The fourth of five children, Cross was born in Christiana, Jamaica, on October 19, 1969; but moved to Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada with his parents and siblings when he was eleven. He graduated in 1989 with a degree in Aviation and General Studies from Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C.

While awaiting a flying job, Cross - who has a background in martial arts - began to take stunt jobs on film sets and eventually shifted his focus to acting. He enrolled in Vancouver's Breck Academy, and was cast in The International Rescue, a feature film shot in China, Vietnam, and Burma. He has worked steadily ever since.

Cross was cast in guest roles on such series as The X-Files, Sliders, Stargate SG-1, Highlander: The Series, Relic Hunter, The 4400, Higher Ground and Star Trek: Enterprise. He was also a regular on the sci-fi series First Wave and appeared in such films as The Chronicles of Riddick, X2, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, and Beautiful Joe.

His most recent role has been Agent Curtis Manning on 24. His role began at the start of the show's fourth season in 2005 as a recurring character; however he later became a main cast member. For the show's sixth season, he was changed back from a main cast member to a recurring character. The motives behind this switch are apparent now as his character was reluctantly shot and killed in the fourth episode by friend Jack Bauer, as Cross' character was about to compromise the mission by killing a former terrorist for whom he held a personal grudge.

Cross can be seen in the Oliver Stone film, World Trade Center, which was released in August 2006. Cross also plays the character of Barry in the 2008 movie Mad Money. He also appears as DJ and transvestite Sunset Boulevard/Sonny Benson in the Showtime series The L Word. Cross recently appeared as prison inmate Anton Burrows in the Season 3 episode of Flashpoint, "Just a Man".