Recently I spoke with Actor Cas Anvar ahead of his appearance at Wondercon 2018 about what fans can expect from the upcoming third season of The Expanse which airs on SyFy.
What can we expect from your character this season and how would you say he has changed from seasons one and two?
Alex has grown a lot in the past 2 seasons…from a withdrawn and private insecure transport pilot into a strong-willed and skilled warrior, a fighter pilot, and the heart and soul of the ROCI crew. He’s like the big brother or Uncle Alex to the team. Keeping them together when forces from every direction try to break them apart.
How would you describe the pace and tone of this year compared to the two prior seasons?
Year 1 was a mystery …slowly unfolding the team was discovering each other and figuring themselves out.
Year 2 we identified our enemy and attempted to clear our names bonded as a team and did a lot of personal development and growth as individuals and as a group.
Year 3 we have to deal with betrayal but we are now a well-honed fighting force we operate as a unit and we are going to war on a scale of 1 -10 s3 is an 11
How has working with the newer cast members gone with them having a year on the show already?
All our new members are exceptional .the casting of this show has been impeccable…they love the show and fit right in. everyone working on this show is proud as hell of what we do… we welcome them and the work speaks for itself.in all honesty I’m always amazed of the caliber of talent we get joining us ..Because many of them I have been a fan of for my entire career so being able to work with them is a huge honor and thrill
From the trailers it looks like a darker and more action focused season than we have seen before. Have you had to do more physical and FX work than in seasons past?
Lets just say…Alex gets put thru the ringer physically and emotionally. you are going to be wincing in some places.
With the ever changing character dynamics, how has working with your original cast been this year seeing how conflict is growing amongst them and loyalties are in a state of flux?
It’s wonderful. we love each other and have really grown close and know how we all think. it’s a wonderful experience as actors to not be allowed to get too comfortable with evolving relationships in the story. It’s a very exciting and unique experience to constantly be fighting to save our relationships as well as our lives ..it makes for great story telling and great tv. you never know when your gonna lose someone.
How do you and the cast relax and prepare on set between scenes as it must be at times draining with the intensity some of the scenes require.
We all have our own things
Wes and Steven love to read .like a lot. Steven devours entire librairies during a season
I play video games…lol… and Dom likes to stand up and dance spontaneously and goof around .Hahah…
then theres also the heated philosophical political and moral debates we all get into while waiting to shoot.those are always fun.
but honestly wearing those space suits and helmets are so brutally exhausting we often just sit there and space out and rest like zombies.
Have you changed your approach to your character or the way you prepared for this season?
The heart of our prep is in our rehearsal. the 4 of us all get together every Sunday and rehearse each ep for hours. we started this work ethic in s1 and have continued it religiously. we love it and it shows on screen
I have been able to speak with you and the cast at San Diego Comic Con the last two years. Do you find it more or less daunting now to attend shows such as this knowing how much the fandom around the show keeps growing?
Nawwwwww bring it! We love our fans…seriously they are amazing…they know the show so well and are so passionate aboUt their love for the characters and want to know whats going to happen.
The more the better bring it!
Has the scale of the production changed at all this season in terms of budget, sets, etc.?
From what I can tell it’s getting smaller in some ways and bigger in others…season 1 had a ton of real sets. We blew up 5 ships in the first 6 eps of s1 lol
This year there’s a lot of new worlds to deal with…mars gets spotlighted and a lot more of earth, so we went lighter on some sides and heavier on others
Going forward, how would you like to see your character change or evolve as the show moves on?
I love the arcs they are giving Alex. They put him thru things I would never have thought of. His guilt over losing the Eros victims… his family. His past with the MCRN. I love his evolution form bus driver to lethal fighter pilot and from introvert to family watch dog. I think there’s room to discover Alex’s dark side… his past…his mistakes. and what happens when u push a calm gentle and patient man too far. That is an interesting journey for me to wonder about…
Any standout moments from filming you want to share?
The action scenes in s3 are outstanding…I get goosebumps every time we get to see little snips of the finished product. But the emotional arcs of all of us this year are gut- wrenching. I can’t wait to see what y’all think. Buckle up people.!!
