Alfre Woodard & Aldis Hodge Team Up at 'Clemency' AFI Fest Premiere!

Aldis Hodge happily poses alongside his co-star Alfre Woodard while attending the premiere of their film Clemency held during the 2019 AFI FEST presented by Audi at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Sunday (November 17) in Hollywood.

The two leading stars were joined at the premiere by their cast mates Jed Bernard, Alex Castillo, Michelle C. Bonilla, LaMonica Garrett, Vernee Watson and Richard Gunn, as well as the film’s writer-director Chinonye Chukwu.

Here’s the synopsis: “Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine William (Alfre). As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.”

“[Producer] Bronwyn Cornelius told me about this piece, and about this young filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu. Chinonye said, ‘It is from the point of view of the people that we charge to actually carry it out.’ We haven’t done those stories and talked out loud about the fact that the people that we charge to carry out these executions have a higher PTSD rate — or as high a rate — as people with multiple deployments on battlefields,” Alfre told Variety about taking the role.

“Some actors don’t want to be the villainous character,” Alfre Woodard continued. “They all want to seem heroic. I think it’s important to be the antagonist, because the antagonist is always a human being as well.”