Alan Tudyk on the Legacy of Resident Alien and His Potential Future in the DC Universe

Alan Tyduk is no stranger to San Diego Comic Con he recounted to us that he had previously taken the stage to introduce an indie project that he had previously worked on at one of Comic Con’s famous main stages in years past. When we caught up with Alan at Comic Con it was to interview the actor about his hit show “Resident Alien”, catching up with the actor after saying farewell to his beloved show with a room full of just as disappointed fans was an experience for the actor as he had recalled in our interview. After getting past the conversation of the disappointment of his canceled show and a conversation about the state of the industry and how it might have contributed to that, we got a chance to ask the actor a few questions about his part in upcoming DC Studios projects. 

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When we asked Alan about being apart of the one of two DCU projects, the one in question being the smash hit Superman. According to industry reports the film is now the highest grossing film staring the Man of Steel of all time. The film has beat the box office for the original Superman the Movie staring Christopher Reeve as well as Man of Steel starring fan favorite Superman Henry Cavill. Alan answred with joy when recalled his experience on set of the latest Superman film Alan is the voice behind number four in James Gunn Superman. Telling us about his time on the set, “ It was great, I got to go to (Atlanta) , we shot that in Atlanta, they built….his Fortress of Solitude, it was a practical set, and so I just hung out with Superman for about a month, in… the Fortress of Solitude” These are the sort of reports that come out of James Gunn’s superhero sets wether he is working with characters from Warner Brothers studios or Walt Disney Studios, superhero sets where there are more relaxed environments compared to other big superhero genre projects that are run at such a fast paced. As Alan described a set that he was hanging out with Superman, as set that is in fact practically built, the type of set that is expected from a James Gunn movie project, that herald back to his days as a young indie film maker. 

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When asked about more details of his number four character, and whether or not he ad libbed his request for a name from Superman at the end of the film, Alan answered with a big smile on his face, “I did… I was like why am I Four?”. Alan proceeded to explain number four’s origin story, “ and it’s a funny reason why he’s 4, it’s that Superman was making robots,the first one was kind of bad so he perfected it into a 2…still not so good and it wasn’t till 4 that he’s like…this is a leader…this is the one.” Within the span of a few sentences Alan was able to share so much insight into his character’s origin story and set experience than has been explored from Alan’s personal friend and director James Gunn or Superman himself David Corenswet. Hearing directly from Alan this great insight into his character shows how Alan hasgreat care for his craft no matter what “alien” character he is inhabiting.  

Alan went onto ultimately answer the question about his given name Gary. “But I was like, I really would like a name and… David – Superman – Corenswet was like yeah, you should totally have a name. And I said, What about Gary?. And James (Gunn) was like, I don’t know. Ok I guess Let’s shoot it. And we shot it and… I thanked him at the premiere,” Alans reveals here about the simply process in which he came to the name Gary for his Superman character reminds us how much ad libbing is apart of Alan’s acting process and how when working with a director as open to this sort of process like James Gunn, it can do wonders for the story being told. With a director and studio head like James Gunn leading this important project and familiar with the talent of Alan as well as his usual payoffs with audiences it’s no wonder that James kept his ad libs in the film. 

Alan went on to share concerning this process working with James Gunn that Gunn told him “You wouldn’t believe how many meetings we had about that name,we went back and forth and back and forth about whether or not that was a good time for a joke…. should be just all heart at the end.” This wrestling that James Gunn as a director had to do with himself and in meetings with his team and with the studio really speaks to James Gunn trust in his cast with how they bring comic book characters to life. With these two comic book movie veterans working together so well its no wonder what he recalled to us James final decision was concerning the Gary line.

“Luckily they put it in because I think it was a heartfelt joke. It was about him wanting to…you know, he loves that robot, it’s one of the reasons why the robot’s so likable.. it’s because Superman loves him. ” The thought and insight that Alan put into this character with less than ten minutes of screen time shows how much he is already contributing to this new DCU, in ways many can’t imagine. He ended his thoughts on his character of Gary, by recognizing the bond he has with Superman, “He (Superman) cares about him, so we care about him as an audience.” Alan collaborated well with his director and leading man to showcase the fondness  that Superman has for those on “his team”. With Alan’s choice to highlight the love and respect Superman has for his robots with a simply character moment and working on this with both leading actor and director, it sure seems promising that this friendship with Gary and Superman has only just begun in this Superman film. 

Alan is poised to return to the DCU sooner than later with his other voice role, this time on the small screen in Creature Commandos, the original DCU streaming on Max. The animated show which when announced by James Gunn as the kick off to the DCU premiered last year it was a welcome surprise to fans who seemingly quickly fell in love with the show’s characters despite their unfamiliarity to general audiences. When we asked Alan about the future of his fan favorite character Dr. Phorpopous coming back to the DCU and whether or not he would be willing to play a live action version, he shared with us “… I would love to play Dr. Phorpopous in a live action…we are going to do a season two…animated for HBO Max.” So with the willingness to play this live action character in a live action DCU project and the return of his character in a season two of the hit show, it seems that Alan is here to stay in the DCU, with not just one but two character portrayals.

Alan continued to share with us about a potential live action Dr. Phorpopous portrayal with “ I would definitely do that, I would love to, he’s a great villain” With his great understanding of his dual roles in the DCU and the exploration he has taken with these characters and that he is willing to continue to take, one can’t help but think of Alan as a secret weapon for the new DCU. James Gunn has brought an actor into the universe that knows what to do and how to do it well. The DCU is better and will continue to be with Alan Tyduk around to play in James Gunn’s new playground. We can hope for more of Gary or of the glowing green Doctor, only time will tell if Alan will be able to ad lib, add more to his characters portrayal and continue to entertain us in this new world of “Gods and Monsters”. The world will just have to wait patiently for more Alan Tyduk in the exciting future of the DCU.