Alan Tudyk on Firefly, Resident Alien, Moana and Auckland Armageddon 2025

Alan Tudyk has had a long and varied career, much beloved by many. Whether you know him as Wash from Joss Whedon's Firefly or as Heihei the chicken in Moana, chances are you'll know him.

He's making an appearance at the Springeddon event at Auckland's ASB Showgrounds for the Armageddon Expo - but he took some time to have a chat ahead to us from Vancouver of the event over Labour weekend.

You were due here in 2018, but didn't make it?

Alan: We were going to be attending in 2018 and then I got a job and I couldn't go! I had to back out. That's the thing with these conventions - they're so great, but there's a contingency that because you have to agree to them so far in the future, if you get work, they’re very understanding if you have to back out.

We're so pleased to have you coming this time. Just fantastic. Are you going to get some time here after the event?

I'm so happy. My wife was very frustrated by our cancelling when it happened. She was like, “No! Not New Zealand, not Armageddon!”, because we've been wanting to go to New Zealand for a very long time.
We're going to get a couple of weeks there, which is not as much as we’d like, but we'll make the most of it. We're going to be looking to see some nature. We love nature. So we're going to be doing that.And then I think headed South and, we're going to catch as many things as we can. We might do a little kayaking, might do a little river rafting.

You've had such an incredible career and list of characters, most people will know you as something from some project, is there any one role you've had that you have just adored and why?

I did a movie many years ago now, in 2007. My God, it was that long ago? Frank Oz directed it. It was called Death at a Funeral. Yeah, it was a farce. It didn't really get released in the States. It was out for a week and they pulled it, so nobody here saw it. But I've gone to different places in the world and one of them was I was in Australia and a lot of people had seen it there. So I'm hoping some people maybe saw it in New Zealand. I was lucky enough to be part of the group of Brits playing a British person.

Is there a role or project that you wish more people asked you about, and if so, what is it and why?

Has Resident Alien made it to New Zealand yet? I guess that would be it. Or Death at a Funeral. Or, you know, now it's Halloween, I'm going to say Tucker and Dale VS Evil. That was another one that didn’t quite make it. It went to Sundance and had a lot of promise, but it was right when the economy  cratered. And so it got shelved and got released on Netflix much later. And anyway, that one's a fun one.

Has there ever been a moment where you looked at your career and thought, "I can't believe I'm doing this, and how can I ever top it?"

When I did Star Wars, I played K-2SO in Rogue One, and we travelled. It was back before they started shooting everything on volume — where they do a lot of VFX, CGI etc. So, we flew to Jordan. We went to the Maldives. I flew everywhere. It was so great. We were living on boats. It was actually a very small production. We went to Maldives. It was just bare bones, but we were living on these dive boats. And so Diego Luna and myself and Felicity Jones were on one boat. One night, because there was a light on, it drew some really little bitty squid, which drew a whale shark. And I got to go swimming with a whale shark that night just off the back of my boat. Got in the water and swam around with it for a while. And it was just like that was for me pretty magical. Like, I can't believe I'm in the Maldives in a Star Wars movie. I've come home from work and I'm just going to swim around with a whale shark for a while before I go to sleep.

Is there a reason why Star Wars androidy robots are always so crap at what they do?

They're so problematic, right? I feel like C-3PO and R2-D2 were clowns, like they were supposed to be a sort of a clown team. And they definitely do that: “Oh, what's going on with you?” It's almost like Laurel and Hardy or something. Mine had problems as well. But, when we did Rogue One, I was told he's different because he was reprogrammed. So his, his brain is a little bit scrambled. His circuits are a bit scrambled. For an actor that is great. It gives you license to do whatever you want. And you say, “Well, my my circuits are scrambled”. I can do that.

It wouldn't be the only show that you've malfunctioned in.

Those are my favorite roles. The malfunction parts. We need a malfunctioning actor, call Alan Tudyk!

You've become known for voice work as well - do you think that's still an industry that's not quite given the heft and respect it's due?

