Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Lost in Space’s Ajay Friese

Actor-musician Ajay Friese is one of Hollywood’s most promising young actors. His credits include hit television programs and films such as Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ReBoot: The Guardian Code, Riot Girls, The Order, and Riverdale. This December, he’s delivering an out-of-this-world performance, reprising his role as Vijay Dhar in Season 2 of Netflix’s Lost in Space. Pop Culturalist caught up with Ajay to chat about his career, Lost in Space, his debut album, and his unique hidden talent.

Career

PC: You’re an actor and musician. How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Ajay: My parents have always said that I was humming little tunes as a baby, even before I could talk. They could tell from a very young age that I really liked music. As an adult, I remember the first thing that I ever wanted to be was a symphony conductor. I remember when I was little that I would walk around with chopsticks in my hand and pretend to be a conductor.

I think a lot of kids do this, but I would also put on little shows for my family. Performing came very natural to me as did singing. I’ve been writing songs ever since I was five or six. With acting, my sister was doing community theater in town. I wanted to do it too. When I was ten or eleven, I went on an audition, and I started to do the yearly show that the community theater would put on. It was a lot of fun, but I never thought it’d be a career. But I kept doing community theater, and slowly I began making connections. As I got better at acting, I started to get hired by the professional theater companies. Throughout my teen years, I probably did fourteen or fifteen shows. That’s how it all started.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Ajay: I got my first agent for screen at the age of thirteen. I auditioned for five years. I probably did sixty or seventy auditions, and I only booked two of them. I booked two screen roles over my first five years of auditioning. I gained a lot of experience from all of those auditions. It taught me slowly how to act. The time and effort it took to build that experience gave me the skills necessary to break into the industry. The whole time I was doing it for fun. With that attitude, I think it happened in such an organic way. Acting is such a personal skill, and different people have different methods of doing it. It was something that I had to figure out over time. As I got older, I got more life experience too. It made a really big difference.

PC: You’ve had tons of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Ajay: I graduated from high school in 2016. I never thought I would have a career as an actor. I wasn’t pursuing a career as an actor. I never considered it as an option because I didn’t think it was likely. I always wanted a career as a musician. So I thought I would take a gap year and do some traveling and then go study math and science. The summer after I graduated, right before I was going to travel to Australia and do a math internship, I went to an audition like any other audition for a new Canadian kids show called ReBoot: The Guardian Code. It was for a lead role. They kept calling me back for more auditions. I probably did five or six that summer. It was a twenty-episode series. When I booked that, it was the first time that I actually thought this was a possibility. But at the same time, it was in the back of my mind that there was a possibility that I could never book another role.

While I was filming that, I booked Lost in Space. While I was filming Lost in Space, I booked Dirk Gently. I was starting to build momentum and experience. That first year really stands out to me. I learned so much. I was able to book those roles, and I got a lot better at acting. You learn a lot when you spend fourteen-hour days.

When I started on ReBoot, I had only six days of on-set experience in film and television. At the end of 2017, I had over a hundred days over five productions.

Lost in Space

PC: Congratulations on being promoted to a series regular for Season 2 of Lost in Space. Where does Season 2 pick up?
Ajay: Thank you! At the end of Season 1, it looks like everybody is going to make it back onto the Resolute. We’re all on board except the Robinson family, Dr. Smith, and Don West. They get sucked into some wormhole. That’s where we ended in Season 1. I’m on the Resolute with my family and the rest of the colonists. The Robinsons are elsewhere.

The season picks up with the Robinsons stuck on a mysterious ocean planet. It picks up seven months after we left off. They’re making a life for themselves on this planet. They don’t know how to make contact with the Resolute. They’re stranded on this planet because they don’t have enough fuel. They’re with Dr. Smith and Don West. They’re trying to make it off the planet and back onto the Resolute. The first few episodes center around that. Eventually, they’re able to reconnect with the Resolute, but not everything is how they expect when they return. That’s where my character is. I meet up with Penny again. You’ll have to watch and see.

