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USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
John Cho's cheesy Captain has space fling in 'Murderboat' soap opera 'Sanctuary Moon'
John Cho's cheesy Captain has space fling in 'Murderboat' soap opera 'Sanctuary Moon' 'The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon' is the bad show within Apple TV+ series 'Murderbot' Show Caption Hide Caption 'Murderbot' has John Cho, Clark Gregg, DeWanda Wise: 'Sanctuary Moon' John Cho, DeWanda Wise, Jack McBrayer and Clark Gregg star in "Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon," the cheesy show within Apple TV+ series "Murderbot." There were a few caveats to the swaggering starship captain role offered to John Cho, who played Starfleet officer Hikaru Sulu in three "Star Trek" movies. First, Cho's captain would appear in "The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon," an over-the-top sci-fi soap opera that takes place entirely within the Apple TV+ action comedy series "Murderbot" (new episode streaming May 23). The tawdry soap is the favorite show consumed by the titular trash-TV-loving security robot, Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård). Second, he would lead a ridiculous crew, including a wildly wigged Navigation Officer (Jack McBrayer) and an insanely mutton-chopped Lieutenant (Clark Gregg) who accuses his leader of sleeping with an iridescent Navigation Unit (DeWanda Wise). Still, Cho was compelled to board the project with his longtime "American Pie" collaborators Chris and Paul Weitz. "It was framed like I would be the captain in a soap opera that Murderbot is obsessed with," says Cho. "I said, 'It's just so stupid, I have to do it.' Stupid is one of my highest compliments, by the way." Alexander Skarsgård's 'Murderbot' role Full body waxing was a 'completely stupid choice' in preparation Stupid is what Cho boldly does in "Sanctuary Moon," after joining his new crew on the Toronto "Murderbot" set to shoot the separate drama. Wise, who starred in "Fatherhood" with the Weitz brothers, brought her soap opera love and obsession of shows-within-shows to play the mysterious Navigation Unit. "My 'Sanctuary Moon' joke was, 'I'm still a lead character, right? I'm just a lead character in this show within the show,' " says Wise. Wise planned to go campy full-robot for the mysterious bot character. But the "She's Gotta Have It" star found out that she would be uttering lines like, "I'm a navigation unit, not a sex-bot" with a sense of forlornness. "They were like, 'We're gonna play it for real and sincerely, with sprinkles of comedy,'" says Wise, who tried to keep a straight face during interstellar emoting. "All of these guys are so funny that 89% of the job was not ruining the take by laughing. It was like, don't be the one." The space soap opera is mentioned in the source material, Martha Wells' popular sci-fi series "The Murderbot Diaries," But "Murderbot" creators fleshed the concept out for a twisted multi-episode space adventure that veers immediately off-kilter with the affair accusation. The madness continues to spin out of control in further "Sanctuary Moon" episodes throughout the "Murderbot" series. It turns out the rakish Captain can spout inspirational lines like "Boldness is on!" and enjoy cocktails later, not to mention partaking in an anti-regulation affair. Cho insisted on eyeliner, and that's his own hair. "There was spray, there was gook, it got volumnized," says Cho. "They went big." But not as big as the performance. "We weren't asking John to act badly," says executive producer Paul Weitz. "We just asked him to emote beyond the realms of what most people think is good. And he did that very well." Skarsgård insisted that his longtime friend McBrayer take the project. "Yeah, that's my fault," the Swedish actor admits. "We thought it would be fun." McBrayer gamely agreed to don the "birds nest of a wig" on the multi-colored set he says "looks like a confetti cannon threw up." He let the proposed idea of adding a face tattoo die for practicality's sake (too long in the makeup chair). The "30 Rock" actor appreciated how soap opera impacts Murderbot, who begins saying lines like "Boldness is on!" "Murderbot absorbs the ridiculous 'Sanctuary Moon' dialog and interactions and incorporates them," says McBrayer. "Just like people are learning how to behave based on TikTok trends." Cho, who insists his "Star Trek" movie captain Chris Pine is "most likely blissfully unaware" of his project, loved the fromage fest. He's not just hoping for a "Murderbot" Season 2 and more episodes (which Apple has not greenlit yet). Cho wants a full-on "Sanctuary Moon" show. "My wife tells me that I have a real soft spot for performances that other people call cheesy," says Cho. "From Day 1, I kept telling the Weitzs to please let me do this show somewhere. That was just too much fun."
