Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees in RESIDENT ALIEN – Season 3 – “Bye Bye Birdie” | ©2024 Syfy/James Dittiger

On RESIDENT ALIEN, now in its third season Wednesday nights on Syfy and streaming on Peacock, with previous seasons streaming on Netflix, Sara Tomko plays Asta Twelvetrees. Asta is a nurse at a medical clinic in the small town of Patience, Colorado.

In the first season, Asta discovered that her boss, Dr. Harry Vanderspiegle (Alan Tudyk), is actually an extraterrestrial who has just assumed the features and identity of the real (deceased) doctor. While initially very hostile, Harry has warmed up to humanity and is now trying to save the Earth from the would-be planet-stealing Grey aliens. Asta is determined to help Harry with this task.

Meanwhile, Asta’s got a lot of other things going on. She has moved out of her adoptive father Dan (Gary Farmer) and rented a place with her best friend D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund). Asta’s given-up-for-adoption daughter Jay (Kaylayla Raine) has reconnected – so much so that the teen has just moved in with Asta and D’Arcy.

After a long period of romantic uninvolvement, Sara also went out on a date with a cute guy, new town deputy Joseph (Enver Gjokaj) – who unfortunately turned out to be a Grey alien, only interested in Asta so he could get intel on Harry.

Tomko, originally from Ohio, has other credits that include EXTRACTED, ONCE UPON A TIME, SNEAKY PETE, and SUICIDE FOR BEGINNERS.

Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetreesa and Gary Farmer as Dan Twelvetrees in RESIDENT ALIEN – Season 3 – “141 Seconds” | ©2024 Syfy/James Dittiger

When NBC/Universal has its day at Pasadena’s Langham Hotel for the Winter 2024 Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour, Tomko is there with her RESIDENT ALIEN colleagues for a Q&A panel and then for a party. This interview combines Tomko’s panel comments with a one-on-one during the festivities.

Tomko is delighted not only that RESIDENT ALIEN was at last able to make its third season, but that the show’s cohort is finally able to attend TCA in person, after COVID made it impossible for the first two seasons.

“It’s nice to be able to actually celebrate in person, and get a little dressed up, and really throw a party for ourselves, for this hard work that we’ve really put into these seasons. It’s so nice to have a reason to get dressed up.”

Of course, Tomko relates, everyone was so excited to get back to making the series that, at the start of shooting Season 3, “We were a mess. It’s so fun to collaborate together. We all show up with our own preparations, but then when we get there, they tell us where to land, but we ultimately have such an amazing chemistry as a cast that every take felt different, felt fresh. It always feels that much fun to work together. I think there are things that you can’t quite put into words until you’re there and you’re doing it, and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, this is magic.’”

Has Asta evolved the way Tomko thought she might when RESIDENT ALIEN began?

“I didn’t know how far this show was going to go, and I didn’t think I was going to get to see her get to a place of light-heartedness. But I think she’s evolved from a very traumatic, depressed place to now one of curiosity, hope, and a lighter feeling in the air about what it is her purpose is, and what she’s looking for in her life. Because now, her daughter is on her side, her friends are on her side, she can kind of let them go and experience things for themselves. She’s trying to find herself. So, it’s really beautiful that we started with her being in a really dark place, and in Season 3, I think you get to see a lighter Asta.”

Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees in RESIDENT ALIEN – Season 3 | ©2024 Syfy/Brendan Meadows

That lightness manifests itself, Tomko adds, in a number of ways. “We’re going to get a chance to see her, because she’s so lighthearted this season, see her make a few jokes and have some moments of nervousness with a man that she’s dating [Joseph the Grey alien]. She doesn’t know that that man is trouble, but,” she laughs, “she finds out pretty quickly, and she’s able to manipulate the situation in her favor. And I think the thing that I can tease is just that there’s a real moment of understanding that, no matter if this person’s right for her or not, she’s ready to start dating again. She’s ready to move on from her past relationship that was abusive and she’s also ready to have a lot of self-care and be a little bit ‘take the power back.’”

