Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Resident Alien’s Alice Wetterlund and Sara Tomko

Alice Wetterlund and Sara Tomko are two of the stars of 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 off as a small-town human doctor. When he’s roped into solving a local murder, hilarity ensues.

Pop Culturalist spoke with Alice and Sara about their characters in the series, collaborating with showrunner Chris Sheridan, and the themes explored in Season 1.

PC: Introduce us to your characters in the series.
Alice: I play D’Arcy, Asta’s best friend. Asta is a nurse at the clinic. It seems like we’re going to introduce each other’s characters. [laughs] She doesn’t trust a lot of people because she’s been through a lot of bullsh-t in her life, especially with men. She has a tendency to be a little cold at first, but it comes from a place of being really hurt. As we get to know Asta, especially throughout the pilot, we get to know that she has a very fun, warm, sparkly side. That’s mainly bought out by my D’Arcy, who I play—

Sara: —who is, as I heard earlier today, the pulse of this town. I like that verbiage for you. D’Arcy is this incredible friend who shows up and makes you feel better about who you are and gives you a good laugh, but also is a little bit vulnerable and messy herself. They pair so well together. D’Arcy has this ability to showcase that you can be the person that you present on the outside. You can show up and save the day with a joke, but there’s a lot of actual sadness and grief mixed in there, which I think is really amazing about the character. We get a chance to witness both of these women go through a lot of layers of different emotions.

Alice: I remember the first scene we filmed together was the bar scene. I remember you sitting down and saying D’Arcy’s name. I thought, “Who are these people to each other?” It hadn’t really occurred to me that they were best friends that went back. When you said D’Arcy’s name, I was like, “Oh, we are something to each other.” It made me realize the connections that were there. It’s so crazy looking back on that now and how far we’ve come as friends on the show and in real life. It’s so magical to think about. It’s so crazy that it still comes across that when you watch that scene. You see their friendship pop up.

Sara: We improvised a lot, too, on the spot. I mean, it was as if we had always known each other.

Alice: It speaks to my professionalism. [laughs]

Sara: Yeah, your professionalism. [laughs]

Alice: I’m kidding.

PC: You’ve all spoken about the collaborative environment that showrunner Chris Sheridan created on set. How did that freedom impact the way you approached and shaped your characters?
Sara: That’s a great question. Chris is such an incredible showrunner for the mere purpose of asking us what we think. Honestly, just asking us and including us in that collaboration and being able to talk it out on set is amazing. Alice and I have moments where we’re like, “Hey, can we talk through this for a second?” It’s this beautiful opportunity where you feel so safe with your other cast members. You feel held and seen. Chris did such a great job making that possible for us, building this nest where we’re all birthed together as a family. You see that come to life on screen.

PC: Over the course of the first season, the series tackles a lot of really important themes. Was there one in particular that hit home for you?
Sara: I would say being human is hard. That’s one of the biggest themes in the show that I feel like I relate to. I feel like everyone that you get to witness as part of the town is experiencing that in their own way. I feel like the relatability of not knowing another person or feeling like you don’t belong and coming together despite your differences is prominent. I feel like that was something I really resonated with in the script.

Alice: It’s almost like this show is a sci-fi show for aliens. It’s like when we watch a Star Wars or we watch Battlestar Galactica, we watch a society of the future. We’re really looking at it from humans of the 21st century looking at them. This show is really looking at the present-day human being experience from the eyes of an extra-terrestrial species as imagined by Chris Sheridan and the original Dark Horse Comics. That’s why it’s sci-fi; it’s sci-fi for people from outer space. I love that approach. I think it’s an interesting concept. Chris really nailed it.

Make sure to follow Alice (Twitter/Instagram) and Sara (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Resident Alien every Wednesday at 10/9c on SYFY.