Cross Season 1's Meta Old Spice Gag Is A Great Reminder Of How Far This Actor Has Come Over The Past 14 Years

Warning: Spoilers for Cross season 1 below!Cross season 1 proves how far former “Old Spice Guy” Isaiah Mustafa has come in his career. Prime Video’s Cross cast Mustafa as Detective John Sampson, the best friend and partner of Aldis Hodge’s titular character. This is one of the biggest roles the actor has received to date, having launched his career with small roles in 2005’s The Island and shows like Days of Our Lives. However, it was Mustafa’s role as the Old Spice Guy in “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” ad campaign that propelled him to fame.

This was a series of adverts where Mustafa’s swoonsome “Guy” would speak to the ladies watching, recommending they buy their partners Old Spice while bizarre sight gags unfolded in the background. These commercials became a viral sensation and Mustafa went on to front many more. However, his viral success didn’t necessarily translate to an acting career right away, and it took time to shed the Old Spice typecasting. There’s little of the Old Spice Guy in his Sampson performance either – which doesn’t mean the show is above a meta gag at his expense.

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Cross Season 1 Had To Make An Old Spice Joke At Isaiah Mustafa’s Expense

It appears Mustafa’s Sampson is also an Old Spice fan

Old Spice Guy and Shadowhunters Star Isaiah Mustafa

By Cross‘ season 1 ending, Sampson will likely emerge as the audience’s favorite character. He’s cool, intelligent, and while he shares a sibling-like bond with Alex, that doesn’t mean he’s above questioning his partner’s sometimes questionable decisions. The second episode “Ride the White Horsey” couldn’t resist dropping a not-so-subtle gag about Mustafa’s past, where Sampson and Cross are chatting about the latter’s love life. When Sampson recommends Cross put on some “smell-good” for an upcoming date, Alex quips that Mustafa’s Sampson smells like “mothballs and Old Spice!“

Not only does this canonically settle whether Sampson uses Old Spice, but it’s a fun gag for those who catch it. It’s over a decade on from the original commercials, so there’s a good chance most viewers may not even recognize Mustafa from his Old Spice days – especially since he doesn’t wear a towel and dons a thick beard for the show (which stands at 76% on Rotten Tomatoes).

The character of John Sampson was previously played by Bill Nunn in the first
Alex Cross
adaptation
Kiss the Girls
.

Cross’ Isaiah Mustafa Has Come A Long Way Since His Old Spice Days

Isaiah Mustafa has the IT factor

Mustafa landed plenty of gigs in the aftermath of the Old Spice promos, but these were largely guest roles on series like Chuck or Nikita. Few of these parts gave him a chance to flex his acting muscles, but after leading a lead role on the fantasy show Shadowhunters in 2016, juicier roles started to come his way. A few years later, he landed his biggest movie to date in IT: Chapter Two, playing an older version of Mike Hanlon.

..following IT: Chapter 2, Isaiah Mustafa has appeared in everything from Black-ish to Boy Kills World – but Cross might just change his career.

There wasn’t a trace of his Old Spice charm in this role, with Mike being haunted by his past and obsessed with stopping Pennywise once and for all. In the years since this hit sequel, Isaiah Mustafa has appeared in everything from Black-ish to Boy Kills World (where he reunited with IT co-star Bill Skarsgård) but Cross might just change his entire career. He’s effortlessly charismatic as Sampson, but brings a lot of depth to the part too. He’ll be a larger part of the upcoming Cross season 2 also, so Sampson might just become his signature role.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes