Alan Tudyk on How Harry Losing His Powers Changes Season 4: "It Leads to a Lot..."
Harry becoming a full-blown human comes as quite a nasty shock to Patience's extra-terrestrial visitor.
This story contains spoilers for Resident Alien Season 4, Episode 1, "Prisoners."
What is Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk) without his mighty alien powers? We're about to find out the answer as Season 4 of Resident Alien progresses in the coming weeks on USA Network and SYFY.
After successfully escaping his prison cell on the Greys' lunar base with a little help from Bruce (a Grey desperate to visit the Earth), a bearded Harry returns to Patience, only to find that a shape-shifting, head-munching Mantid has brazenly stolen his identity. He's ready to throw down with the insect interloper, but there's just one problem. His alien powers — i.e., super strength, vast cosmic intellect, and the ability to transform — are completely gone, presumably the result of some nefarious implant from the Greys.
As a result, the Mantid wearing Harry's skin escapes, free to bite off more delicious human noggins.
Alan Tudyk on Harry losing his powers in Resident Alien Season 4
"It becomes a lot of what Harry is dealing with this season because he doesn’t have [his powers]," Tudyk told USA Insider over Zoom ahead of the season premiere. "It’s who he was. To him, they weren’t powers so much as it was just him. And now he’s unable to do what he was accustomed to doing.
"It’s almost like an injury, [where] he’s no longer at full capacity," he continued. "He feels diminished and is trying to figure out who he is now. He’s struggled a lot in the series [with] the amount of human he is becoming. It’s been creeping in since Season 1, and now, he’s full human. If we had action figures, that’s what it would say on the box, 'Full Human Harry! He doesn’t have Stretch Arm Grip! He can’t jump long distances!' So he’s dealing with that, and as a dramatic former alien, it leads to a lot."
And while we're on the topic of dramatic alien performances, the Mantid posing as Harry is as flamboyant as they come, smoking an endless chain of cigarettes, walking the streets of Patience with a Saturday Night Fever-like pep in his step, and unsuccessfully passing himself off as an irresistible lothario.
Unfortunately, it's no weirder than the regular Harry's behavior, so no one in town — with the exception of Max Hawthorne (Judah Prehn) — really sees the phony for who he really is.
"He’s not trying to fit in too well," Tudyk said with a laugh. "He can mimic Harry in moments where he feels like he’s getting exposed, but other than that, he smokes cigarettes, he’s very much a sexual being. He has ideas and designs on this, shall I say, virgin planet available to him. He’s got a groove. Mantid Harry has a groove."
Series creator, showrunner, and executive producer Chris Sheridan revealed that Tudyk was key in designing this Mantid version of Harry.
"[The Mantid's] not great at the beginning of the season [when it comes to] sliding into Harry," Sheridan said. "He acts differently. Obviously, it’s very funny and I think there’s a cockiness about him. He knows he can just smoke and [thinks], 'Who gives a sh** with these people? They’ll think I’m him anyway.' Alan played it really well, and he [also] directed the first two episodes, which was a great entry into this season."
New episodes of Resident Alien premiere on USA Network and SYFY every Friday night. All Season 4 installments will be available to stream exclusively on Peacock one week after they air.