Has Tomko had to learn how to do anything in order to play Asta? As Asta is a nurse, it turns out some medical procedure coaching was required. “There was an episode in Season 2, and I’ve just killed a man, and Harry got shot, and we go back to the cabin, and I have to take the bullet out and sew up his bullet hole in his chest.

“That morning, I show up to set, and a nurse is like, ‘I’ve got to teach you how to do these sutures right now, because we have thirty minutes before we have to shoot this scene.’ I practiced with [a substance] like rubber. It was meant to feel like skin, but I did practice some of the sutures. And it was amazing. She was such a great teacher, and I am very impressed and proud to say that I did them well, and I did them quickly, and I learned quickly, and that suture, the actual me sewing it up properly, was taught to me thirty minutes prior to shooting that scene,” she laughs. So, I’ve learned a lot about being a nurse on the show, that’s for sure.”

Now that Asta, with D’Arcy, has her own home, does Tomko feel at all territorial about that set?

“Well, I was very territorial when I first walked into the apartment set. I think our set decs, the art department, did an amazing job decorating. But I definitely wanted to make sure that it had a vibe that wasn’t put together, that it was things that you could find at a thrift store, records and furniture – because we’re not very rich. We would be thrift store-shopping all the time. So, I was very adamant about, ‘We can’t have really nice furniture. It needs to feel real.’ And so, I was so happy when I showed up to set and saw that it looks like, not that we found things off the street, but that they really catered to our personalities. and I was very grateful for that.”

Sara Tomko in Pasadena, Calif. on February 14, 2024 At the RESIDENT ALIEN – Season 3 Panel | ©2024 NBCUniversal

Tomko is also very enthusiastic about having veteran actor Farmer play Asta’s supportive father. “I love Gary. He is such a warm, calm individual. Every time I work with him, I just feel so relaxed and so safe, just like you would with a father figure that you trust. It’s really lovely working with him. He’s so experienced, and he’s so laid-back, and he’s got a lot of great stories. But he’s also really professional. He shows up, he’s prepared. It’s just so easy working with him. It’s really nice.”

Both Tomko and Farmer are Indigenous Americans, playing Indigenous American characters. When RESIDENT ALIEN debuted in 2021, this was a rarity. Since then, while still uncommon, more Indigenous actors playing Indigenous main characters have appeared on television, in such series as DARK WINDS, RESERVATION DOGS, and TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY.

Tomko says, “I feel so grateful that we are finally representing all different types of colors, races, sizes, shapes and communities on television. I’m so, so grateful to be a part of a show that has Indigenous actors, musicians, writers, crew, cast. And I think it’s amazing to see so many people of color on our TV screens these days, people that you can relate to, people that are Othered, just like I am, and that’s something that I represent in the show, being an Other. I don’t fit just one box, I don’t check just one box. And there are a lot of people out there like me, but there are also a lot of people out there, like a lot of different people on our show, but also, what they’re seeing in this content now, in television, is representation across the board, and it is so exciting.”

What would Tomko most like people to know about RESIDENT ALIEN Season 3? “Season 3 is so cohesive and creative, and a real representation of what we do best, which is comedy with heart. And I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Related: Exclusive Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN actress Alice Wetterlund on Season 3 of the Syfy series

Related: Exclusive Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN actor Alan Tudyk on Season 3 of the Syfy series

Related: Exclusive Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN Creator Chris Sheridan on the end of Season 2

Related: Exclusive Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN actor Alex Barima on Season 1

Related: Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN Creator Chris Sheridan and cast Alan Tudyk, Sara Tomko talk Season 2

Related: Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN Creator Chris Sheridan and actress Sara Tomko

Related: Interview with Alan Tudyk on Season 1 of the new Syfy extraterrestrial comedy series RESIDENT ALIEN

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Exclusive Interview with RESIDENT ALIEN actress Sara Tomko on Season 3

Related Posts: