Katee Sackhoff & Alan Tudyk on What Resident Alien Can “Pull Off” Better Than Other Shows

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2014’s film “Tell” saw the reunion of actress Katee Sackhoff and actor Alan Tudyk, who had previously acted together, on screen. Known for their roles in “Battlestar Galactica” and SYFY Original series, respectively, they currently star as Katee Sackhoff in “Battlestar Galactica” and Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle in “Resident Alien.” This week, they reunited on her podcast, titled “The Sackhoff Show.

During their approximately 90-minute conversation, Sackhoff and Tudyk talked about his extensive portfolio of roles in genres and voice acting, which includes his recent Emmy nomination for reprising the character K-2SO in Andor, as well as his ongoing four-season run leading Resident Alien.

In a charming turn of events, Tudyk shared that his role as an alien allows him quite a bit of fun and extraordinary experiences, which often involve some rather unconventional actions, as he interacts with the humans residing in Patience, Colorado, and their tumultuous feelings on a weekly basis.

Sackhoff inquired about the limitations of Tudyk’s comedic range while playing Harry in the series, to which he replied: “Anytime I come up with ideas for a scene…the objection can’t be ‘He can’t do that…; because he is an alien. I appreciate things that are both humorous and tragic, and those are my preferred elements to work with. It’s quite challenging to strike the right balance between them.

Alan Tudyk on the alchemy of Resident Alien and the freedom to be “dumb”

Inquired about the balance between humor and seriousness in the show “Resident Alien”, Tudyk explained that this collaboration was achieved alongside the series’ creator, Chris Sheridan.

The actor pointed out that many attempts at it fall short because they either become too absurd or overly serious, losing their humor in the process. He emphasized that the success of these scenes relies heavily on the quality of the writing. In this project, he has more control over the script than in previous roles.

He mentioned that his discussions with the writing crew would be thoroughly addressed, and he was fortunate enough to pen some episodes for the series. The universe created by Chris Sheridan seems to effortlessly accommodate it, I can’t quite figure out how he managed that! Furthermore, I don’t have to handle heavy, serious scenes on my own; that’s what the other actors are here for.

When questioned about some of his preferred moments, Tudyk replied, chuckling: “It’s just so silly and senseless. They even allowed me to add in things that don’t seem to fit logic.

He referenced an Episode from Season 3 that starred improvisation specialist Edi Patterson, who portrayed Harry’s recurring love interest, Heather, in the form of a Blue Avian character.

Harry once possessed a hat crafted from a material so robust on its origin planet that tearing it was impossible. Intrigued, I asked if they could create a jingle for it. Surprisingly, despite their language being different, they agreed to let us do it, he chuckled.

In addition, Tudyk shared that he enjoyed composing a poem on the topic of Heather’s “waste disposal system” and genitalia, which was included in the final version of the show. Furthermore, there was an episode where he encouraged Patterson to spit out birdseed into his mouth.

He shared with Sackhoff about an unusual moment, saying, “When she spat into my mouth, I burst out laughing.” This was a rare instance for him, he continued, explaining, “I usually don’t break, but when I saw the blooper, it was hilarious. The joy I felt was overwhelming; I felt like I was on drugs. I was dizzy because it seemed so absurd to me. It was a moment of pure joy because such opportunities are scarce, if not nonexistent. And they were capturing it for television. It was exhilarating.

How to watch Resident Alien

Fresh installments of the series Resident Alien will debut on both USA Network and SYFY every Friday at a new time: 10 p.m. Eastern Time. A week following their broadcast, you can stream each episode on Peacock. The first three seasons are readily available for viewing here!

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2025-07-16 17:31