Whedonesque : Comments on 19212 : (SPOILER) And the role of Alpha is played by...

The link's URL also contains the spoiler, so don't even hover unless you want to be spoiled. Maybe it could be obfuscated with tinyurl?

phong | February 23, 21:48 CET

Is it weird that he was the first person that popped into my head when I read the headline? Spooky.

dulce_serenidad | February 23, 21:49 CET

Zeitgeist led me to this conclusion a week or two back. I've been excited by this character ever since. More than I would've been anyway, I mean.

Jobo | February 23, 21:49 CET

Thanks phong, changed the link redirection.

BlindHawkeyes | February 23, 21:52 CET

Huh, Was that him in the pilot, that bod did look like what I would (if I'd ever) image his naked back to look like? And wasn't his hair black/dark?

CaptainB | February 23, 21:56 CET

I clicked! I clicked! I can't believe I clicked! Gah! (The link didn't work for me but I saw it in the URL.)

But, holy cow, how exciting. One of my favorites. And what a departure.

marmoset | February 23, 21:56 CET

Now it's not working!!

Mal'sGal | February 23, 21:59 CET

I knew it! I KNEW IT!
- Link doesn't work, but I saw the name in the URL.

J.I.G. | February 23, 21:59 CET

Ok reworked it to another site reporting the same...

BlindHawkeyes | February 23, 22:00 CET

I missed the original link, and the new one isn't working, but I think I know who we are talking about here... anyone want to spoiler text for those of us who missed it? And where did this come from?

EDIT: Ok, I can see the new new link.

[ edited by snakebyte on 2009-02-23 22:02 ]

snakebyte | February 23, 22:00 CET

Hmm, won't load for me, but from the link title, I'm not surprised. As my wife put it after the first episode, "Well, after Death at a Funeral, we know he can play 'naked and crazy' pretty well."

Awesome, I'm looking forward to this even more now.

kishi | February 23, 22:03 CET

I am so ridiculously excited by this! :-)

svt121 | February 23, 22:04 CET

Glee! I thought it might be him but I am notoriously bad about thinking I recognize people.

Rachelkachel | February 23, 22:05 CET

This makes me so ridiculously happy! Yay!

HowlingLupe | February 23, 22:06 CET

And those of us reading Whedonesque via RSS got straight up on screen too. Well I guess I don't mind unless it turns out to be an important plot point.

daylight | February 23, 22:10 CET

Well, this should provide some encouragement to keep watching for some Whedon fans who are less than 100% pleased with Dollhouse.

(Kishi, that's probably a spoiler right there. Actually, what's the policy on discussing spoilers in a thread labeled "spoiler?")

Septimus | February 23, 22:13 CET

Hmm, I always assumed that discussing a spoiler was kind of the point of a spoiler thread.

kishi | February 23, 22:17 CET

I'm proud that up until this point, I wasn't aware that he was on the show. I had no idea (based on the link) that it was announced in early February. I cold-turkied spoilers with the final season of Buffy and Angel, but I'm getting a little upset with myself for clicking this post. Although it gives nothing away plot-wise, so I can forgive myself for this one. It's my birthday, after all, so I'm allowed just this once...

CaptainB | February 23, 22:17 CET

Yeah, I don't usually read spoilers, but I was too tempted. And now I feel fine about it since it's only a casting spoiler.

fortunateizzi | February 23, 22:24 CET

Saw the link in Twitter, so got spoiled in spite of myself. Bleah.

Kirochka | February 23, 22:32 CET

Yes!!! I'm thrilled. My sister and I were just talking about how the man needs to be working. I think he'll do a great job.

romanceguru | February 23, 22:34 CET

OMG. OMG. OMG.

See NOW I'm in to this show. HOLY CRAP EXCITEMENT.

DaniVampsForJoss | February 23, 22:38 CET

Woo!

JustNick | February 23, 22:42 CET

Ugh, part of me wants to click, the other part doesn't. I know if I click I will hate myself when it isn't a shock on my TV screen. But I want to know now!

flugufrelsarinn | February 23, 22:47 CET

I can't explain why, but I'm a little surprised that the naked man cutting up pictures was being played by Alan Tudyk. He's the last Whedonverse actor I'd expect to be playing Alpha, but it'll definitely be interesting.

sarahi | February 23, 22:50 CET

But we knew this last week, didn't we?

Simon | February 23, 22:51 CET

Yeah, there was a thread where this was talked about. The two sites who had posted it pulled it down at the time.

zeitgeist | February 23, 22:54 CET

Cool beans!

badwolf | February 23, 22:55 CET

Not really a surprise. I started to suspect that the role of Alpha will be played by a well-known whedonesque actor when it became clear, that they’re deliberately holding back the casting info. And then when the news about Alan appearing on Dollhouse first leaked, I was almost certain that it would be him, who would play that character. And the subsequent promptly deleted description of his role on AlanTudyk.org which, after some effort, I managed to successfully dig up from the internet, only further supported my assumption. I guess that now I can say, that it was definitely confirmed.

Anuris | February 23, 22:56 CET

Well you just know Alan Tudyk is going to say "I am the Alpha and the Omega".

Simon | February 23, 22:57 CET

Inspired piece of casting, no doubt about it. It's cool how even as the show is being broadcast I can still marvel at the cast that's being assembled before my very eyes.

redders | February 23, 22:57 CET

He's amazing and I'm so happy that he is part of DOLLHOUSE!

misssoftserve | February 23, 22:58 CET

Huh, Was that him in the pilot, that bod did look like what I would (if I'd ever) image his naked back to look like? And wasn't his hair black/dark?

I don't think that was him in the pilot. The hair was different (texture, not just the color), and there were birthmarks on Alpha's back that I haven't seen on that person.

mouse | February 23, 22:58 CET

I was lucky not to get beaten when I mentioned this in the chatroom after the premiere :)

zeitgeist | February 23, 23:00 CET

The over-the-shoulder shot in the pilot, where you can just barely see his eye and nose, looks rather like him, though. But maybe that was just luck/good double-casting.

Jobo | February 23, 23:00 CET

I am SO EXCITED that I just twittered all over myself.

mackenzie | February 23, 23:07 CET

*SQUEE*

Taaroko | February 23, 23:07 CET

Jsut to throw a wrench into the works, it is not 100% certain that naked-man-with-photographs-and-dead-bodies is Alpha.

Septimus | February 23, 23:08 CET

mackenzie -- LOL

mouse | February 23, 23:09 CET

Joss Whedon, the Jack Webb of the 21st Century! "dumm-dah-dum-dum." Or maybe he's the Norman Lear "And tomorrow I can start in . . . remembering you." Sheldon Leonard maybe "Let's go down- to- the fishin' hole." Howsomeever.

DaddyCatALSO | February 23, 23:10 CET

I'm torn between excitement and wtf, I love Alan as much as everyone else here, but very much NOT what I expect Alpha to be like. I've only seen him in Firefly and A Knights Tale so I see him as more of a comedic character, certainly not what I expect from Alpha who I've been picturing more as a Sylar from Heroes psycho-killer type. Either Alpha isn't what Episodes 1 & 2 of Dollhouse have suggested, or Alan will be playing a very different character to what I'm used to. Either way I can't wait to see him on the show.

[ edited by ChromeShark on 2009-02-23 23:42 ]

ChromeShark | February 23, 23:11 CET

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! :DDDDDDDDDD
Oh, I'm so excited to hear that! He should be great in this role, especially after seeing his appearance on CSI. Plus, do I detect some guilt for killing off Wash? Yes, I do!

phyrelight | February 23, 23:13 CET

@ChomeShark "Adam"?

guntharr | February 23, 23:30 CET

I was lucky not to get beaten when I mentioned this in the chatroom after the premiere :)

I totally beat you to this, zeitgeist! Except not. But I did!
*---->insisting face<---*

And this has completely made my day!!!!

(But now I am waiting for Alan to get a "phone call" from Joss... similar to the ones he gets for Serenity 2 :))

[ edited by korkster on 2009-02-23 23:47 ]

korkster | February 23, 23:31 CET

@ChomeShark "Adam"?

Ouch, typo I swear (I did type Alan the second time). My face burns in shame.

