Joe Reegan – Alien Outpost

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) Alien Outpost is probably the most recent project. After that, I have some TV spots for “CSI: Cyber” with Patricia Arquette that I just finished completing over the last few months, which I believe will start airing after the original “CSI” goes off the air in the Spring. So, I believe this new “CSI” will pick up where the original left off. I believe they will start to air in mid March.

Q) Please tell us the premise for Alien Outpost and about your character

A) The film takes place fifteen years into the future. It’s a much more primitive world. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world fifteen years into the future of what the film refers to as “the first invasion.” It’s been a mass genocide that occurred and it takes a look at what the world would be like if everything was destroyed. There are a lot of things that have been stripped away and a gladiatorial environment where we are trying to survive as much as possible. In order to save the planet, they have formed a one world army called The United Space Defense Force (“USDF”). Alien Outposts have been set up around the planet that prevents any other species or life form or objects from breaking the Earth’s atmosphere. We start off with that backstory and you jump right into the world of following a small group of marines from The USDF on their journey to an outpost. My character is Omohundro and he is a highly educated soldier that has gone through all the training available as a soldier in this time period, but he has spent little to no time on a battlefield. Speaking with director Jabbar Raisani and co-writer Blake Clifton, it was our intention (and I hope the audience picks up on this) that he was the eyes of this world. He is very much a watcher and observer in the specific part of the film and then as it progresses I am forced to take a more active role as things start to escalate at the specific outpost. I spoke a lot with the director about this that my character definitely serves as the moral compass in the story, or at least is trying to be, in grappling with bigger ideas can morality exist during a war in this environment and if it can what is the point? And what is right and wrong in these dire situations? I think my character, as a whole, struggles with that and what he feels is right and possibly what the other soldiers want to do are at odds.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the film?

A) What I loved about the character was there was a sparsity to my character’s backstory and his dialogue. I really only communicate out of sheer necessity. There is an element to my character that is very specific about the words he speaks and he only speaks at specific times. I read the script and though similar stories have been told about post-apocalyptic Earth and alien invasion, it is the way the director filmed it and the way Blake wrote the script and characters. I was pleasantly surprised at how character driven the story was and how committed everyone was, bringing as much authenticity to the project in preproduction and during shooting. Then, even more so when Jabbar started doing the effects.

Q) Was there anything you added to your role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) I had about three months of prep time before I left to go to Africa to shoot the movie. I think Jabbar kind of got tired of me calling him and asking him so many questions. But he was really great and Blake Clifton was really great. They gave me free range to make up whatever backstory I wanted about the character. At the time I didn’t know why I was given so much liberty. So, I spent some time with a few guys who were marines that spent some time in Afghanistan and went through some of the scrapbooks they put together. I talked to them because I wanted to bring as much authenticity. I think when you see the film you will be surprised to see how grounded in reality it is even though there are alien and sci-fi elements to it. What I was able to do was completely make up an entire history of where my family was, where my character was during the first mass genocide and what my motivations were even enlisting with the USDF. The cool thing was that by the time I had gotten to Africa I had spent so much time creating those details that they sat a lot of the actors portraying those characters in interview rooms and asked those very questions and a lot of that actually made it into the film. It’s rare as an actor to take your backstory, do so much detailed work on it and then actually be thrown a cool curveball that you are actually being interviewed as the character on set. A lot of that made it into the film and, for me, that made it more authentic and believable. I was certainly glad I did my prep work prior to leaving for Africa.

Q) Was there instant cast chemistry when the cast began working together?

A) I would say that it came incredibly quickly. I would say that 75% of the actors were international from a variety of places like Europe, South Africa or Africa, which was done intentionally to give a more global feel to it. In the film, the United States is very similar to today where it spearheads a specific operation with cooperation from other armies. So, we were all flying in from different parts of the world and we were thrown into a very intense two-week bootcamp. I know people say this a lot in interviews, but especially when they are playing in war movies and as soldiers we were thrown into an incredibly gnarly bootcamp. So, we all immediately gelled. We were all trying to operate at the same speed. It was a very quick bootcamp and we were using automatic weapons. Everyone wanted us to be able to operate and familiarize ourselves with the weapons we were going to be using throughout filming. By day two, we all had our cuts and bruises. We all lived together off set in a very tight knit community of houses. We would be on set together, be in bootcamp together and then go home together. So, it created a really nice chemistry that I  hope people will see that we became very close, very quickly. It was a real pleasure to work with these guys. They were just as much game to go through all of it. I’ve become close with several actors from the movie.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you will be receiving when the movie premieres?

A) My social media was kind of unintentional, but I guess it comes with the territory these days. I am excited to see what people have to say about the film. There has been a lot of positive response to the movie from online publications. I follow a lot of fan-boy sites because I’m a sci-fi fan. So, I’m very much looking forward to what people think about the movie. I think everyone will be surprised with the way the story is told and the format in which the story is told. I think the editing is really brilliant and I was surprised when I watched the film that I really got into the pace of it. People will be surprised by what you sit down to watch. It’s not your typical structure and not your typical pace for this type of genre.

Q) Is there anything else about the film that you want to be sure you share with fans?

A) I really standby the fact that I think this is a 100% unique take on this story. I really encourage the viewers and fans of this genre to jump in and watch the movie with an open mind. Go along for the ride in the way this story unfolds. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.