Based on the American comic book series created by the My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way, the first season of “The Umbrella Academy” introduced the Hargreeves family, a group of estranged, adopted children with superpowers and hanging relationships.
With new season on the way, Bulletin Entertainment joined the interview with Tom Hopper, Robert Sheehan and David Castaneda about the characters they play on the show.
Tom plays Luther Hargreeves, an astronaut with super strength. He lived on the moon for four years on a mission from his father, Reginald. A serum injected into him turned his upper body into that of an ape’s.
The actor finds it interesting that he is big on the outside but feels small, timid inside.
"There are a lot of guys out there who are bodybuilders---you know these huge specimens of men---but internally they have insecurities," he said as analogy. "They're quite damaged. They've got bodies like that (but), you know, they are quite uncomfortable.”
Klaus is one of the most unhinged characters on the series and Robert, he just loves playing such a loose cannon.
Cult leader Klaus is a flamboyant drug addict who can communicate with the dead and temporarily make them corporeal.
"In the first season, Klaus found it difficult to get anybody to listen to him for justifiable reasons,” Robert said. “In the second series, he finds himself at the center of this global cult where everybody is hanging on every word he says. And the truth is, when he's on the line, he doesn't have words of wisdom or guidance to say. He just sort of speaks well-written lyrics…”
David is Diego, a rebellious troublemaker with the ability to curve the trajectory of anything he throws, mostly knives.
He usually plays it serious but there are times his goofiness comes out.
It that a hard transition, we asked.
"You know, there’s no difference,” he said. “Even the moments that I didn't even find to be funny, I was like, ‘Oh, people are laughing around me.’"
The other siblings are Ellen Page as Vanya, Emmy Lampman as Allison, Aidan Gallagher as Number Five, and Justin Min as Ben.
On October 1, 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth simultaneously, despite none of them showing any signs of pregnancy until labor began. Seven of the children were adopted by eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves, and turned into a superhero team in what he calls "The Umbrella Academy.”
What do they think happened to the other 36 children?
"Well, Luther ended up on the moon. So, you know, maybe a few of them are on Mars. We're on Pluto," Tom laughed.
Robert chimed in: "Or you know, one of them probably ended up working behind the fast food counter. Probably loads of them don't even know they have these abilities because they might have ended up in foster homes. Or they might have stayed with confused, baffled mothers and never really got to the bottom of whether or not they have abilities.”
He went on: "The only reason I think we know we have abilities---and this is the kind of bittersweet relationship with our father and the whole thing---is because he drilled us. He trained us hard to kind of explore and develop our special ability.
“But the others, they didn't get inducted into the academy so most of them probably don't even know."
"The Umbrella Academy" season two premieres on July 31.