Leverage

Battling through an illness, Leverage star Aldis Hodge joined TV Fanatic and other media outlets on a conference call today.

In anticipation of this show's third season premiere on Sunday night, we asked the actor about his character, his interest in watches and whether or not certain past characters would return this summer. His responses follow...

On the return of Rick Overton or Jeri Ryan: I'm not certain on Jeri. She's actually on a new series now [Body of Proof], so we'd absolutely love to have her back, but it could be difficult. As for Overton, the audience loves Taggert, so we wanna give the audience what they love. I'll leave it at that.

What were his favorite episodes of season two? "The Ice Man Job" and "The Three Days Of The Hunter Job." They were the most fun because I got to play different types of characters. I got to explore and enjoy my imagination.

On how his affection for watches relates to his character: Hey, some people would call me a geek because I'm really into cool catches. That helps me understand how someone like Alec could be so into a hobby, like gadgets and stuff. We have a mutual understanding in that regard.

How else is he like character? We have a kinship in our light-heartedness. I'm not a thief [laughs], but Alec has a good heart and in those ways is modeled after what I'd like to be. The hacking and stealing thing is the only thing different than what I do. I'm definitely a loudmouth that talks all the time like he is.

On making his character cool: Hey, nerds rule the world! Look at it this way: there are a lot of supposedly cool players on sports teams, but the nerds own the teams!

What is Leverage really all about? A group of criminals that takes down corporate bad guys to get back at them for the people they take advantage of. People compare it to Ocean's 11 with a little Robin Hood in there, a little A-Team in there.

On knowing Leverage had made it as a hit show: I've never really had that moment. I just don't let myself look at it that way. I wanna remain grounded and I feel blessed for how well the show has done, but I don't wanna take any of it for granted, so I just go in everyday and keep working as hard as ever.