After five years and four seasons, The Umbrella Academy is ready to say goodbye to audiences with one last attempt at saving the world during its final season, premiering August 8 on Netflix.
The series follows a group of dysfunctional superhero siblings, as they all strive to find their own individual identities beyond their crime-fighting clan, while also dealing with the mental abuse of unfair parental expectations into their adulthood.
Based on the comics by Gerard Way and created for television by Steve Blackman, The Umbrella Academy stars Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min and Ritu Arya. Being a popular series that has effectively brought a clever mix of comedy, drama and action, while never shying away from completely flipping the script in bizarre ways, season after season.
Sitting down with this talented ensemble cast, I wondered what each of them have enjoyed most about the evolution that their characters have had, from start to finish, over these four seasons.
Raver-Lampman said, “I think it’s exactly that. I’ve really enjoyed the evolution that Allison has gone on from where we first meet her, when she’s really in her I’m trying to be a famous actress – doesn’t really know her place in the world, to kind of moving through all of her big moments. I just think every season there’s something so juicy to bite into as an actor. I think especially in the second season, her moving through the Civil Rights Movement in Dallas and then in the third season, which I really enjoyed kind of being able to play kind the villain – the ‘baddie’ – the not-so-favorite sibling. I just feel so grateful that our show takes such big swings, that we get to kind of reap the benefits as an actor, to dive into and put on almost seemingly a different skin every season.”
Page said, “As an actor, I just feel so lucky to have played Viktor. Thanks to the writers for writing incredible arcs every season, and to play a character who when we found him at the beginning, he was so disconnected from himself and really folded in, through ups-and-downs, to this really self-actualized man and going on that whole journey has been incredible.”
Sheehan said, “For me, it’s all the human stuff and less the superhero stuff. The dysfunctional family bickering – also, I loved when the families broke off into two. You got to have some good, meaty scenes with this person or that person. Across the four seasons, I got [to act a lot with] most of you. I really did.”
Hopper said, “The evolution as a group, I think for me, I knew we had something special when we first started rehearsing together in season one. Then, we started playing together in these scenes and what that’s become now is something so special. As soon as we started acting together each season and in season four, we just fell back into this flow. You really are in a flow state as a cast.”
With Arya, who plays Lila, seated beside Gallagher during the interview, who plays Five, she said of the evolution specifically between their two characters, “It’s been such a great – from truly hating one another to then having a sort of mutual respect and admiration, to where they end up.”
Gallagher added: “I loved seeing Lila as a mother this season. That was a very endearing look – just a very human thing. It was very endearing to watch as a viewer.”
While seated beside Min, who plays Ben on The Umbrella Academy, Castañeda said, “I really enjoyed – I’m going to speak just more on behalf of like what Ben and Diego have turned into because one of the things that was really fun in season four was the fact that they didn’t really like each other. He would call me pudgy and when he was throwing up in episode two, I grabbed him by the hair and dragged him into the sofa.”
Min jumped in, speaking to Castañeda, “Which was not scripted and I kept telling you, Stop doing that! and you kept grabbing my hair!”
Castañeda replied, “It was the best! So, that evolution was really – because obviously in season one, I couldn’t see him [as a ghost], so by season three, I was like, Okay, now I got to play with him.”
Min continued, “It’s just been so exciting to see how all of the characters have changed so drastically from season one. I mean, for me, to be able to play so many versions of him really have been so exciting. I mean, how many times do you really get to do that as an actor, to be on the same show with the same character but sort of play so many different shades and sides of him? So, that’s just been super exciting and something I’m really grateful for.”
Without spoiling too much, in this fourth and final season, the siblings are forced to team up once again when a stranger comes to them, seeking help, and they soon realize that their world, yet again, finds itself in jeopardy.
As for their final days of filming this last season, Hopper said, “I think the last day as a group was the one that I remember the most, because our last days were the individual stuff and they were our last days on-set.”
