The Alien franchise is back with Alien Earth, a new series bringing fresh faces and stories to fans around the world. Among the stars is Erana James, who plays a synthetic named Curly. She recently shared her experience working on the show and her love for Indian cinema, especially the film Lagaan starring Aamir Khan.
Erana James On Alien Earth And Her Role
Joining Erana is Essie Davis (who plays Dame Silvia), a top scientist creating synthetic human hybrids. Essie called the experience “super exciting” and praised the cast and crew.
She said, “It’s been an honour. It’s been super exciting and lots of fun because we’re with a really lovely group of actors who are all very talented. And the crew have been amazing. It’s actually been a pretty special time.”
Essie explained that her character works on putting the consciousness of human children into powerful synthetic bodies. She added, “The synthetic human hybrids are an amazing idea – they explore both the dream of human immortality and the danger of where artificial intelligence can lead.”
Erana’s character (Curly) is one of the synthetics facing the alien threat. She said the show expands the original Alien story but adds new ideas. “I’ve heard Noah [Hawley] say that season 1 is almost like a group of concepts, and there’s so much room to grow. What’s established in this first season is huge. There’s a lot of world-building.”
Working With Adarsh Gourav And Bonding Over Lagaan
Indian actor Adarsh Gourav also stars in the series as another synthetic called Sightly. Erana spoke warmly about working with him and shared how they spent months training together to find their characters’ inner child. She said, “We played a lot of music, a lot of instruments, just a lot of play to find that inner child.”
When asked if Adarsh introduced them to Indian sci-fi or alien films, Essie joked, “No, he didn’t introduce me to any of those. I’m going to have to go have words with him about that.”
But she revealed they bonded over her favourite movie, Lagaan. “One of my favourite films ever is Lagaan, so we bonded over that on the first day we met. He actually sang a lot of beautiful Indian music to us. He’s a beautiful singer, a fantastic actor, and a super delightful man. It was really good fun working with Adarsh.”
Adarsh Gourav is well-known internationally for his role in the Oscar-nominated film The White Tiger. He has also appeared in the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations.
What To Expect From Alien Earth
Alien Earth follows a young woman and a team of soldiers who face a deadly alien threat after their ship crashes on Earth. The show premieres on August 12, 2025, and will air eight episodes every Tuesday, with the season finale on September 23.