ChromeShark | February 23, 23:45 CET

Crap. I had been actively avoiding spoilers and had no idea about Alan being in Dollhouse. And thanks to a wonky laptop pointer I accidentally clicked on the link. I'm pleased as punch about the casting, but would have loved to have been delighted by the surprise of seeing him turn up. It might have taken some of the sting out of being robbed of my beloved Wash without any warning.

BrewBunny | February 23, 23:56 CET

I'm so excited. Alan played such a great bad guy on CSI... I can't wait to see him as Alpha. (well, really him).

BrownCoat_Tabz | February 23, 23:56 CET

Well you just know Alan Tudyk is going to say "I am the Alpha and the Omega".

Guess what episode 12 is called..

gossi | February 24, 00:02 CET

*gives aloe vera to ChromeShark for burn*

korkster | February 24, 00:10 CET

This will prove interesting. And I'm intrigued to see Alan play a role like this. Alpha strikes me a a potentially very serious role, and I for one, have not seen Alan in a serious role yet, so I'm looking forward to it Definitely did not think the man in the first ep looked like a redhead. Struck me as a brunette from the skin tone and body hair colouring.

Ivalaine | February 24, 00:11 CET

Septimus: Just to throw a wrench into the works, it is not 100% certain that naked-man-with-photographs-and-dead-bodies is Alpha.

I hadn't thought of that! It would make a nice twist if there was another psycho out there, complicating the picture. Some of the more interesting horror novels by King and Barker tend to have two evils, one supernatural and one mundane (and creepier).

It may be too much of an inside joke, but if this rumor is true, then I think that Alpha should stay alive the entire series, despite the multiple and varied attempts to kill him.

OneTeV | February 24, 00:14 CET

Told you XP

doubleshiny | February 24, 00:18 CET

"Alpha" in episode one is played by a different actor, although I think they have inserted shots of Alan in. Example from "Ghost". You can show an actor, but you have to redub their voice if you don't want to credit them (it's a union thing). They did similar with Sylar in Heroes season one.

I've known about this for a while, but I've been helping cover it up. The cat is bagless now, though. Alan let it slip and it got to fan sites. This is a spoiler in several ways, and I'm pretty sure Joss will be sad to see it get out.

gossi | February 24, 00:31 CET

Guess what episode 12 is called..

Hmmmm. I suppose that was kind of a given. Bit worrying if I can predict that. Cause my guesses never come true.

Simon | February 24, 00:31 CET

"Alpha" in episode one is played by a different actor, although I think they have inserted shots of Alan in. Example from "Ghost". You can show an actor, but you have to redub their voice if you don't want to credit them (it's a union thing). They did similar with Sylar in Heroes season one.

Someone really smart must have told you that ;-)

Yes it is a big spoiler, but I think that the anticipation of seeing Alan in the show will bring more viewers than secret squirrel plot points. Just my opinion.

doubleshiny | February 24, 00:36 CET

The dumbest smart person I've ever known told me that.

gossi | February 24, 00:37 CET

Can we all remember that Alan went to Juilliard and can thus probably rock the shit out of whatever he wants to? So excited.

streetartist | February 24, 00:39 CET

If you want to compare naked Alan with naked Alpha go see Death At A Funeral. He spends a whole scene naked in that movie. Yes, he is thin and muscular just like alpha. Plus he could have put on some muscle since then as well. It is possible they had a body double for those Alpha shots, but I still thought it looked like Alan.

My Dollhouse viewing companions and I had an argument about this and I was the only one that guessed right. Yay Me!
I know my naked men! Oh wait... forget I said that. :)

Jayne's Hat | February 24, 00:44 CET

You might have to redub their voice to avoid a union dispute, but what about when they don't have any lines? Alpha hasn't said anything yet, and Sylar was voiced by Maurice "The Brain" LaMarche in Heroes at first.

John Darc | February 24, 00:46 CET

Alan's an amazing actor. Truly. He's going to rock the living shit out of this role.

[ edited by gossi on 2009-02-24 00:47 ]

gossi | February 24, 00:46 CET

I'm so excited! Yay!

Scaniano | February 24, 00:52 CET

I'm a knife-wielding leaf on the wind.

redeem147 | February 24, 00:55 CET

redeem147, you are my favorite.

Taaroko | February 24, 00:57 CET

Does this mean Joss gets to kill Alan again? Cool!

Ronn2d2 | February 24, 00:58 CET

Wooo hoooooo!

