Netflix's
The Umbrella Academy has taken off with an extraordinary first season, filled with plenty of weirdness and coupled by a rad soundtrack. The show, which is an adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's Dark Horse comic with the same title, has an impressive cast with obvious chemistry.
Aidan Gallagher is the actor who plays Number Five, the *SPOILER* 58-year old man in a teenager's body. Fans of the comic run have been raving about his performance, and many people have even been fancasting him as Damien Wayne.
Now, thanks to an interview Gallagher had with Collider, we have word on what his experience was like playing such a complex character and more. Although a spoiler tag has already been used, know that there will be others throughout his comments.
First, he talks about how he has been a fan of the comics even before he auditioned for the role.
I had been a fan of the graphic novels, previous to the audition for the show, so I was a fan, going in. For me, I would be interested in the project, regardless of knowing it prior to the show, as it’s a very unique character and world that Gerard [Way] and Gabriel [Bá] have created. That was a big selling point for the cast. I grew up a fan of comics and hanging out in local comic book stores, talking to the store manager and seeing what their favorites are. I got turned onto these two graphic novels, and it was unlike anything that I had read before, so I was instantly hooked. You can imagine how excited I was, when I realized I would get to audition.
Imagine the reaction the store manager at that comic shop must have had, seeing him cast? So, being a fan of the trades, what steps did the actor take to portray his character best?
I wanted to do justice to the graphic novels, so one of the first things that I looked at was his posture. Gabriel’s drawings are very immersive, as far as the characters and the world goes, so I wanted to make sure that I got his posture right, the way he interacted with different elements. His mentality developed with the writing, as I acted in later episodes in the series. As an actor, it’s very important to have good writing, so that I can help build the series, and lucky for us, this show has incredible writing. So, as far as getting the vocabulary of Number Five correct, that was a big help. One of the things that interested me about Five was the trauma that was contributed via the apocalypse. I wanted to make sure that I got his PTSD correct. There’s a lot of interesting stuff that happens in the apocalypse. too. The 58-year-old thing was always an interesting dynamic to play with the siblings. But he’s still a person, so although you have the experience that comes with a few more decades of life, the writing took care of a lot of that. I took care of more of the human aspect of Five.
The question on everyone's mind right now is whether or not there will be a season 2.
We all have our own little feelings about it, but we really know that much. (Showrunner) Steve [Blackman] is really the brains behind this whole operation. I hope there’s a Season 2. I’m sure there will be a Season 2, and I’m sure he’s got it all figured out. I really trust him. Going into the series, especially as a fan, I was a bit concerned that we’d get the regular superhero adaptation treatment, where you see certain elements that were your favorite aspects of the characters are lost in the adaptation from page to screen. But I am very, very happy and excited for the fans to see how Steve has been able to capture these graphic novels, and yet, at the same time, he’s expanded upon them to better translate them to a larger, more mainstream audience. So, for me, I have absolute trust in Steve’s vision.
It's obvious that Gallagher is as happy with the turn out of
The Umbrella Academy as we are. What do you think of his comments, and who is your favorite of the siblings? Let us know in the comments below!
The Umbrella Academy revolves around a dysfunctional family of adopted sibling superheroes who reunite to solve the mystery of their father's death, and the oncoming threat of the apocalypse.
The Umbrella Academy is available to stream now on Netflix.