Sheehan playfully added: “I’ll tell you one thing. The goodbye scene was emotional, melancholic, bittersweet but somewhat overshadowed by the fact that I decided that it was a good idea before we started filming to put a hot sauce called ‘Bumble F—’ on a slice of pizza. Only a drop or two on the end of the pizza, but like you know, them hot sauces that are about a twenty million scovilles in heat, starts spreading across your mouth and slightly up your lip, so my whole face was tingling and burning in our last scene ever. I was thinking, How bad is this going to get before it starts to ease up?”
Gallagher said, “You know, when you’re shooting it on the day, the way I operate – I stay in character as much as I can. You have to be yourself in-between takes, but I need a long runway to get in the headspace of the characters. It’s a very emotionally overwhelming thing because it’s a build-up of years and years and years.”
Arya added: “I was an emotional wreck. Lots of tears and lots of hugs. I think just huge, huge gratitude to everyone that was involved. It was really beautiful.”
Min said, “I think the answer that a lot of people are looking for is like it was super emotional on-set, which honestly it was, but we were also just really focused on getting the show done and making our days. This show is incredibly grueling to shoot. I mean, we’re shooting for over six months, long days – we want to make sure that we’re putting all of our best foot forward when we’re shooting. Even in those last few days, we were focused, we were trying to stay in the moment, so I think for all of us, we didn’t really allow those emotions to really hit until after the fact.
Castañeda added: “It still hasn’t fully hit that it’s over. I’m sure I’m going to find myself crying myself to sleep in two weeks.”
Raver-Lampman said on whether the final filming days were emotional or bittersweet, “It was both of those – I mean, the whole season definitely felt bittersweet. We all felt extremely grateful to go into the fourth season, knowing that it was the end, because a lot of the time, actors don’t get that lucky. You kind of film a season and then find out months later that was the end. You never really get to say goodbye to the characters, to the people you became family with. So, I think we all started the journey of the fourth season feeling bittersweet and knowing that it was the end – and so, not wanting to take any moments for granted.”
As I began to conclude my conversations with this group of The Umbrella Academy actors that have embodied these layered characters, season after season, I was curious what each of them would say to their character, if only they could.
Page started by saying, “I’d probably say to Viktor like, Hey, you’re doing good! I think you maybe got some anger stuff going on and I get it. Maybe check out therapy? Like that could be cool. I think I would just encourage Viktor to sort of holistically continue to move forward, which I think he’s doing. I would just offer that advice.”
Raver-Lampman added: “I would advise Allison and all of them to invest in some therapy. Yeah, I think would solve a lot.”
Castañeda said, “It depends which season we’re talking about. If we’re talking season four Diego, I would say, Go find like a healthy hobby, you know? Go find a healthy hobby that’s going to be able to take your focus away out of your self-deprecating self. I think that’d be a good one.”
Min added: “I would tell ghost Ben – Enjoy being a ghost! You’re invisible – you can do a lot of things when you’re invisible.”
Gallagher said, “I don’t think Five wants to hear anything I have to say.”
Arya added: “Yeah, Lila couldn’t give a f—!”
Gallagher then continued, “I feel like me and Lila would get on because we’re both very silly – but me and Five, I would have a terrible time with him. He would be having none of me. He’s a very sort of cold person. I’m all over the place and creative and colorful and vibrant, and he’s very task-oriented, I’ll say. He doesn’t really know who he is – he’s been working on his external environment, trying to make the world not be ending and keep his family alive. He doesn’t know who he is.”
Sheehan said, “Oh, you know, probably the boring advice of, Try to resist less and try to accept a little bit more, Klaus – because frankly, you’re a bit of a drama queen.”
Hopper added: “I think Luther had a lot of weight on his shoulders in season one and then I think he let a lot of that go, but I don’t think I’d give him advice but I want to be like, It’s going to be alright, mate because I think he worries a lot as Luther. I think he’s always trying to do the right thing and he puts a lot of pressure on himself. I’d want to give him a bit of a hug and say, It’s going to be alright.”
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