Resident Alien star Alex Barima uncovers more about David Logan

With the first crazy season of SyFy‘s Resident Alien hurtling toward its conclusion, Hidden Remote checked in with actor Alex Barima, aka Lieutenant David Logan, to get his thoughts on the show so far… and all of the madness that Logan has gotten himself into.

Check out our interview as Alex talks about Logan’s interesting dynamic with partner Lisa Casper, working with the legendary Linda Hamilton, and how Resident Alien‘s hijinks compare to the plot twists of his past shows like Riverdale and The Exorcist.

A new Resident Alien airs tonight on SyFy at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT—just two episodes left until the season finale!

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Hidden Remote: David, on paper, could just be another “government drone bad guy” type. What was it about him that you connected with or felt stood out?

Alex Barima: When I first read for the character, there were two scenes for the audition. One of them didn’t actually end up being in the show, but it was just the way that he was…He was just so involved in what was happening, and it was such a big deal to him. It was very easy to step into that crazy energy.

I’m trying to recall the other scene that I had to do—right now, it’s kind of slipping my mind—but I just remember him being very energetic and also clearly a pretty intelligent guy. I knew that it was a character that I could do a lot with right off the bat.

HR: The dynamic he has with Lisa is one of Resident Alien‘s most underrated parts. How do you characterize that relationship? Because it’s fun and also she’s kind of scary.

AB: The way [creator] Chris [Sheridan] writes is just so natural. Mandell [Maughan] and I, our dynamic in real life is almost the same—not that she wants to kill anyone, but she’s a very confident person. She likes to push things a little far and take things to the limit, especially with her humor. I’m always there to kind of bring her back a little bit. I play the straight man in our relationship as friends anyway, so it translates really easily onto the screen. It’s just a lot of fun every time we shoot a scene together. Most of our scenes, if not all of them, are together, so we’re always having a blast bringing those characters to life.

HR: And we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out your boss is played by Linda Hamilton. How much has having her play General McCallister influenced your performance?

AB: It’s the coolest. We were all very, very excited when we learned that that we landed her for the part of the General. There was a very, very electric energy the few weeks leading up to her actually coming onto the show. Me and Mandell got her all to ourselves, which was pretty cool. The minute she came on, all the nerves went away, because she is just the most down-to-earth, ready-to-work person ever. She truly is just all about loving: loving people, loving the job.

She just had a blast. She told us that she loved working on the show with us and that she was hoping that she could do a lot more. We were so lucky and so blessed to have her, because she truly is an inspiration. If you could see the way that everyone reacts when she’s there, she really changes the whole environment without even trying. Just her presence alone is enough to get people in a completely different mood, different mindset, so it was really cool to see.

HR: Resident Alien has been full of outlandish happenings. As you’re getting the scripts, has there been any moment that’s been particularly surprising, weird or fun for you?

AB: The whole show was full of surprises for all of us. I just remembered, The first thing that I read for the audition was the scene where Lisa kills that cowboy guy and I freak out. I remember seeing that, and I was like okay, this guy is very much like me. I have a reputation for panicking when things just get a little bit too hairy for me. That happens a lot in the show. There’s a lot of moments where…especially coming from Lisa, she’ll create a situation that’s, in [his] mind, needlessly dangerous, and David will just freak out.

It’s hard not to give too much away, especially now that we’re getting into the last episodes of the first season, but there is a scene in episode 9 that I can’t say too much about. That’s when things got very, very real, very fast for my character, and I was like, whoa. Okay. I guess we’re going there. I’m excited for you to see it.

HR: You’re no stranger to shows where weird things happen. You starred in The Exorcist season 2 and Riverdale is also known for strange plot twists. How does Resident Alien compare to the other roles you’ve done?

AB: It’s hard to compare them because every story is just so different, every character is so different, but I would say Resident Alien is probably the most fun I’ve had just in terms of a character that I can really sink my teeth in. I’ve said before that we don’t get to do a lot of comedy in Vancouver, so getting to work on a series full of hilarious people and then to have great comedic writing, that’s been an opportunity of a lifetime for me personally because I’m drawn to comedy naturally as an actor.

It’s been a new challenge. It was very intimidating a lot of the time, because with comedy, you never know what the best way to do something is. You never know what the best way to deliver the joke is. I would say that Resident Alien for me has been the standout role of my career so far, for sure.

HR: Are there other projects you’d recommend to Resident Alien fans to see more of your work?

AB: There’s a film that I did a few years back, an indie film, that premiered at TIFF back in 2017 called Adventures in Public School. That was also a really, really fun role for me in terms of getting to do, again, something that’s more comedic and getting to work on a feature film. I haven’t worked on too many feature films, especially films that have had such a high-profile release. I would definitely encourage people to go check that out. As far as TV goes, I think The Exorcist is a lot of fun.

HR: What other stuff does Alex Barima find fun? What do you geek out about the way that David does?

AB: Most people know this about me, but I’m a huge anime fan. I’m a One Piece superfan, pretty much. I keep up with One Piece as much as possible, especially when it comes to the actual manga and the TV show. My favorite TV series of all time is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I’m just always kind of immersed in anime, always trying to stay up to date with what’s hot, what’s new, but there’s so much of it that, honestly, as I get older, it’s harder and harder to keep up with. But that’s one thing I’ll always be a proud nerd about. If there’s any sort of way I can further that reputation, do anime trivia or whatever, I’m always, always up for it because I take it to heart.

Resident Alien airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on SyFy. The season 1 finale airs next Wednesday, March 31.