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alexander Skarsgård wants to be left alone to watch TV, just like Murderbot
Can't a killer robot just watch some soap operas in peace? It's a theme Murderbot star Alexander Skarsgård tells Yahoo Entertainment he certainly relates to. Skarsgård plays the titular role in Apple TV+'s new sci-fi series, out on Friday, about a security unit ('SecUnit') gone rogue who must hide its free will from its clients. Although Murderbot is a killing machine horrified by human emotion, it's drawn to protecting a team of clients more confusing than its favorite soap opera, Sanctuary Moon. The comedic thriller is based on author Martha Wells's bestselling book series The Murderbot Diaries. Murderbot is a genderless cyborg in the books, with no physical human-looking attributes of note. So, how on earth did Skarsgård fit the bill to play the titular character? The show's creators, brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, knew it would be an impossible task to cast someone who fit 'everybody's version of what they were thinking of.' They even considered a female lead. But when Skarsgård showed interest, they say, the casting choice was a no-brainer. 'Alexander's a deeply eccentric person. He's somebody who has this exterior that can be intimidating. He was in the Swedish special forces. He appears from characters he's played like he could really kill somebody,' Paul tells Yahoo. The Weitzes know fans of the books have 'headcanon,' which, in fandom terms, refers to how people envision what a character is going to look or feel like. They say fans won't be disappointed by Skarsgård. (Early reviews agree.) 'He has a really good sense of humor and he's an oddball. Those characteristics were characteristics which one felt would suit Murderbot,' Paul adds. 'We just wanted it to be an actor who was really specific.' Skarsgård is happy to show off his eccentric side in the series. 'It's such a weird, unique character that I definitely hadn't played before, and I was also excited about doing something slightly more comedic compared to The Northman or Infinity Pool, other, slightly darker projects that I've done recently,' he tells Yahoo. 'I was beyond excited when I came across this weird sci-fi action plot, but centered around a socially awkward android who loves soap operas.' Skarsgård says he personally relates to Murderbot's 'procrastination.' 'I thought that was quite interesting how it calls itself Murderbot and it's going to go on these epic adventures. And that's kind of what you expect to see when you're watching a sci-fi show — that it's actually heroic and confident and goes out there and kicks ass. But instead ... Murderbot procrastinates and gets stuck just watching its favorite show, Sanctuary Moon,' he laughs. 'I find it quite relatable that, you know, you've got these grand plans, but they can wait till tomorrow. You just got to watch a few more episodes of something.' Since sci-fi always touches on real-world themes and the closest thing we have to a SecUnit is ChatGPT, I signed up for the AI chatbot to enlist its help for a lightning round of Murderbot and Skarsgård-themed questions. The 48-year-old Swedish star was excited to see how it did. I'm going to fire them off. Are you ready? Yeah. Would you rather binge-watch a show or explore a new city? Explore a new city. Twenty-four-hour robot bodyguard or 24-hour robot personal chef? Personal chef. Be a brilliant villain or forgettable hero? Forgettable hero. Forgettable hero is really nice. I like that. Acting in a heavy costume or acting with heavy CGI? I'm quite lazy. I like practical stuff that's not CGI, but I'm also lazy. The thought of doing something in pajamas in front of a green screen? I'll go for that one. Skarsgård family game night. Is it board games or chaos? I would say chaotic board games. What would be a favorite recharge, sleeping in or an outdoor activity? Outdoor activity. Watch a bad movie with friends or a masterpiece alone? Bad movie with friends. Robots taking over or aliens invading? Aliens invading. Be famous in a tiny galaxy or totally anonymous on Earth? I'd like to be famous in a tiny galaxy. I like that idea. See, these weren't too bad. I mean, I took out the really weird and creepy ones, so my job still needs to be here, but... Give me one creepy [question]. OK, you asked. Would you rather keep taking your shirt off or only wear clothes in films? Keep taking my shirt off. The first two episodes of premiere globally May 16 on Apple TV+.
