"CROSS" Star Johnny Ray Gill Talks Bobby Trey and Working with Ryan Eggold

The BUZZ sat down with Johnny Ray Gill, who plays the role of ex-cop/antagonist Bobby Trey in the Prime original series, "CROSS." The series is based off of the novels by James Patterson and follows the life of forensic psychologist Alex Cross, and his partner, Detective John Sampson, as they track down dangerous killers in D.C. Bobby Trey stands out for his outlandish personality, which sets him apart from villains that we normally see in television series. He loves music, but he loves money more.

Most of Ray Gill's screentime was spent in scenes with Ryan Eggold, who plays Ed Ramsay, a serial killer who is obsessed with notorious serial killers; so much so that he finds look-alikes to make them look like their doppelgänger and plans to get rid of them on the birthday of the killer they resembled. I got to ask him about working alongside Eggold in the series: 

"Working with Ryan was a treat. He is a fantastic actor, and to be able to share the screen with him was super dope. Early on, I sent the producers a video of badgers and coyotes hunting together to highlight that these are two individual killers that are coming together for their own mutual self-interest. Don't get it twisted, though. At the end of the day, if the coyote talks to the badger the wrong way, somebody got to go! There's a charged energy when you approach the scene in that way." 

Ray Gill talks also about the characteristics of Bobby Trey: 

"With the creation of Bobby Trey, I was reading, 'A People's History of the United States,' at the time when I was offered the role. Mr. Ben Watkins, genius showrunner of the project, was giving me nuggets about where Bobby Trey comes from. He said that, 'Bobby Trey fakes smiles all the time.' When he told me that, I thought about capitalism. The first thing I wrote in my notes was, 'Bobby Trey is capitalism come to life.' I mean, the personification of it: Capitalism is incredibly charming, but it'll murder you in a f****** second. When I thought about what his drive was, Ben said he is motivated by money. That's where the viciousness and the charm came from, and as a former detective/police officer and former member of the military, I wanted to inject the violence of that." 

More in the discussion included us talking about the fantastic soundtrack used throughout the series, the impact and real life stories being implemented into the storyline(s), and some standout moments from this season. 

All eight episodes in season one of, "CROSS," are available to stream on Prime.