Exclusive Interview: Virginia Gardner and Alex Aiono Talk See You on Venus, Creating an Emotional Six-Pack, and More

Virginia Gardner and Alex Aiono are the stars of the must-see new film, See You on Venus.

See You on Venus follows Mia and Kyle (Gardner and Aiono), two misfit American teens who travel to Spain searching for Mia’s birth mother. Filmed on location in Spain, the pair travel through the picturesque cities of Andalusia and discover that the most important question isn’t who gave you life, but what you decide to do with it.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Virginia and Alex about See You on Venus, their undeniable chemistry, how Alex created his emotional six-pack, and more.

Please Note: This interview was filmed prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. We stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, and will not be conducting further interviews until a fair deal is reached.

PC: Virginia, throughout your career you’ve always played these characters who have created a lasting impact on audiences, and Mia especially will hit home for a lot of people. What was it about her that resonated with you?
Virginia: It wasn’t just what resonated with me about Mia but what resonated with me about the project in general. It’s beautiful, refreshing, and sweet. It can touch people that are younger and older. I really like films that you can watch as a family and everybody can enjoy it.

But with Mia specifically, it was her love of life, her positivity, and her optimism. She isn’t a victim of circumstance. She’s sick and she doesn’t know how much longer she’s going to be here. Every time she smells a flower or has a bite of food, it’s all savored and enjoyed as if it could be her last. I really love seeing life from that perspective and really savoring each moment as Mia does.

PC: Alex, Kyle’s journey in this film is about dealing with his guilt and grief, which you brought so much nuance to. As an actor, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into those darker, more vulnerable moments?
Alex: A big part of it is just the preparation. I’ve been very fortunate that a lot of my preparation for projects has included having fun and getting ready to have a surfer’s body or a football player’s body or what have you. All of that stuff I love to do. I love preparing in any way to be a part of a character or have this person be me.

With this role, it wasn’t like that. It was more of an emotional six-pack that I had to work out.

Virginia: [laughs]

Alex: Don’t laugh. You know what? I’m sick of you undermining me. [laughs]

Virginia: Emotional six-pack. [laughs]

Alex: I thought it was a bar! Honestly, that might be the headline of this article.

Virgina: Alex Aiono builds an emotional six-pack.

Alex: That’s actually the autobiography that I’m starting to write. It’s called Emotional Six-Pack. It’ll be out on shelves pretty soon. It takes a lot of prep. I was very fortunate to work with James Monarski, an incredible acting coach, to help build that little web of emotions and really commit to that. There was a bunch of other stuff too. Ginny would love to tell you about our playlist and specifically what songs are on the playlist. I did the same, but they were less enjoyable songs than Ginny’s.

PC: Ginny, what was on that playlist?
Virginia: Alex is giving me a hard time because I always make a playlist for a character. Then the follow-up question is always, “What’s on that playlist?” I never know what’s on the playlist. But I beat you to it because I already looked it up. “Vienna” by Billy Joel. That was one of my songs on the playlist that really spoke to Mia.

Alex: Give us a song that you haven’t said today. How about that? I’m sorry. I’ll behave. I’m wasting our time.

PC: You both have such great chemistry and it comes off on screen. Mia has this belief that we’re all here to make a difference in somebody else’s life. Who were the people who have impacted your journey as artists and storytellers?
Virginia: Great question. I’ll hit this out of the gate. My brother Chas has a disease called DEAF1. A big symptom of that is autism. He’s severely autistic and can’t speak. He needs help constantly. I think growing up with someone as challenged as my brother has given me a unique perspective on things. I’ve always found him and his challenges to be really inspiring—how he’s continued to go on and is so strong. I do think there’s a part of Mia that’s quite like that too. So I’d say for me as an artist and human being, my brother is always my biggest inspiration.

Alex: I think I should probably skip at this point. I’ll take it in another direction. Ginny’s answer is so beautiful, real, and raw. When it comes to people overcoming obstacles, I look at my parents a lot. My dad being an immigrant and all of that. But more so than that, I think of any David and Goliath story. At the end of the day, these are two David and Goliath stories with Kyle and Mia. These are two people taking on a seemingly impossible task and trying to overcome an impossible trial. I look at anybody who’s been able to do that, from Michael Jordan to my dad.

When it comes to overcoming an obstacle, the nuances of different ones, as you’ve said, can be worlds apart. Knowing what it takes and knowing there’s enough fight left to keep going is inspiring to see in any capacity.

PC: Virginia, something that this film does so brilliantly is it really embraces those subtle and quiet moments to drive home the emotions that these characters are feeling. What was it like collaborating with Joaquín [Llamas] and finding those moments where audiences can really sit and put themselves in the shoes of these characters?
Virginia: We had a pretty in-depth rehearsal process, both Alex and I, with the coach that he mentioned prior and then with Joaquín. The two of us sat down with Joaquín. We probably sat down every day for a week before we started filming. We didn’t over-rehearse it, but we talked through each moment. I’m always a big believer in cutting dialogue whenever you can. If you can say it with a look, say it with a look. Joaquín gave us the space to cut a lot of the dialogue and let us live in those quiet moments. Then once you get to the edit, the people who worked on our film really allowed those moments to stay in there and let them breathe. Every time you make a project it takes a village. It’s a piece of everybody that goes in there and helps create those moments beautifully.

PC: Alex, in addition to acting you’re also an acclaimed singer-songwriter. If you had to pick one of your own songs that best describes your character’s arc or his relationship with Mia, which would it be and why?
Alex: Acclaimed? You’re making me blush. I don’t know how to react to that. I don’t know who has acclaimed me, but I appreciate it. This is so hippy-dippy. I hate myself. I’m wearing a cardigan and I’m about to say this, but there’s a song off my album that dropped in 2020 during the pandemic called “Good Morning.” The concept of the song is that regardless of what’s going on in your life, whatever happened before, today is all we’ve got. Tomorrow may never come. So get up. Good morning. I think that applies to this story and life in general: that we can’t control what happens to us. So much happens to Kyle. So much happens to Mia. So much happens to me. So much happens to Ginny. So much happens to you. It’s so weird that I’m quoting myself, but the biggest line in the song is, “It might be the day when nothing’s right or it might be the best day of your entire life. You never know because they both start with good morning.” That to me is probably the song that I’d throw in there. It’s a lot easier said than done, but it is said in that song.

PC: Mia’s view on Venus changes throughout the film. Who or what is your Venus?
Virginia: Someone asked us that earlier. She thought she knew what mine was going to be because I’m a newlywed and I should have thought of my husband, but I thought of my dog. But my husband is a very close second.

Alex: Did you say Winston again?

Virginia: I did.

Alex: It’s not fair. I’m also probably going to say Winston at this point. He’s the cutest. If I don’t get to choose someone else’s dog, which I guess is understandable, I’m going to go with my family. I’m going to say the same answer. It never changes for me. It’s always the same. No matter what’s going on, I know I can always go there.

Make sure to follow Virginia (Instagram) and Alex (Twitter/Instagram). See You on Venus hits theaters on July 21.