Malik Yoba as Bill Harken in Alphas. Photo copyright of Syfy.
If you happen to be one of the bad guys, you do not want to get on the wrong side of Bill Harken. This former FBI agent with a commanding presence – and impressive biceps - knows how to handle himself in a tight spot. It also helps that he is an Alpha, one of a group of human beings that possesses superhuman abilities. Bill is able to activate his endocrinal “fight or flight” response at will, giving him advanced speed, strength and endurance. The downside to this power is the physical toll that it takes on his body.
Fortunately, he has learned how to better handle such stress since coming to work with Dr. Lee Rosen. Together with a small group of Alphas, Bill tracks down and apprehends others like them who are misusing their powers. In season two of the hit Syfy series Alphas, Dr. Rosen and his team have been fighting Stanton Parrish, an immortal Alpha who has gathered together his own group of superhumans in order to achieve his own agenda. Bill’s special abilities along with his leadership skills have been needed more than once in such a battle, which has kept the actor who plays him, Malik Yoba, busier than ever.
“This season, and probably unlike any other show I’ve worked on before, the episodes have all been running into each other in my mind, which feels a little weird,” jokes Yoba smiling, taking a break in-between scenes while on-location in Ancaster, Ontario with the rest of the Alphas cast and crew filming the season two episode Alphaville. “We had an overnight shoot to film an action sequence for the season opener [Wake Up Call] while we were working on the fourth or fifth episode. I had gone out of town, flew back to Toronto, started work at nine o’clock that night and finished at ten the next morning. When I got home I Tweeted that in my 20-plus year career I’ve never worked harder.
Bill (Malik Yoba) confronts some intruders in "Alphaville." Photo copyright of Syfy.
“Because this is such a physical role, up to this episode or maybe the one before it, I’ve been sporting make-up bruises as a result of Bill being in some sort of fight or having gotten beaten up. It’s just the nature of the beast, though. We usually have two [film] units going at the same time because there’s a lot to cover. So in terms of the action and physical aspect of filming this year, it’s been quite exhausting. With some episodes I’ve really had to rely on the director or script supervisor to remind me where we’re at, because, again, it’s like telling one long story. That being said, with this particular episode, although I’m still working eight days, I’m kind of light scene-wise, so it’s been a nice little break for me.
“It’s been great, though. As a cast and crew we’re all extremely proud of what we did last year and we’re really working hard to maintain the integrity of that this season.”
In Alphas’ season two opener Wake Up Call, our heroes are trying to deal with the aftermath following Dr. Rosen’s (David Straithairn) surprise announcement to the world at the end of last year that Alphas exist and are living amongst the population. With Rosen imprisoned, Bill Harken and Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie) are still working for the Department of Defense and rounding up rogue Alphas. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is scattered and dealing with personal issues. They regroup when one of their own is threatened, and that then leads to an even bigger and more dangerous Alphas-related crisis unfolding.
Bill (Malik Yoba) and his teammates come to Gary's (Ryan Cartwright) rescue in Alphas' season two opener "Wake Up Call." Photo copyright of Syfy.
“You could have called the second season opener Alphas Gone Wild because there are all sorts of Alphas out there in the world, some of which Bill and his teammates take to a place called Binghamton, this sort reform school for Alphas,” explains Yoba. “In this episode, the inmates try to run the asylum so to speak. For me and my character, once again, we started off shooting a scene where I’m being dragged by my feet across the floor and I get beaten up. The idea was to start season two off with a bang, and I think we did just that.
“At the end of the first season finale [Original Sin], there’s that last moment where we’re watching television and my character goes, ‘Wow, the bastard actually did it,’ when Rosen reveals that Alphas exist. I played that moment as, ‘Jeez, I’m kind of impressed he did that,’ but the reality is that afterwards everything went awry. Part of what we played up is the tension between Rosen and Bill, and they have to earn each other’s trust again. By now, episode six of season two, which we’re currently shooting, the two of them are kind of back on the same page. In the real world, David Strathairn and I have a good rapport. Also, chronologically, David is the elder statesman and I’m the second oldest of the group, so there’s even a bit of a hierarchy in the characters that we play, and it’s good we’re able to show that.”
Yoba had the opportunity to take his performance to a whole other level when his character infiltrates an underground Alphas fight club in the aptly named season two story Alpha Dogs.