PC: Speaking about Penny, is there anything you can tease about that relationship heading into Season 2?
Ajay: Well, it’s funny. There are always things going wrong while everyone is trying to tackle the larger problems at hand. Penny and Vijay are trying to figure out what they mean to each other. It’s complicated, to say the least, but it’s very interesting.

PC: We’re going to see a lot more of you and your character. How has he grown from Season 1? Is the preparation different now that you’re a series regular?
Ajay: I was a bit nervous about returning for a second season. It’s been such a long time since we filmed. It’s been over a year. I’ve played a lot of characters since. I wondered if I would be able to find this guy again. But as soon as I got back on set and was in costume, I fell right back into my role. Since this is seven months later, my own personal maturing came across quite well as Vijay has matured and gotten older. As shows go from season to season, the characters grow and change. It’s still Vijay, but he has a different perspective now, given the life-changing events he’s been through.

PC: Which of Vijay’s relationships has been your favorite to explore and why?
Ajay: Definitely the one with Penny! Mina Sundwall is awesome. We’re really great friends in real life. I love any of the scenes that we get to do together. They’re beautifully written. There are some great ones in Season 2 that I can’t wait for people to see. I really liked that relationship.

I also really enjoy the dynamic that my character has with his dad. You see his sense of adventure and rebelliousness that connects him to Penny, but he also has this sense of order that he has with his dad. Raza Jaffrey, who plays my dad, is such an awesome guy. Off-screen, that’s one of my closest relationships. He’s given me a lot of life advice. He has a fatherly way about him. I talk to him about stuff I go through. Having that personal connection with him off set helps our connection on screen.

Vijay also has some scenes with Dr. Smith this season. I was excited for that! Dr. Smith has a lot of new tricks up her sleeves.

PC: Fans will also recognize you for your role in Riverdale. What have been some of the major differences between the two experiences?
Ajay: The on-set experience isn’t very different. We actually had some crew members who were from the set of Riverdale and also worked on Lost in Space. It’s cool seeing people that you know in the industry. With Riverdale, I came in the fourth season. I wasn’t there since the beginning like I was with Lost in Space. Riverdale is a show with so many different characters. All of my scenes so far have been with K.J. Apa. He was so welcoming and such a great scene partner. He’s super kind and not intimidating. He’s so easygoing, and he makes you feel a lot more comfortable. I was lucky that I got to do a lot of scenes with him. So I would say the major difference has been when I came in.

PC: Besides your television and film projects, are there any updates on the music front?
Ajay: I am working on a full-length debut solo album. I’ve been recording it for the past nine months, and it’ll be out in the new year!

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Ajay: I have to say Riverdale. [laughs] While some people may say Riverdale is over the top, I think that’s one of its major strengths. I could see them pulling off anything on that show. That’s what makes it so entertaining. When I’m watching it, I see the deeper, real-life themes that they’re exploring.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Ajay: Again, it’s not really a guilty pleasure, but one of my favorite movies is Surf’s Up. I think it’s genius. It’s the surfing penguins.

PC: Favorite book?
Ajay: The Harry Potter series. I read the first book over twenty times. I can recite the first page from memory. It’s played a huge role in my life.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Ajay: Either Billy Elliot or Wicked. I played the Phantom in my high school production of Phantom of the Opera. That music is some of the best I’ve ever heard.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Ajay: Old Justin Bieber: his acoustic stuff!

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Ajay: Maybe Tom Holland? He’s a terrific actor, and I think we share a lot of the same actor traits.

PC: Hidden talent?
Ajay: I have a talent for losing very important things and then getting them back. I lost my NEXUS card yesterday at the airport. As I was sitting on the plane, one of the crew walked over and handed it to me. [laughs] I was in Vietnam last year, and I lost four or five items during the trip. That included a friend’s camera that I was borrowing, headphones, credit cards, and I got everything back! The people that I travel with are like, “You lost something again? What the heck?!” Right now, my guitar is missing. I accidentally left it in the airport, and I hope I get it back.

To keep up with Ajay, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch Season 2 of Lost in Space on Netflix today.

Photo Credit: Isabella Mackenzie