'Another Life' star Alex Ozerov took inspiration from Anton Yelchin’s ‘Star Trek’ character Pavel Chekov for Oliver Sokolov role
Netflix’s brand new sci-fi series ‘Another Life’, starring Katee Sackhoff (‘Battlestar Galactica’) in the lead role, follows the adventures of a team of astronauts who traverse the galaxy trying to find the source of a mysterious alien artifact that landed on Earth for purposes unknown. One of the members of that team is the young mechanic Oliver Sokolov, played by Russian-Canadian actor Alex Ozerov.
Ozerov’s character Oliver Sokolov is a Russian born aerospace engineer, onboard the Salvare. Although capable and technical, he’s very reserved, a stickler for rules and political correctness, but willing to take the opportunity to be different when it is given to him.
Speaking in an interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Ozerov said there is “an innocence of inexperience to him when it comes to relationships.” The young actor put a lot of effort into preparing for his role, even getting a new buzz cut hairstyle in order to get into character.
“It was important for me to find similarities and differences between myself and Oliver and at the same time bring my own vulnerability and authenticity into (the portrayal),” he said. “Buzzing my long hair for the role definitely helped me get a feel for who Oliver is from the outside. It’s such a drastic change that catapults you into character. I wanted to also educate myself on great sci-fi that I missed out on when I was younger like ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, ‘Solaris’ (1972) and the ‘Alien’ films. Otherwise, it was just a lot of research and daydreaming of what it might feel like to go on a mission like that in real life.”
Growing up in Ukraine and Canada, Ozerov felt the influence of multiple cultures that have molded him into the person he is today. “Moving around a lot as a kid forced me to quickly adapt to my environments,” Ozerov explained.
“Which is what acting is, adaptation, among many other things. I think I possess certain sensibilities that stem from the Russian culture, like passion and intensity which I’m still discovering and noticing as I’m growing older. I left Ukraine quite early. Being an immigrant gave me something to prove and fight for. I wanted to make my family back home proud of what I was doing. Also being inspired by other Russian actors that had an incredible career like Anton Yelchin, gave me the belief that it was possible for me as well. He’s a bit of a hero of mine. And when I got the role in this space adventure, it sorta came full circle for me, given that he’s Chekov on Star Trek,” he added.
Ozerov plays one of the main characters on the show, which boasts quite an impressive cast. “I couldn’t have asked for better teammates,” Ozerov said.
“We all got along great despite working in such close quarters, which may get on the nerves of some people. Everyone brought their own magic to the show and we all developed a really great camaraderie. Katee truly led by the example of professionalism with lightheartedness and made sure everyone was heard and comfortable on set. She also made a point for us to embrace our individuality and our differences, which is so freeing and a beautiful reminder to be ourselves since we can all be our own harshest critics. She’s also hilarious, down to earth and a total badass in real life. I feel so lucky to have worked with her,” he said.
“I have to also give love to our crew,” Ozerov added. “Showing up day after day with vigor, patience and creative excitement. My experience with the show wouldn’t be the same without them.”
In fact, he had such a great time working on the show that Ozerov feels nostalgic just thinking about it. “We all became really close and there was a sense of comfort with all the crew and cast. It’s the moments between shots, morning greetings, volleyball games during lunch, which all adds up to an unforgettable experience,” he said while talking about his favorite memory from his time on set.
"If I picked a single memory it would be when we were filming the moon scenes. It was one of the first days on set and everyone was there trying out the spacesuits and going in one after the other for the camera. And as the night progressed we all became delusional with exhaustion so much so that the whole experience transformed into a surreal dream.”
The show’s stars are hopeful ‘Another Life’ will be renewed for a second season soon, which could potentially introduce a host of new characters.
The entire first season of ‘Another Life’ is currently available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.