I take that breath, it's usually a very deep, calming breath. It helps me reset.
I'm having a really hard time breathing at the moment. I feel really lame saying that quarantine is making me anxious, because I'm not an essential worker, I'm not a front-line worker, and I'm not battling COVID-19. And yet I still feel a level of anxiety, and I still struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy. I've been working on that with my therapist, to understand that there can be a duality in being appreciative of the privilege and luxury that I have right now, but also not understanding what else we have to go back to.
Above all else, exercise is the number one thing for me. When I become agitated, I just remember that I should go for a run or do a little workout. It tends to really help bring my feet back to Earth and give me a little bit of breathing space again. I also meditate in the mornings for 10 minutes. When I'm really good in my practice, I can get up to 20, but right now I'm at 10 minutes, and that's about all I can muster before I start distracting myself.
I have one more thing: plants. I love taking care of my plants, and sometimes I'll just hang out with them and they'll calm me down.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Real-Life Diet is a series in which GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in-between about their diets and exercise routines: what's worked, what hasn't, and where they're still improving. Keep in mind, what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
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The Real-Life Diet of Insecure's Alexander Hodge, Who Worked Hard for His Shirtless Moment - Yahoo Lifestyle