Bill's (Malik Yoba) Alphas abilities are put to the test in "Alpha Dogs." Photo copyright of Syfy.
“I knew about this episode before we began work on season two,” says the actor. “Luckily I train throughout the year, and I let my trainer in New York, who’s a former Golden Gloves champ, know I had this episode coming up. My trainer here in Toronto used to be a kickboxing champ, so we tried to incorporate that into my training regimen as well.
“When we were filming this episode, there was one moment on-set where I actually said to Warren Christie, ‘I think I’m going to cry,’ because I was so tired. However, that was one of those times where I sort of looked at it as metaphor for life. At the end of the day, particularly in this business, it’s a tremendous thing just to keep getting up and fighting for your goals. This is without question the most physical role I have ever played in my life, but at almost 45 years old, I’m thrilled to still be able to do it, and the goal is to get even better in every way as I get older.
“So this episode was a challenge, but definitely a welcome one. Nick Copus directed it and I love working with him. He directed us last year, and although I’ve never worked with [director/producer] Danny Boyle, I have read his book, and he’s like a windup doll in the way people describe his sort of overwhelming enthusiasm for the job. That’s kind of like working with Nick. He looked at [director] David Fincher’s film Fight Club and used that as an inspiration for Alpha Dogs. Something else that’s interesting about this episode is that after the case is solved, Bill goes back and starts using the fight club as a way to manage his Alphas abilities and help keep them under control.”
Nina (Laura Mennell) and Bill (Malik Yoba) in "If Memory Serves." Photo copyright of Syfy.
Alpha Dogs also introduces audiences to Kat (Erin Way), a young loner and Alpha whose brain functions allows her to instantaneously pick up any skill. She helps Bill infiltrate the fight club and is subsequently taken in and befriended by Rosen and his team. Yoba has enjoyed seeing his character’s friendship with Kat develop over Alphas’ second season.
“I’m always looking for new [acting] challenges, and if they don’t exist I try to create them,” he notes. “We finished shooting an episode last week and my opening scene was with Bill and Kat. It’s me sharing a story with her, and the director, who was a first-time director on Alphas, kept asking me to redo the scene. I thought, ‘Wow, I think this is the hardest I’ve been pushed so far this year,’ in terms of finding the truth of the moment, because my instinct was to not make such a big deal out of it. My character was recounting a story and trying to encourage Kat, but the director wanted me to really go there in my mind and paint a picture.
“So sometimes you can have those types of acting challenges, which I love. As far as character stuff, the challenges this year have been more about wanting to be consistent, because when you have new energy come into the show, they might not have considered everything that we’ve thought about, worked on or established relationships between characters. In that case, it’s about maintaining the integrity, as I mentioned before, while still being able to grow and evolve from where we’ve been.
Rachel (Azita Ghanizada), Bill (Malik Yoba) and Cameron (Warren Christie) in "Need to Know." Photo copyright of Syfy.
“For instance, when we first meet Dr. Rosen in season one, we’re his patients. We don’t understand our powers and his job is to help us understand them. Fast forward to the beginning of season two, and the assumption is that we’ve had more time to understand them. However, Rosen has been away from us for eight months and we’ve reverted back to some of our old habits. So it’s about bringing us back to center as individuals and then together as a team. Whatever the challenge, you do not want to get lazy as an actor. During the hiatus you may have been off working on other projects, but you want to then make sure to come back to who you are on this show. So far so good, though. I haven’t heard any complaints,” says Yoba with a chuckle.
With only a handful of episodes left before Alphas’ season finale, there is no telling where Bill Harken and his colleagues will end up. Hopefully, it will be the prelude to a third year of the show, which would be quite a landmark for Yoba.
“This is number 11 for me in terms of series work, and this is only the second show [the other being New York Undercover] I’ve done out of 11 that has been renewed past its first season. So I’d like to take a moment and thank everyone out there, including all your readers, for their support.
“As we all get older, we have families and lives, and the reality is we’re human. We’re not Alphas in real life, and it’s good to be able to do what you love as well as take care of your family and have some consistency in this business, which is difficult. When you’re working on a TV show that is renewed, you start to feel like a professional golfer who wins a tournament. It’s a big deal, so here’s hoping for another win – or more.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, all photos copyright of Syfy, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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