He'll be great. All the more reason to be excited about Fridays.

WhoIsOmega? | February 24, 01:00 CET

Alan spilled the beans? Haha. How much trouble can he get into for that? And why didn't TPTB just play it off like he was joking? Like it was another Serenity 2 rumor? They could have pulled that off...

NYPinTA | February 24, 01:00 CET

Well, we can't have him live, now can we?

Thanks, redeem147. That's my quote of the day. :)

korkster | February 24, 01:09 CET

Say what???
That's all I will say, but it should be very interesting.

impalergeneral | February 24, 01:27 CET

Yawn. Sorry, doesn't excite me at all. Was never a big fan of Alan Tudyk.

Little Green Kid | February 24, 01:28 CET

I haven't been thrilled with Dollhouse and I was about ready to give up on it, but I'll continue tuning in to see if Alan does anything for the show.

AuntArlene | February 24, 01:32 CET

YaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOO!!! :P _it's nice to see how the team grows up each production, that says a lot about the Mutant Enemies.

Small Blue Thing | February 24, 01:36 CET

I wish my smiting powers were available on the black. ;)

korkster | February 24, 01:38 CET

Curse my sudden but inevitable betrayal!

GimpyD | February 24, 01:40 CET

OK, now that we know it will be, and when he'll show up, we can look forward to Alpha taking over the Dollhouse, and call it....This Dollhouse. Just as long as he doesn't consider Paul Ballard the Barney Fife of 2009 (just like the FBI and Adelle DeWitt).

impalergeneral | February 24, 01:51 CET

Twitter chatter spoiled me. Sigh.

Sunfire | February 24, 02:10 CET

My insatiable curiosity spoiled me. Damn you Curiosity! Damn. And now I feel the urge to spread this news around even more. Spoilers is the new virus I'm infected with. It's like mono and I'm looking to make-out.

...but I won't. Probably not.

Emmie | February 24, 02:23 CET

I'm sorry Sunfire! I didn't mean to. I feel horrible!

korkster | February 24, 02:26 CET

Best news ever!

marymary | February 24, 03:04 CET

Somehow people saying they feel horrible makes me suspicious nowadays. Are you perchance a doctor, korkster?

Emmie | February 24, 03:05 CET

You're not the only one, Emmie. Whenever I hear that word I automatically think of attempted hardcore diabolicalness that comes across as silly and adorable instead. And eventually results in tragedy.

Taaroko | February 24, 03:15 CET

Wow, the temptation to click! I have a feeling that now this is out there I won't be able to avoid it anyway...gaahrrhggh.

Manic D | February 24, 03:15 CET

@zeitgeist, i burnt my eyes reading that on the chatroom... i remember suggesting nathan as alpha... and you mentioned that that was tudyk's gig.... hahaha... good times

jtmtzrwj | February 24, 03:45 CET

Dear Joss,
Please don't kill the Alpha Doll. Well, at least not until the 3 season......

Spacegirl3200 | February 24, 05:37 CET

Yay! This is turning out to be a Whedonverse reunion show but I of course don't mind one bit.
I'm really glad they got him. I keep seeing his Direct TV commercial where he sets up his Tivo from his cell phone in the middle of a bank robbery, quite funny. I'm glad he's on a show now and not just the commercials in between.

twinkiefoo | February 24, 05:39 CET

Is it in any way wrong that I recognized him from the shot over his shoulder (looking at his naked leg) by the color of his leg hair?

I mean, that's not healthy, right?

Who else has strawberry blonde leg hair, though? I can't think of a single man in real life that I have met who has strawberry blonde leg hair. I guess it's a done deal, now. I am definitely a fan.

A possibly mentally unwell fan. :)

Tarae | February 24, 10:02 CET

This news deserves a fiesta!

Tarae, you are not alone. I did the same with the leg hair.

[ edited by Urui on 2009-02-24 10:55 ]

Urui | February 24, 10:54 CET

Wow. And Woah. And Wow. And Woah. I'm shocked. I obviously wasn't paying really close attention coz shocked! And excited. And I wonder if he let it slip because Joss was like
"Sorry for killing you in Firefly but I have this idea"
"Oh no Mr. You're not reeling me back in just to kill me off again"
"No, no. I promise this time you won't be deaded"
"Oh Ok then"

Only to be told

"We had a few rewrites and suddenly Echo takes this big wooden pole and with the strength of a god ends up shoving it through your..."

