When Resident Alien premiered on Syfy in 2021, it shook up the usual science fiction tropes. In the sequence, an alien arrives on Earth, finds a reclusive physician vacationing in a small city … and kills him. Afterward, the alien takes the person’s form, changing into ‘Harry’, and units out on his mission to destroy humanity.
Throughout the sequence, the viewers watches Harry kind relationships with the townspeople and slowly grow to be extra human. It’s half Schitt’s Creek and half Mars Attacks, all wrapped up in an oddly endearing coming-of-age story. But the midseason cliffhanger in season 2 revealed that Resident Alien is about to take a wildly totally different flip.
The present’s improbable ensemble solid — Alan Tudyk, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund, Levi Fiehler, and Elizabeth Bowen — have been joined by the present’s creator, Chris Sheridan, to speak about season 2 and the inspiration behind the present.
Digital Trends: Harry is such an attention-grabbing character, and as an actor, I think about he should be a lot enjoyable to play. You’re portraying somebody who isn’t human … however is making an attempt to persuade the world he is human. How did this character come to be and the way did you deliver him to the display screen?
Alan Tudyk: I used one thing I discovered once I was at clown faculty, which is to behave like a baby who has by no means been instructed no. It was additionally actually enjoyable to play with the character like he’s a puppeteer utilizing this human physique for the primary time. His alien physique had 4 arms, and so they weren’t like human arms, so I made positive to play the character actually awkwardly and at all times transfer round with jerky motions as a result of he had no thought tips on how to function this human physique.
Chris Sheridan: I can’t converse sufficient about how a lot Alan formed this character. I had written the character and I had a way of who he was, and we had auditioned a bunch of nice actors for the position through the casting course of … but it surely wasn’t till I noticed Alan are available in that I totally knew who the character was. Something about his physicality and the way he so totally grew to become an alien who had simply arrived on Earth, I instantly knew that he was the man for the position.
Normally, the quirky personalities of the supporting solid have a tendency to face out as a result of in most exhibits the primary character is a clean slate the viewers can insert themselves onto … however with this present, each single character is exclusive, humorous, and interesting. Do you assume it makes it simpler or more durable to have your characters stand out while you’re surrounded by so many different compelling characters?
Elizabeth Bowen: I really feel prefer it’s a extremely thrilling tennis match the place we’re all hitting the ball between us and feeding off one another’s vitality. We’re all admiring one another’s work, and it’s actually thrilling. It’s such an adrenaline rush. It forces us to all play on the high of our sport, not simply because we need to, however as a result of we have now to.
Corey Reynolds: I agree, you’ll be able to’t try throughout a scene in our present since you by no means know what another person is gonna throw at you. It sort of creates an anything-goes situation, the place for those who assume you’ve got a good suggestion, it is best to strive it. Everyone respects the fabric sufficient to know what’s going to work and what gained’t, and fortunately no one is making an attempt to upstage one another or something, so it at all times feels optimistic. As Liz stated, all of us have this wonderful means of passing the ball, which completely betters the sequence as an entire.
Sheridan: I feel Harry principally being a baby within a 45-year-old man’s physique results in tons of nice interactions with the remainder of the solid. An wonderful instance of that’s his interactions with the character Max. Those scenes wouldn’t be humorous in any respect if Harry had taken on the physique of a 10-years-old. What makes it humorous is that he appears to be like like a grown man however acts like a baby.
Levi Fiehler: So a lot of this solid is nice at improvising. I at all times discover myself standing in awe watching how expert everyone seems to be. Their skill to only drift and create one thing superb is actually inspiring.
Elizabeth, this subsequent query is particularly for you. You are completely hilarious on this present. How do you handle to be the comedian reduction in a present that’s already a comedy?
Bowen: I had loads of observe making an attempt to be humorous rising up. I used to be the youngest youngster and solely had brothers, so I discovered from an early age that while you’re the youngest, the littlest, and the one lady within the household, it’s a must to use the whole lot you’ve received simply to get somebody to concentrate to you. I actually really feel like my childhood primed me for this present! I improv among the strains, however actually, loads of the nice materials is already within the script. I actually giggle out loud each time I learn it.
What can viewers count on from the second half of this season? The first half left off with Harry discovering that he’s not speculated to destroy the world, however really reserve it, which fully modifications the trajectory of the sequence.
Alice Wetterlund: Oh yeah, the vibe is tense. There’s now much more on the road for our characters. My character, D’Arcy, is having some relationship drama, which is actually necessary to her, however as viewers, everybody is aware of the stakes are a lot larger — everybody’s lives are at risk. It’s actually enjoyable for me to play with that dichotomy on this half of the season.
Fiehler: Viewers can undoubtedly count on to see some relationship drama for positive!
Bowen: I’ll reply with one phrase — discovery.
Sheridan: We’re going to unravel some mysteries … however new mysteries will come up.
Tudyk: Harry undoubtedly undergoes loads of development. He begins realizing that there are people value saving and he slowly begins to kind relationships with individuals, which finally ends up altering the way in which he views the world.
Reynolds: It’s going to be like a trampoline. You assume we’re coming down and reaching a decision, however then we’re going to bounce proper again up once more and shock everybody. I’m nonetheless shocked each time I learn new pages of the script.
Season 2 of Resident Alien airs at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesdays on the Syfy channel.
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