Canadian actor Shamier Anderson's stoic performance in Apple TV+'s international sci-fi drama "Invasion" is one of the foundational pillars of this arresting series that's now just beginning its third 10-episode season, and the stakes for humanity’s ultimate survival are being amplified tenfold.
Anderson portrays Trevante Cole, a valiant U.S. Navy SEAL operator whose entire squad was ambushed by an alien invaders in the Afghanistan desert in Season 1, making him the sole survivor and a key link to taking down this vicious extraterrestrial threat. Last season he infiltrated the alien hivemind portal and somehow brought the colossal mothership crashing down to Earth. Now as he inexplicably returns after two years, he'll converge with other pivotal players around the world to cross over through the Dead Zone encircling the derelict spaceship to enter its mysterious labyrinth.
'What's different about this show over a lot of other alien invasion shows and movies is the human connection, the human stories behind this," Anderson tells Space.com. "When you watch, there's a quiet horror to this. It isn’t loud, it isn’t in your face. But you’re also dealing with the interpersonal relationships with these individuals. And even though they're in different parts of the world on different continents, they're all dealing with the same thing, and its residual impact."
In addition to the more moderate pacing of the initial two seasons, and the ramped-up momentum carrying into this third season, "Invasion" offers some sensational special effects from award-winning VFX Supervisor Erik Henry and a pervasive spirituality in its narrative lying right under the surface.
Viewers are more or less carried through the story by the Trevante character, and his heroic journey takes him from the sands of Kandahar to the doorstep of the alien mothership. For this major co-starring role, Anderson tries to inject aspects of his own personality, but not others.
"Trevante is more like me in just the emotional evolution of dealing with everything everyday as it pertains to sadness or happiness and everything else," he explains. "Less like me? I'm not going into an alien ship to save anybody. So that’s where Trevante takes the cake. I'm not fighting aliens. I'm not chasing aliens. The aliens are coming to Earth? I’m going, 'Here’s the bill. Credit or debit? Have a good day.' And I'm out of there."
For the past five years, Anderson has immersed himself in the dense world of "Invasion" and allowed his acting instincts to absorb the process both mentally and physically while he embraces the sometimes arduous creative work.
"I've got more grey hand over the years I think is one thing," jokes Anderson. "And the mental exhaustion of traveling around the world. Craft-wise, with anything in life, the more mileage you have, the more experienced you get. The experiences on the show and the characters have aged beautifully like fine wine. The refinement of that is coming to the truth quicker. The nerves are redirected into inspiration and preparation.
"And that's what comes with time. I’m still very young in my career but I’ve had a lot of flight time with this character. I show up in a different way in season three than I was when I was a spring chicken. I show up in a place of gratitude but also knowing there's a responsibility for me to deliver as a performer. There's a seriousness to it that I take, however I've also learned to release and let go and let the work speak for itself. I'm just excited for people to see Trevante in a new state that they haven’t ever seen before."
"Invasion" Season 3 streams only on Apple TV+ with new episodes each Friday.
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