‘CROSS’ Actress Eloise Mumford Talks TV Transformation

Have you started watching CROSS on Prime Video?

The series, which stars Aldis Hodge in the famous role of detective Alex Cross, premiered this week on Prime Video and we are absolutely hooked.

BOSSIP Sr. Content Director Janeé Bolden spoke with CROSS actress Eloise Mumford ahead of the series debut. Mumford plays Shannon Whitmer, who is abducted by the serial killer who is being pursued by Detective Cross in the first season. Mumford spoke about having to take a leap of faith when it comes to dating while not knowing if a potential suitor might be her future husband or a killer.

CROSS Actress Eloise Mumford Discusses The Dangers Of Dating Apps

“I was on dating apps through filming this series and let me tell you, I had to take a little break from that because I was like this is hitting too close to home,” Mumford told BOSSIP. “You know it’s that funny thing on dating apps you’re always trying to balance like, ‘Is this my future husband or is this like a serial killer ?’ I think a lot of people can probably relate. Such a leap of faith right? All of life is a leap of faith, but dating in particular I think is, but hopefully most people’s experience will not be as bad as Shannon’s.”

When audiences first meet Shannon she’s a beautiful, well dressed brunette, but her appearance quickly becomes altered during captivity. It turns out that despite the brutal circumstances, that transformation was exactly the sort of acting experience Mumford was excited to tackle.

CROSS Actress Eloise Mumford Was Excited To Transform For Role

“I think most actors dream of a transformation role and so getting to do this extreme of a transformation, although incredibly hard, was so rewarding,” Mumford said. “It was so fun working with the hair and makeup team, Verity Fiction and Natalie Nelson were my makeup and hair team who worked with me. We started at the end knowing what she would look like and then working backwards to figure out what would be the most contrast. It’s a blast. It’s what you always dream of is getting to be ultimately creative. I’m incredibly grateful to Ben Watkins who created the show, that in Shannon he created a victim who he also allowed to be a real person.”

Most of us would never want to imagine ending up in Shannon’s circumstances, but we were curious what, if anything, Mumford learned from the experience of playing a woman who has been abducted.

“I think what’s so tough for Shannon is that she really didn’t do anything wrong,” Mumford said. “She texted her mom where she was. If anything, maybe she ignored a gut feeling but I think that’s a very human experience and that’s why this mystery works so well, because it’s grounded in humanity. It’s grounded in an authentic experience. She wasn’t a dumb victim. She really was attempting to do right and was very smart about it and then once she was captive was also really quite smart about things. That’s where she’s making really really bold and strong and smart choices. It’s just the journey that she had to be on and I think that if there’s anything to learn it’s to trust your gut but beyond that just to fight to survive.

CROSS is based on the detective series penned by James Patterson, where Alex Cross combines his skills in forensic psychology with his law enforcement training to track down the deadliest criminals plaguing society. Already greenlit for a second season, the first season plot is an entirely new storyline created by showrunner Ben Watkins. Mumford spoke with BOSSIP about her experience working with Watkins, as well as Ryan Eggold, who plays her captor Ed Ramsey.

“Ben is one of the most spectacular people I’ve ever worked for in Hollywood,” Mumford told BOSSIP. He has such a commitment to community and it’s such a commitment to authenticity and also generosity and that affects the whole production. From the very first time that we had a meeting as a cast, he talked about our what the sort of energy that we were going to bring to this story and it’s incredibly inspiring and that’s exactly how I want to carry myself in this world. so I just worship at his altar.”

“Ryan is an incredible actor. Watching him up close was amazing, but then watching his performance later when I wasn’t with tears in my eyes, was really wonderful and beyond that, offscreen he’s an incredibly generous person so we were able to establish a trust right off the bat and just sort of play within that and I’m so grateful for that because I was able to go to such dark places because I trusted him so implicitly.

CROSS is currently streaming on Prime Video