Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Resident Alien’s Alex Barima

Alex Barima is delivering an out-of-this-world performance for the ages as David Logan in SYFY’s Resident Alien. Based on the popular comic book series by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, Resident Alien follows the adventures of an alien who crash lands onto Earth and must pass himself as a small-town human doctor. When he’s roped into solving a local murder, hilarity ensues.

Alex’s character, David, is a man on a mission. That mission? It’s to track down that alien!

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Alex about this breakout role and where he’d like to see his character’s arc head in Season 2.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Alex: I wouldn’t actually say that I discovered it because it was always there. I don’t remember ever not being interested in acting, movies, and TV. One of my earliest memories is sitting in front of the TV screen all day long, and not needing any food, water, or sleep. Once I put two and two together and understood that those were real people that existed in real life doing that, then I wanted to become one of them.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Alex: I try to be inspired by everyone that I came across in the industry. What really spring-boarded me into my professional career was when I did a workshop with an LA talent manager in high school. I was already doing plays and improv in school, but he was the one who put me on the path to go to Vancouver and give it a shot out there. After I finished high school, I always stuck with that goal in mind to finish my schooling in Montreal. As soon as possible, I moved over to Vancouver and took my chances there. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Alex: Yeah, there are a few. Coming here and getting to study with other people who share the same passion was a big deal; I’d never been surrounded by so many people who shared the same goal and the same dream. My first few months here were amazing. Before I even graduated, I signed with my agent. One of the earliest memories I have is my first audition—I remember who it was with and I remember what the project was. I remember thinking, “Here’s my first real test.” The audition went very well, and, thankfully, I got a call back as well. It calmed me a lot. It just calmed my nerves, like, “I can do this. Let’s keep going.”

Then, I remember my first time on set, which was for a mobile phone commercial, and seeing a real film crew for the first time. I didn’t really understand how big it would be just to shoot a fifteen-second spot. There must have been at least a hundred people there. I was fascinated by that discovery and the learning process that comes with this job.

Years later, working on The Exorcist was a huge deal for me. Being so heavily involved in a TV show for the first time and getting a real chance to go to bat and see what I could do…that was a very, very, very big deal for me. But I was fortunate to be surrounded with some creative people who have really great hearts: Sean Crouch, Jeremy Slater, Jason Ensler. That gave me a lot of confidence moving forward.

Then, I would say Resident Alien has been the biggest standout so far. I’m really happy that the show is doing well. I’m really happy that we’re moving forward with another season. I’m hoping that people will keep hopping aboard the train.

Resident Alien

PC: Speaking of Resident Alien, tell us about the series and your character.
Alex: Resident Alien is your classic fish-out-of-water story, except the fish happens to be an extraterrestrial. He’s disguised himself as a human in order to repair his ship and complete his secret mission, which, incidentally, is to wipe out the human race, but he’s trying to keep that a mystery.

As he goes on with this journey of connecting with the people in the town that he’s living in, my character, David Logan, is tasked with tracking him down and bringing him to his superior, played by Linda Hamilton. I’m saddled with my crazy partner, Lisa, played by Mandell Maughan, who is just a killing machine. I’m a nerd, and she scares me a lot. We try to make that work as best we can as we try to complete our mission.

PC: As you’re working on a project that’s being adapted from a popular comic book series, how much of the source material do you use as a frame of reference?
Alex: I was actually talking to Chris [Sheridan] about that last week! I’ve never read the comics, personally, but with the little bit I do know about it, I know the first season is based loosely on the first book. Chris knows that the way that the comics work doesn’t always translate onto a screen format, so we have the characters that we’re inspired by as well as certain events. But I think that the creators of the comic books have spoken about this as well, and they’ve said, “It’s different. It’s a TV show. It’s not the comics.” Fans of the comics are still meant to be able to enjoy it, but I don’t think they should expect it to be a faithful adaptation of the comics. It’s meant to be a companion piece.

PC: The cast has spoken about the collaborative environment that showrunner Chris Sheridan created on set. How did that freedom impact the way that you approached and shaped your character?
Alex: It’s the single most impactful element of running a set. Chris is very much the leader of the project. He’s the showrunner. I’ve worked on many different TV shows, and it’s not always obvious who the showrunner is. Not every showrunner will run the show the same way; some of them like to be very present, some of them like to be a little more in the background. Chris, luckily for me, was very hands-on. I mentioned this in a prior interview, but he must have a twin because he was everywhere. [laughs]

It was amazing because any time I had a question, or a worry, or anything I was uncertain about, I could go directly to him. He always had an answer, and even if he didn’t, he was more than willing to explore that with you. I couldn’t ask for anyone better to lead this project. The amount of passion that he brings and the vision that he has, it’s so important. It’s the way he embraces all the members of the team, whether it’s cast, or crew, or producers, or anybody. You can tell. It comes through in the final product. It feels like a real team effort when you watch the show.

PC: The series tackles a lot of really important themes. Was there one in particular that hit home for you?
Alex: I’m always a sucker for stories about acceptance. I love when people overcome their differences, and a lot of the show is about that. Me, I generally just come for the laughs. I’m a pretty easy mark when it comes to comedy. I like to laugh. I like people being funny. My favorite pairing in the show has to be the sheriff, played by Corey Reynolds, and the deputy, played by Liz Bowen. Those two characters and the dynamics that they have, it’s so enjoyable for me to watch every scene. Their whole trajectory really affected me emotionally. When she quits her job, and then he comes into the karaoke bar to apologize to her through a song, it stirred me emotionally.

PC: The series was recently picked up for a second season. Where do you want to see your character’s arc head?
Alex: I want to keep exploring the relationship between my character and Casper. They owe it to each other at this point. They’ve been around each other for so long. I would love to see them develop a stronger bond, even if they don’t end up liking each other. I would love for them to get really real about who they are and what they want.

To keep up with Alex, follow him on Instagram. Binge-watch the first season of Resident Alien today.