Alexander Siddig returns to the sci-fi genre in Skylines

Alexander Siddig previews his role in Skylines.

Skylines is the final film in the Skyline trilogy, and the franchise is going out with a bang. The movie features Alexander Siddig as General Radford, while humanity mounts its final attempt to fight off the invading aliens, and it’s right in his wheelhouse.

Alexander has appeared in several beloved sci-fi, fantasy and comic properties, including his portrayal of Ra’s al Ghul in Gotham, Doran Martell in Game of Thrones, and of course, playing Dr. Julian Bashir in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So what was it about Skylines that made him want to embark on another science fiction adventure?

Hidden Remote asked him that question and more as we previewed Skylines and learned how this last installment came together. You can now watch the film on demand as well as in select drive-ins and movie theaters near you.

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Hidden Remote: You know the sci-fi genre very well, so what made Skylines stand out to you and made you want to be a part of the film?

Alexander Siddig: There’s a little authenticity about it and an unfussy honesty that said hey, we’re going to go on a trip. It’s going to be fun.

We’re not going to throw anything at you that you can’t handle, and it’s not going to be a social preachy thing. Do you want to come along for the ride? It is absolutely the kind of movie I’d like to see right now—barenaked fun—and I hope it to be that way.

HR: When you have that existing familiarity with a genre, does that help you when you start a new film like Skylines and give you a bit of a comfort zone?

AS: Every film is different, but your first instinct is actually right, it’s [a] complete comfort zone. I like to say it’s like my room in my mom’s house. Which, even though I left years ago, I go back and the posters are still up, every book I had is still on the shelf, all my games and stuff are still under the bed; it’s my comfort zone.

When I go out and do more difficult films, it’s really relaxing to come back and go hey, I’m going to go and do this. The fans probably know me and I know them, and this is material I understand and have done before. I really enjoy it for that reason. It’s relaxing but hard work—really hard work.

HR: Skylines takes place five years after its predecessor Beyond Skyline, and your character Radford wasn’t in that movie. So how much did you have to catch up on or were you able to get familiar with before filming?

AS: Lindsey [Morgan, who plays Rose] was really generous, because they had this stranger coming in. I didn’t do any research at all; I did what was in the script. I just inhabited the character that I saw in the script and went, I’m doing that. I’m not going to get into the other movies and try and tie my psychological self into it.

And because of that generosity and because of that kind of help, they just said look, go and enjoy. You’ve been around the block in this business; just go and have some fun. And that’s exactly what I did.

HR: You get the role of the high-ranking sort of leader type, who often in sci-fi movies doesn’t have a ton of character development. How did you give Radford some real personality to make him come alive?

AS: I have played a few characters in a similar vein. I was thinking of the movie Doomsday, where I played the Prime Minister who was kind of autocratic. Neil Marshall and [Skylines director] Liam [O’Donnell] have very similar styles in terms of how they make their films. I’d been swimming in this water before; it was familiar.

The thing you can’t do is oversell your hand with a film like this. Because it’s so busy by itself, it’s doing all the work. If the actor starts punching out, you notice them and it’s unpleasant. You just want them to be as real as possible, in the environment in which they’re in—which is pretty crazy, but it’s still the environment in which they’re in.

That was my job. I knew that’s what I had to do, to perform a function in the script, so that the whole movie was better as a whole. And Liam, thank goodness—because I didn’t know how good a director he was, that was a total leap of faith. I hadn’t seen anything he’d ever done and I just went okay, this is go. You seem like a nice guy. (laughs)

HR: What’s your favorite part of Skylines, whether you’re in it or not? What do you love about the movie as a fan?

AS: I have a favorite actor who I don’t think I’ve ever noticed before, and I suspect she’s probably very underrated, and that is Lindsey Morgan…My God, she was really good. It was really hard to do what she did, and that is to be an action hero, and to be charming and attractive, and all the things that are required of an actor when you’re lead. Even Angelina Jolie couldn’t quite pull both of those off when she played Tomb Raider the first time round.

It’s kind of difficult to do, to be a steely b—h, if you’ll excuse the expression, and to be charming and delightful at the same time…If she wants to have a career in this sort of genre, as an action star, she has all the equipment, and I hope she goes all the way.

HR: You’ve been in quite a few underrated projects yourself over your career. Once people have seen Skylines, what’s another Alexander Siddig project they should watch?

AS: There was a movie I made quite a long time ago, maybe a decade now, called Cairo Time. If anyone wanted to see a beautiful film, an old-fashioned style film—like this film is actually, but in a different way—it’s called Cairo Time. I did it with Patricia Clarkson, and oh my God, I loved that film.

We need a lot more love and fun in life. We’ve been through a pretty hard time, all of us. I don’t care who you are, but everybody’s feeling it right now. We all want to forget this year and you’ve got to be kind to yourself, treat yourself. And one of the ways to treat yourself is to give up an hour and a half out of your life and watch a movie like this, or another movie that you really enjoy. Watch something you’ve seen many times—Trading Places, It’s a Wonderful Life, Wizard of Oz, it doesn’t matter, but let us entertain you and relax.

Skylines is now available in select movie theaters/drive-ins and on-demand.