Romulus’ Character is Unique in the Franchise’s History of Synthetics

David Jonsson is having a standout moment in his acting career. After charming audiences in last year’s romantic comedy “Rye Lane” and navigating the London financial scene in HBO’s “Industry” for two seasons, Jonsson is now making waves with his first major studio film role in Fede Alvarez’s “Alien: Romulus.” Playing an early synthetic named Andy, Jonsson joins a celebrated lineage of android characters in the “Alien” franchise. In a recent interview with GQ UK, Jonsson explained what makes his portrayal unique.

“I wanted to make Andy, Andy,” Jonsson said. “I’ve mentioned before that I wanted to make him my own, but really, the character is already brilliant on the page. He has almost two sides to him and undergoes a coming-of-age journey. When I think of the other synthetic characters in the franchise, like Fassbender’s or Winona Ryder’s in ‘Alien: Resurrection’, Andy stands out. He’s unique in many ways, and I embraced that. I tried not to add any unnecessary pressure and focused on being true to his character.”

Andy’s distinctiveness comes from being overtly synthetic, unlike other characters such as Ash in the original “Alien,” played by Ian Holm, who were designed to blend in with the human crew. Being an early synthetic, Andy retains his original chip, causing certain ticks that are smoothed out in later models. At one stage, Andy receives an updated chip that stops these ticks and gives him an English accent similar to David in “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant.”

“We discussed this aspect extensively,” Jonsson said to GQ. “Due to Andy’s original chip, we wanted him to have that [accent], and there are moments when Rain [Cailee Spaeny] looks at him and questions if he’s still the same. This required a different approach to his dialogue, making it less sterile, which we explored quite a bit.”

In the interview, Jonsson also touched on the advantage of working on a set focused on practical effects.

“I was concerned that, being my first studio film and part of such a big franchise, I’d end up acting alongside tennis balls,” Jonsson admitted. “I’m not against it if the role demands it, but thankfully, they took pride in building everything for this film. It was incredible to have something tangible in front of you, to look at and react to. It might not have been a real alien, but it was built to look and feel just like one.”

“Alien: Romulus” is now playing in theaters.