Apple TV+’s Invasion season 3: Interview with cast-member Erika Alexander

Your character, Verna Mae Potter, is one with many layers, not cut and dry. Was it difficult striking that balance in your performance?

Yes, it was because we filmed out of order when we started. I just knew where she was going because Simon (Kinberg, showrunner) told me. But also trying to keep all of that in your head and not overplay your hand. And also, the fear that you weren't doing, you weren't building enough, quick enough or fast enough. A differentiation between Marylin and Verna you mentioned was tough, but you know, you just have to let some of those things go and do the best you can with whatever's in front of you and that's what I try to do. 

We've come to learn she’s essentially a cult leader of Infinitas, followers enchanted by hopeful belief that their loved ones are secure in the Aliens’ presence. You have them at your will, malleable, to carry out your wishes in hopes of reuniting with them. Off camera, did you maintain any of that commanding energy with co-stars like India or Golshifteh?

I did. And the reason I had to, and it made sense, was because Gol (Golshifteh Farahani, ‘Aneesha Evans’)is a very strong personality. And she's a very giving, beautiful young woman who lives out loud and so she kind of demands authenticity in order to engage. We became very good friends because when you can meet somebody head on, it means that you can also then relax. And that's what happened. You meet them so they understand that you're there and that you came to play, but then also after that you cool, because they get to feel you out, and we're feeling each other out. Very early on, she said, “you know, Erika, I could tell when we first acted with each other that you were there”. Now that's interesting, because I'm thinking, what does she mean by that? But I think she's just giving me a great compliment, to say “I have someone to play with, and I can relax so I don't have to be worried that I have to do any heavy lifting here. She's going to do her part”. 

And I'm thinking, “you damn right! I'm trying to do everything I can to tell you that”, so
I'm getting also a collaborator in you. And because I need help, I need her help, she's going to lead me. And she was very generous. They all were. They were brilliant. 

You certainly have complimented a few strong ensemble casts before. You were new to this series, where some actors had prior seasons to get comfortable, and form working dynamics with the directors and writers This season, all the storylines are converging, characters are finally crossing paths. What were any challenges coming in at this stage of production, knowing that others had been there before?

It's always difficult coming into a show that's already ongoing. But again, the feeling is that Simon, when he invited me to do the role, knew that I was already coming with some of the characteristics the character needed. So, I didn't need to become someone else. I needed to just relax into who I already was and then learn about the character as I went. Like I said, the problem, shooting out of order was just off the chain. 

It's a big production when they're moving huge amounts of background players and equipment, and it's raining, and we're not shooting for hours because we're waiting for the rain. You don't want to be that one person who's not ready, whether it's with knowing your lines or understanding the emotionality you need being available to the director who’s planning and prepping several things.

At the same time, also letting your guard down and saying, “it is what it is”. I can't do anything more than what I can do right this moment. So, you know, they can eat me. So, I'm just going to, you know, let it go and let God. And that's what I tried to do. You want to impress, and yet, you don't need to be impressive. You just need to be present. 

Was there any advice or suggestions Simon offered in regard to establishing Verna's fresh yet formidable presence amongst the more settled characters, some who have weathered the story’s storm so to speak?

He had a couple. We had one long conversation because my concern at first, when I was offered the role, I didn't see much on the page to give me any sort of… I needed more information of what she was going to go through. I was wondering, “do you really need me or is there another actress that should take on this role?” And he got on the phone and not only laid out what the character was about but laid out the storyline and what was coming up. 

Also, he said something that made me relax. He said “I love to work with actors. I have no problem rewriting. You know, after talking to you, it was like he the ego. There was no ego. There was sort of just like, you know, you can tell me the truth and I'm not going to punish you for it. I'm not going to make you feel like you don't have a collaborator”. Frankly, that's all I need to hear. We didn't talk after that point. I just went in and did the gig because he knew how I felt and more importantly, I understood where he was going. My job is to remove my own ambitions as a performer, and to become the character. And the character right there is laid to waste very early on. She is more or less spiritually devoid of the thing that anchored her, which was her sister and her place in the world. So, me not knowing was perfect. I could play Verna in truth, in authenticity.

Like many characters that dwell in the realm of destructive or harmful deeds to others, like you said, their motivation grows from a place of pain. They act with intention seen as just to them. Reeling from the loss of her sister, do you feel Verna was just or right?

I do. I do believe that because I don't think she understood. I don't think she meant harm, I think she believes in immortality, and for immortality you have to sacrifice something. And if you have to sacrifice the idea of yourself in this world, to gain everything on the other side, which would be a reuniting with her sister, reuniting with a sense of her own self. She's doing it because she's trying to heal.  And there is that Langston Hughessaying, “what happens to a dream deferred?” And for her, it doesn't necessarily blossom into something that people might understand as being, I don't know, not harmful. It's a little bit more poison, but I don't think that she's willing to take the poison for the other side. That, to me, takes a lot of courage, a lot of vision and strength. 

I don't know if we'll ever come to that in this world, where people decide that something on the other side of what we know is better, but it could. And we should all be open to different dimensions. Death is not all for most people. We see it as an evil, like you must avoid death at all costs. And she's like, “no, our death is a new life”. But we don't we teach that a lot in religion.

Before shooting began, were you aware of the major impact your role possessed on the tone and trajectory of the story? Did that carry any extra pressure or was it business as usual?

I did know, so it wasn't business as usual. I knew exactly. Simon didn’t play around or mince words. I also knew that he had established the show with powerful leads of color, and women. And, he's a man that understands the diversity and inclusion, and that meant that he was going to create that kind of theater in that arena, in this world. So, him adding me was actually quite flattering. 

It's a strong ensemble cast, male and female, and also different ages. India (Brown, ‘Jamila’) is amazingly talented. And so is the young man who played Caspar (Billy Barratt) seasons before. And then you have Zaza, Shane Zaza (‘Nikhil Kapur’). I think it's good for people to tell you what you're taking on, but not to be afraid of it. My whole life prepared me to play roles. I just have to remember that it's OK to not know, and you can make mistakes, and they can't eat me. I'll be alright man.

Were there any other roles you’d played in the past that you were able to pull from, that you found had similarities with Verna?

Yeah, many of my roles. I’ve played a lot of strong women. But I think that one of my skills, if anything, is playing a strong woman who is vulnerable, who understands that she's mortal, that she hurts, to have strength is to be. It’s to know pain. So, yes, I think so. If I looked at many of the roles that I played and that I've been invited to play, many of the people that asked me to play them have been really strong men who are not afraid of strong women. And they write them beautifully. That's not lost on me. That's the full humanity of what to be masculine is, is an embrace of the feminine divine, and to protect it. And in protecting it, you show it. You show it off like the diamond it is, so people understand it better. We understand how to be human because of our vulnerabilities. 

But you need to pick people who are uniquely vulnerable in those positions so we can then project onto them. And then that gives us a blueprint for our future. And he did that. And I have been put in those situations before, so yeah, I understand.

What was the most difficult part about embodying Verna?

I would say the most difficult part about embodying Verna was that we shot out of order and I really didn't often understand if I needed to play her a little bit more aggressive or pull back. And then after a very short time, I decided that it wasn't worth thinking about, that the directors understood it and that they would have told me if they thought I needed more, and we had an open dialogue. 

Also, the fact that there's a lot of stuff that you can't see that you're reacting to. And I've got a big imagination, but it's the first time for me. It's not like I'm in Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings every day. It takes a different muscle to project onto a green screen, and it's terrifying and it's moving, it's doing certain things to you and they're shouting out directions to you and you're doing certain things and going, “oh! Let me just do the best I can. Let me throw myself into it”. Actually, it's freedom once you decide that. Shooting out of order was difficult, would be for anybody. Also, getting the scripts a little later and then seeing these very long passages where I had to learn all this dialogue, that was a lot. But I'm fine with that.

Erika, thank you very much, and congratulations on the new season.

Thank you so much and I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you.