The actor sheds light on the striking blonde transformation for his “Cross” role and addresses comparisons to Eminem with a firm denial.
Ryan Eggold’s platinum blonde look in the “Cross” TV show has people talking — but not always for the reasons he expected. The actor, who stars as serial killer Ed Ramsey in the series, has fielded comparisons to none other than Eminem, thanks to his bleached locks.
“No, I was not going for Slim Shady”, Eggold laughed while speaking to TheWrap. “Lately, people have been asking, ‘Was it an Eminem thing?’ I’m like, ‘What? No. He’s a killer!’”
Eggold’s character, Ed Ramsey, is a charismatic but profoundly sinister villain who loves matching wits with Alex Cross, played by Aldis Hodge. Eggold said his decision to go blonde was a deliberate move to mark a stark departure from his days as the empathetic Dr. Max Goodwin on “New Amsterdam”.
“I wanted to distinguish myself completely”, Eggold explained. “Here’s a guy who meticulously curates his look […] and I thought blonde hair would make him feel slightly off. It’s unsettling, and that’s exactly what I was going for”.
After filming wrapped, Eggold kept the look for a little while, describing it as “kind of punk rock” before shaving it off. “Shaving my head was less about the hair and more about shedding the role of a psychopathic killer”, he said.
Slim Shady might have been unhinged back in the day, but he’s no cold-blooded serial killer — and Eggold knows it.
