'Another Life' set's detailed craftsmanship felt like real spaceship says Beauchamp McCarry actor Greg Hovanessian
Netflix is yet to confirm whether their brand-new sci-fi series ‘Another Life’ will get to return for a second season but the show’s stars can’t wait to return to the set. Speaking in an interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Greg Hovanessian, who appears on the show as Beauchamp McCarry, second-in-command to Katee Sackhoff’s Commander Niko Breckinridge, dropped some hints about how his character will evolve over the next season.
“I am anxious to see if Another Life gets picked up for season 2,” Hovanessian said. “How thick is Beauchamp’s back-story? Will he get the opportunity to reunite with the ones he loves again? Will Beauchamp make some rash decisions or follow his desires down an adulterous path? How does his moral code change under the umbrella of life or death stakes? Another Life’s unpredictability and boldness have got me curious and excited and we’ll all have to wait and see what’s to come.”
You could almost say Hovanessian has been preparing for this role since he was a child. The actor credits his father with having inculcated a love for sci-fi in him quite early in his childhood. “My dad was a big fan of the original Star Trek series,” he reminisced.
“When I was a young lad it was always on the TV screen. I reckon this had something to do with my activeness in watching a lot of sci-fi growing up. Although Another Life is unique in its own [way], that young visual foundation of mine in correlation to sci-fi and space odysseys helped a lot in just depicting and predicting the general tone. Furthermore, Beauchamp is a character with high intelligence. There was a significant repertoire of sophisticated words in his dialogue. This involved a bit of research, looking up words I didn’t understand. A lot of practice went into articulation as well so the words came out crisp. I am naturally a heavy researcher and I find theories and phenomenons of Space to be very fascinating. That curiosity helps in the prep and makes it enjoyable. So in other words, my nerdy-side lines up with Beauchamp's character,” he said.
“However, much of my character developments evolved once I was submerged in the project,” Hovanessian added. “I had little knowledge entering the project where my character fit into the story and what his purpose was.”
The young Canadian actor may have come to the project a little disoriented but he soon found his space legs. Hovanessian has nothing but love for his castmates, the directors, and the set designers and credits them with having helped him better his performance.
“First off, I want to mention how amazing the set was,” he said. “The craftsmanship that went into each partition was incredible and it really brought that feeling of truly being in a spaceship. Coming into the project later in the season I felt a bit unhinged not knowing the tone of the show, the creative approach, the environment, where Beauchamp fit into the story, etc. I was immediately put to ease by the cast's warmth, humor, and energies."
"There was lots of laughter, hilarious shared stories, shared knowledge, depth, care, everyone was so open, authentic and diverse coming from all parts of the world," he added.
"They were all authentic and each relationship was unique on its own. Working with them set my bar higher as an actor with their presence, reliability, and professionalism. When the directors threw direction at the cast you just knew they would produce, and the casts malleability always resulted in something a little extra. They all had their characters dialed in, which allowed the lines to flow with such substance. It gave me a lot to work with and bounce off. A really strong cast like that renders the experience extremely valuable. I found myself watching the monitors whenever I could to witness their crispness and artistic freedom,” Hovanessian said.
All 10 episodes of ‘Another Life’ Season 1 are now available for streaming on Netflix.