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The Man Who Fell to Earth EXCLUSIVE: Chiwetel Ejiofor decodes 'overarching journey' from the alien to Faraday
In a roundtable interview for The Man Who Fell to Earth, Chiwetel Ejiofor spoke in detail about his character's gruelling evolution process from the alien to Faraday.
In an inspired continuation of Walter Tevis' iconic 1963 novel and the cult 1976 film starring the inimitable David Bowie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, which premieres on Voot Select on April 24, stars a talented ensemble featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor as the alien aka Mr. Faraday, who lands on Earth on a mission to save his species and planet, Althea. Alongside the Oscar-nominated actor, Naomie Harrie stars as the brilliant scientist Justin Falls while Bill Nighy plays Thomas Jerome Newton, a role immortalised by Bowie in the popular Nicolas Roeg-directed movie.
Pinkvilla was a part of The Man Who Fell to Earth's Press Day and interacted with Chiwetel Ejiofor in a roundtable interview. Amid the excitement surrounding the release of the series, the first five minutes of The Man Who Fell to Earth was released recently and showed the intriguing transformation of Chiwetel's mysterious character from the alien to Faraday. I asked Ejiofor how gruelling was that evolution process for him, as an actor, to which the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star decoded, "Well, in a way, it takes the length of the whole series. The show talks and walks you through in a way, this development of this being, of Faraday, from what you see right at the beginning, just where everything is completely fresh and every interaction and every understanding is new and is being processed as new."
And then, I suppose, the last phase of all of that is how, when he does understand humanity, does that understanding affect him as an Althean? So, what is the point of fusion, where he's a bit more of both? So that, in a way, is the overarching journey of this really interesting character.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel added, "And then, one of the things that I spoke to Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet about, and we talked about a lot, was really understanding Faraday's soul, to really understand that this is a person who has had these experiences before and who has formulated his own character, his own persona, his own being. And how does that transfer into this completely, to him, this completely alien situation?"
"And so, there's the development of that, and then, his understanding of the psychology of humanity, once he understands a bit more about how to practically interact with humanity and how to, social cues of humanity. Then, there's the psychology of humanity. Then, there's that interiority," Ejiofor pondered candidly before concluding, "And then, I suppose, the last phase of all of that is how, when he does understand humanity, does that understanding affect him as an Althean? So, what is the point of fusion, where he's a bit more of both? So that, in a way, is the overarching journey of this really interesting character."
Given Chiwetel Ejiofor's fabulous performances in the recent past, we can bet that The Man Who Fell to Earth will definitely be worth a watch!
Are you excited to see Chiwetel Ejiofor as the alien aka Mr. Faraday in The Man Who Fell to Earth? Share your excitement with Pinkvilla in the comments section below. And stay tuned to Pinkvilla for an early review of The Man Who Fell to Earth this weekend!
ALSO READ: The Pod Generation: Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor to STAR in upcoming science fiction film
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