Oh, no, it's given plenty. I mean, the work itself is great and has its challenges, but you do it in comfortable shoes. You in air conditioning. It's all very nice. It's comfortable. It doesn't mean you have a lot of time to get it the way that you want it. You know, when you make movies for TV you're always chasing the clock. And, you know, that Tucker and Dale movie I was telling you about, it was such a low budget movie. We got two takes tops. That was it. And we had to move.
So the challenge is really great. Voice over is a lot of fun and yeah, I feel just lucky to be a part of it. 

Your role of Heihei is one that a lot of New Zealanders will know you for - especially as we have the te reo Maori versions of the films - what are your memories of working on Moana and did you ever think it'd be as enduring as it was? And also are you aware of the native versions that were made here?

I'm not. How cool. I had no idea! But there's different levels of involvement depending on the movie,and I came towards the end. I basically watched a finished movie and just clucked along with it and screamed and clucked and clucked and screamed. It took a few hours of doing that, and then I was done. But he's just such a fun character, he stands out. Because he's, again, broken. He's a malfunctioning chicken.

Is there ever anyone at these conventions that you wish you were appearing with or meeting?

I've met some pretty cool people. I got to, who have I seen that I'm intimidated? I got to hang out with Carrie Fisher in Australia. That was pretty great. If I see somebody that's there, I just walk up to them and say hi. Harrison Ford! Wait, we did a movie together. That sounds so corny.

Everyone loved Resident Alien and was very sad when it ended, would you like to see it resurrected or you would prefer to see another season of Firefly made?

I prefer another season of Firefly. That's more rare. Although I'm dead So, that wouldn't work. So then I'll go for Resident Alien. You know what, I would do Firefly even just as a fan, because I love the show. Even if I'm not going to be in it, I would love to see another season of Firefly. I did a rewatch of it not too long ago, and I loved it more than I ever have.

Did you ever think you'd be so connected to Disney projects when you were younger? And what can you tell us about Zootopia 2?

Nothing. I actually know very little about it. I have a small involvement in it. I play a few different roles. I play Duke Weaselton again, and then I play a couple other animals. I'm going to be seeing it for the first time at the premiere.

We saw you last on screen with James Gunn's Superman, can you tell us a bit about how it felt to be a) Gary and b) part of the retooling of the DCU world with James Gunn?

It was fantastic. I didn't expect it to, honestly, I was going to do a robot, and I was like, “Ah, it's old hat.I've done this.” And I was like, I'll do it for James, not even for the excitement of it. Then it was like:“Ah, OK. And it was so much more than I was anticipating!” David Corenswet, who plays Superman, was very nice. And I was hanging out with him in the Fortress of Solitude, which they built. So he's there in his super suit, walking around this iconic set piece that is what I've seen before, but it exists. And just watching him walk across the room with his cape behind him, even just dragging on the floor behind him, your you'd have to shake your head a little bit, like, what am I looking at? Where am I? It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun.

Man, it must be both intimidating, but also awesome to be able to reinvent a superhero.

Yeah, my God. I think it took James a little while. He said, I think there was, he had an Interview a long time ago. He's like, I wouldn't want to do Superman. And then he changed his mind, obviously. And I really like what he did with it.

Has there ever been a fan interaction that's just really stuck with you at a convention?

There's several. When people share how a project or a character fits into an important time in their life, that's always very memorable. The most memorable thing was when a soldier came up. I signed his foot. It was a prosthetic foot, and he had been in Iraq, and he was one of the first people who was in Saddam's palace and he had smuggled out a Firefly Box Set that was in Saddam's palace. So somebody in that palace was watching Firefly, which is just crazy. I'm glad he took it back!

Just finally, with such a long and storied career, do you ever think about your legacy and what is it that you'd like to be remembered for?

God, no. My legacy. I guess, I hope the kids still watch the animation and laugh at it. I think that would  be a nice lasting echo to leave on the planet. Children's laughter. That's all I ask, is the laughter of children. As a testament to my existence. That's not too much, is it?

Yeah, I think that, just saying that, I feel very grateful and fortunate to get to do what I do. That seems like, that that is even a possibility, that that could be, that is very possible, that this animated stuff would stick around. Because it's Disney. And that's neat. I don't really think in that way. But, that’s neat.

For more on the Armageddon Expo, visit www.armageddonexpo.com