Steven Prusakowski
(Be sure to listen to the conversation in its entirety below for all of Alan Tudyk’s humor, thoughts, and insights, and charm.)
The sci-fi comedy series Resident Alien has come to an end. While fans and those involved in the quirky, sweet and outlandishly funny series would prefer more seasons, the finale left fans both satisfied even it they were yearning for more. Alan Tudyk‘s work on the show was nothing short of amazing – an all-in, full-body performance that was silly, smart, endlessly creative and full of heart.
Tudyk brought such a unique spark to the role of Harry Vanderspeigle, the extraterrestrial who is hiding in the body of a small Colorado town doctor while trying (and often failing) to blend in with humanity – which he ultimately plans to wipe out. Tudyk joined me on TV Topics for a lively chat about the series and his TV vieiwing.
Tudyk ability to tackle a wide range of characters, from brooding rebels to comedic oddballs is impressive: of course there’s his work on Resident Alien, then there’s the cult-favorite Firefly, and his Emmy-nominated work as K-2SO on Andor as the scene-stealing reprogrammed Imperial droid with deadpan wit. If you dive into his full filmography you may be surprised to discover just how prolific is, lending his voice to over a dozen Disney animated films, including standouts like Wreck-It Ralph (as the villainous King Candy), Frozen (the scheming Duke of Weselton), and Moana (as the dim-witted rooster Heihei), not to mention voicing the Joker in the animated series Harley Quinn.
Our conversation on TV Topics (listen below) spanned his four years on Resident Alien, touching on everything from developing Harry’s distinctive voice and physical quirks, to the joy of improvising physical comedy, as well as the emotional evolution of the character. It is a one-of-a-kind role that required Tudyk to build alien Harry’s character from the inside out, top to bottom. Everything from eating pizza to resuscitating an octopus, Tudyk put his comedic touches on it. Add to the his line delivery and you a character you cannot take your eyes of off… or ears (if that makes sense) because every line of dialogue has the potential for hilarity. It seems every fan has their own favorite line delivery.
Tudyk’s work on Resident Alien is a masterclass in creative immersion, drawing from his love of classic cartoons like Looney Tunes, which shines through in Harry’s over-the-top physical comedy and alien awkwardness. It is something that can be described, it needs to be seen to truly appreciate. Tudyk previously spoke to Joey here about Resident Alien.
The actor explained how developing Harry’s voice was a blend of precision and happy accidents, “I thought of it similar to Sonny the Robot in iRobot that I had done years ago- and that Sonny always said words correctly. That was the way that Sonny talked. He talked, he said everything with diction and enunciation and the vowels were correctly spoken. Harry was attempting that and not doing a great job… Also, and this was a big unexpected contributor to the voice was the mask. When I put on the mask, they put in these teeth. And so I started to talk like this (listen to the podcast to hear it in action). And if my voice got a little lower, and it was harder to enunciate, and there was more of a roar in the voice, kind of a monster sound.” He continued, “He doesn’t even have a human mouth when he starts out before he when he’s an alien. His physiology is completely different. So he had to learn how to use this instrument in from the beginning. So it was a fun it was a fun. It was a it was a fun character to tackle.”
This commitment to the character’s otherworldly essence extended to the physical side, where Tudyk channeled ergonomic ideals with a twist of imperfection to give Harry his unique walk. “Harry’s walking was informed by my the work that I had originally done in iRobot that if you’re going to walk, what is the most ergonomic way of walking? There’s the Alexander technique, which they teach in acting schools as a way of getting to your center and feeling and freeing up all of the character movements that we add to our bodies as we get older,” explained Tudyk. “Like when you look at toddlers, they stand up very straight. And when they fall down, they just kind of fall on their butts and their backs stay straight. It’s once you start getting into like the emotional years, 12, 13, 14, you go through puberty, people start to like put on these poses that become our bodies… That’s how Harry was attempting to move. He just didn’t do a great job of it at all times, which was very forgiving.”
Walking was just the beginning, as Tudyk’s physical performance became a central part of the show’s comedy. Tudyk lit up recalling moments like: “With Heather (Edi Patterson) in season two, Heather the bird girlfriend that he falls in love with. There was a line where he says, ‘Why are my knees weak?’ It was a voiceover, I think, ‘Why are my knees feeling weak or funny?’,” recalled Tudyk. The challenge was how to approach it. “And I was like, I have to fall. If my knees are weak, I have to fall. Can I fall? And then if I fall once, can I fall two more times? So I got to fall. I got to do pratfalls, man. You don’t get to do that an hour long television… Those stupid jokes for me are just great. I’m feel very fortunate.” This enthusiasm is part of what makes Tudyk’s performances so engaging.
With each passing season Harry evolved becoming more human, as he evolved so did Tudyk’s approach to playing him, peeling back layers to reveal vulnerability beneath the awkward alien facade. It was scary territory for the actor, but it paid off in scenes of raw emotion. “It was hard in the beginning. It was like, it was hard. It wasn’t difficult as much as it was just unsettling. I was having scenes where I was able to access an emotional side that I hadn’t given myself access to because he’s an alien and because he wasn’t, he didn’t have any subtlety… And then when I became human, my eyes got softer and I didn’t have a lost look in my eyes and I could actually talk to people right in front of me and it sounds like losing a security blanket, but it gave access to a lot more where I could talk to people with compassion… It was, I’ll say the main thing it was, was scary,” Tudyk reflected.
For Emmy-nominated role in Andor, Tudyk reprises K-2SO (first seen in Rogue One) with the same improvisational instincts, but in a grittier, more political sci-fi landscape that echoes some of the authoritarian aspects of today’s political environment. Tudyk infuses the former killer droid with dry humor that lightens the tension without undermining the stakes. “That’s a huge part of that voiceover is improv. And so doing Rogue One as K-2SO that Gareth Edwards directed, he really allowed even on the day a lot of improv. So the character of K-2SO was made in a fairly loose setting. And I had so much fun in seeing who he who he was when the final thing came together, because you say the line that’s there and then you say, especially when you’re digital, you can do what you want, kind of as long as everybody’s cool with it,” he said.
“And then getting to do it again was great because it was 10 years later. And I loved, I love the character of Cassian the way that K2 loves Cassian (Diego Luna). So getting to work with him again was just incredible.”
While Resident Alien may be over (for now), Tudyk reminds fans that (spoiler) “Don’t worry though. I don’t die in the final reel,” as he keeps the hope alive that one day he will be able to continue the story of Asta (Sara Tomko), D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund), Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds), Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen), Max (Judah Prehn) and the other residents of Patience, Colorado.
Seeing the writing on the wall, the cast and crew prepared as if this was the end, allowing them the closure they needed – the final shot of the series was the final shot of productions. Tudyk recalled that moment, “The last shot was the drone shot of a spaceship taking off. And I just watched the camera feed. So I got to watch the takeoff and then waving goodbye. It’s pretty great, man. It was pretty amazing. I got to see the bird’s eye view of I’m headed back to my planet. It was beautiful.”
Be sure to listen to the full TV Topics conversation where Alan dives even deeper into Resident Alien. As with all TV Topics he answers a series of television-centric questions that reveal his appreciation for television and how it shaped him as a person and an actor. He brings up a whopping 23 shows including his beloved Firefly, Breaking Bad, Bosom Buddies, MASH, The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team and many more. If you love television then you will love this conversation. It is one of the funnier, wilder, and most lively conversations that captures the spirit of the actor who has entertained so many.
All four seasons of Resident Alien are now streaming on Peacock.
hi Alan. from gabby
l Love you Alan…. from Gabby may Reynolds