In three episodes, Almost Human has established a great rapport and chemistry between leads Karl Urban and Michael Ealy, and according to co-stars Lili Taylor and Minka Kelly, that’s the way this first season is going to continue. They spoke with the media recently, and I asked them if working on a sci-fi show was different from other work they’ve done.
L. Taylor Well, for me it’s more interesting for me when it’s grounded in relationships. I’m a little Sci-Fi illiterate actually so I need to like educate myself on that for sure, but for me as an actor and so on if it’s not connected somewhere in the characters or in the relationship then the context doesn’t really resonate for me. And what I’m finding interesting about this is it is so grounded in the character—it feels character driven and so then the context becomes interesting to me because it has meaning, I guess, and it’s not just sort of props and cool gadgets and stuff like that or techno speak. You know it’s all sort of coming from some deeper place, and that’s why it’s working for me.
M. Kelly Exactly. I’m very new to the Sci-Fi world and also rather Sci-Fi illiterate, and so it’s a lot of work for me to really understand what is going on here because there is so much more going on than just the words on the page. And it is a challenge to make these words grounded and find the meaning to what’s going on and what I’m saying it and why I’m saying it, and it’s a lot more challenging acting wise than being in a conversation with someone and reacting to them and having an emotional sort of experience with another actor about a relationship, which is what I’m used to. And so, this is a whole new world for me, and it’s really exciting to dive in to this world and learn this whole new—exercise this whole new muscle, and it’s a real joy, and I’m having a lot of fun.
Taylor (Hemlock Grove, The Conjuring) went on to talk about how working in a future setting impacts her work:
L. Taylor You know in a way it’s great because it really lets the imagination go, and I think it’s the same thing with horror. For instance, like you know the thing that you can’t see is the audience is that which is really scary because your imagination is going on. Imagination is usually much stronger than the actual thing, and so in a way it’s like—and really an actor really it’s the imagination I think that is sort of one of the fuels for an actor, and so in a way it’s great because we can—I just find them a lot freer in attaching whatever I want and finding my own meaning with the thing because—and I also have a freedom because nobody can say, “Well, that’s not how it is,” because it hasn’t happened yet. So, you know, and even like for instance on a lighter note like I’m trying to use pencils as much as I can in the show or like any kind of objects that we are using presently today, and like I imagined someone saying, “I don’t think there’s going to be pencils in 2050.” How do you know? There might still be pencils. There might still be—so I feel like it’s an open playing field, and I really love it. It gives me a lot of freedom and permission.
The cast is one of the things that makes this show work so well, and Lili Taylor and Minka Kelly are both integral parts of the package. Taylor completely works as captain, a role initially envisioned for a man but one to which she brings many layers, and Kelly has a quiet intensity that reduces the ingenue factor nicely. I’m looking forward to seeing how the roles develop.
Here’s a TV spot for tonight’s new episode, “The Bends”:
TV Spot: Almost Human – 104 The Bends
Almost Human, starring Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Lili Taylor, Michael Irby, Minka Kelly, and Mackenzie Crook airs Mondays at 8/7c on Fox.
