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From Alan Tudyk to Linda Hamilton: All the sci-fi veterans who have appeared in SYFY's 'Resident Alien'
SYFY's breakout hit is a veritable who's who of genre talent.
In addition to just being an awesome TV show worthy of a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, SYFY’s Resident Alien also serves as a veritable who’s who of veteran sci-fi talent — from its leading man to recurring guest stars. With Season 2 winding down to a close (only four episodes remain), we thought it might be fun to take a look at all the notable genre vets who appear in the series. They’ve played robots and people who kill robots; plane crash survivors and hardened secret agents; small town police chiefs battling extra-terrestrial brain slugs and the significant others of superheroes. Cut yourself a generous slice of pie and let’s dive in!
Alan Tudyk (Harry Vanderspeigle)
If any actor can be accused of having serious range, it would be Alan Tudyk. The dude is, without question, wildly talented and could have an entire article written about his prolific career, which gained momentum via the part of Hoban "Wash" Washburne in Joss Whedon’s Firefly.
Like his fellow co-star, Nathan Fillion (more on him below), Tudyk exploded like a supernova of pure, unadulterated acting prowess. From I, Robot to Rogue One, the man knows a thing or two about bringing life and personality to sci-fi characters, especially the ones made of metal and circuit boards. Even more impressive is how he has become the official good luck charm of Disney Animation, voicing major and minor characters in essentially all of the studio's recent feature films like Wreck-It-Ralph and Big Hero 6.
Linda Hamilton (General McCallister)
There are precious few names that evoke the sci-fi genre more than the mention of Linda Hamilton. Her immortal turn as Sarah Connor — the mother of humanity’s savior who also turned out to be a total badass in her own right — will forever stand as one of the greatest characters ever put to film.
While Hamilton has traded killer androids for killer aliens, the Terminator principle remains the same. She brings a dependable intensity and irresistible wickedness to General McCallister. Yes, she’s a terrible person, but at the same time, you can’t help but admire her unabashed chutzpah. Now that she’s got her hands on an actual extra-terrestrial (the newly-hatched baby, which has taken the form of Bobby Smallwood), we think it’s safe to say that s*** is about to get real in the final four episodes of Season 2.
Terry O'Quinn (Peter Bach/The Alien Tracker)
The Alien Tracker is a man on a mission with a rather tragic backstory. Decades ago, aliens plucked an unborn child right out of his wife’s belly. Since then, he’s dedicated his life to finding out the truth of what sinister forces lurk amongst the stars. Bach will return in the remaining episodes of Season 2, summoned to Patience by a fellow kindred spirit, Deputy Liv Baker (Elizabeth Bowen). O’Quinn, whose career can be traced back to the early 1980s, is perhaps best-known for his regular turn as John Locke on Lost. He has also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, and the original Roswell — all of which make him perfectly suited for the hijinks of Resident Alien.
Nicola Correia-Damude (Detective Lena Torres)
Sheriff Mike Thompson (Corey Reynolds) meets his match in Torres, a homicide detective from the neighboring town of Jessup who doesn't take crap from anyone. Like the sheriff, she has police connections back East, and knows how to use them to their full advantage with regards to the death of a man associated with the Galvan/Powell Group. Until Season 2 of Resident Alien, however, fans probably knew Correia-Damude as Elena, the on-again-off-again girlfriend of Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) in Amazon's The Boys. You may recall that Elena returned in the last episode of Season 3, finally able to be with the woman she loves, now that the world believes Maeve to be dead.
Nathan Fillion (42)
The idea of casting Fillion as the voice of 42 (aka the talking octopus from the sushi restaurant Harry is eventually forced to consume with a nice bottle of white wine) was, according to showrunner Chris Sheridan, the idea of Alan Tudyk. After all, the two actors became household names by serving aboard the Serenity in the canceled-way-too-early Firefly and its feature-length film companion. Since that time, Fillion has gone on to appear in dozens of other sci-fi and genre projects like Slither, The Santa Clarita Diet, Rick and Morty, The Suicide Squad, as well as a number of animated DC films such as Justice League: Doom and Reign of the Supermen.
Enver Gjokaj (Joseph)
Admittedly, we don't know much about Joseph, one of the guards at the government black site where McCallister keeps suspected aliens. Thanks to Episode 11, however, it is confirmed that he is the mole in the General's organization and most likely a member of that other alien race planning to invade the Earth.
Gjokaj is no stranger to...well, strange occurrences, having worked alongside Peggy Carter as Daniel Sousa following the conclusion of World War II. He enjoyed the role of a series regular on Agent Carter across the show's two seasons and also reprised Sousa for a 10-episode guest spot on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The character was murdered after discovering that the agency had become infiltrated by HYDRA.
George Takei (The Gray leader)
Lt. Sulu himself showed up at the end of Season 2, Episode 13 ("Harry, a Parent") as the voice of The Grey leader who warns Harry to stop standing in the way of an impending invasion that will wipe out all life on Earth. One of the last surviving members of the original Star Trek cast, Takei has remained in the pop culture spotlight for close to six decades with roles in dozens of films and television shows. To try and list them all here would be an exercise in futility, but you can catch Mr. Takei in everything from Kim Possible to Heroes to Robot Chicken. He even wrote a graphic novel based on his own experience with America's shameful policy of Japanese internment during World War II.
New episodes of Resident Alien air on SYFY every Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern before hitting the SYFY app and Peacock the following day. Only four more episodes of Season 2 remain, but don't worry — the hit show has already been renewed for a third season!