"Ah crap" and off he goes to let a little something slip...

Did I fall asleep?

missyu | February 24, 11:14 CET

Like someone else Alan was the first person I thought.

Gota luv that Buffy | February 24, 11:25 CET

@Tarae - you're a hilarious possibly mentally unwell fan! And GimpyD - Lol! @ mackenzie - eeww! Yay is me! This is mucho wonderous! Amy, Eliza, Alan! I loves me these peoples!

[ edited by RollingInKittens on 2009-02-24 11:41 ]

RollingInKittens | February 24, 11:37 CET

All can think is YES, YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!

I had a feeling it'd be him. Now we just need a few more seasons of Dollhouse so all the former Firefly cast can be big bads (Nathan, Adam and Gina already did it.)

This is one time I'm glad I spoiled myself because now I'm so excited!!!

nna_funk | February 24, 11:40 CET

I didn't want to know it, but it's already on wikipedia...

Awesome though!

I can't wait to see him as a bad (well at least somehow) guy.

Akela | February 24, 11:59 CET

Gee, what a shock...not!

I do hope he doesn't fall in love with Echo, or anyone else for that matter. Not sure if I could handle seeing Alan 'die' again!

missb | February 24, 12:28 CET

Ahhh!!! :))) I couldn't resist and I am soooo happy!!!! He is going to be an excellent bad guy!!

Ahhhhh!!!!

angry_puppy | February 24, 15:17 CET

Wooot! I called it! *wishes she saw this yesterday coz it'd've made her crappy day*

Mirage | February 24, 16:04 CET

In case there’s any confusion about this – Alan told the Farpoint convention recently he wouldn’t be in Dollhouse at all. He lied. He actually told the crowd this after Joss announced Alan was in Dollhouse himself.

gossi | February 24, 16:27 CET

The link below is mean about my website and it calls it a 'fan blog'. I can't seem to leave a comment on there expressing my rage but suffice to say that all disbelievers in ATDN and its high quality journalism will be shamefaced come the day of judgement (or the day that they air the first episode with Alan in it, whichever comes first).

Load of old balls

doubleshiny | February 24, 16:52 CET

Late to the party, though I read this news yesterday. I suspected he would play Alpha. The rumor was that he would play a recurring role, and while the body in episode one was not his, he's close enough. Plus, it is like Joss to cast someone against type. He shows great trust in his actors, and that usually pays off.

I'm so ready for this!

Nebula1400 | February 24, 17:06 CET

Well, Emmie & Taaroko, you're not far off. I twittered silliness about Joss killing off Alan again which ended in tragedy for Sunfire.

And it wasn't intentional. Talk about Billy's tragedy, for sure.

korkster | February 24, 17:31 CET

Ok. I'm confused. So... Alan said he was in it. But then said he wasn't, that he was just on the set to see Tim, but this was after Joss said he was in the show as Alpha?
For the dizzy and still suffering from a long drawn out head cold and probably high on cold medication: is he Alpha?

[ edited by NYPinTA on 2009-02-24 17:55 ]

NYPinTA | February 24, 17:50 CET

No, I am.

The One True b!X | February 24, 18:44 CET

I'm sensing sarcasm.

NYPinTA | February 24, 18:47 CET

I don't see why.

The One True b!X | February 24, 18:50 CET

Alan has SERIOUS chops. And slashes.

DisChunk | February 24, 20:14 CET

...I have no idea why, but I, also, once I saw the thread title (and had NOT clicked or hovered on it) automatically thougth of Tudyk. Wasn't spoiled by the other sources so no idea why, other than, I guess, that the fact that it warrented an announcement meant it was a known actor, and almost certainly a whedonverse veteran...

...apparantly he learned more from Niska in War Stories than we suspected...

...more seriously, despite the obvious brutality of what Alpha has done, I have been assuming, both by his sparing of Echo and by his apparant attempt to tease Ballard in the right direction, that Alpha, at least on some level, was on a righteous mission, and would turn out to have some sympathetic qualities. The casting of Tudyk confirms this to me, because I believe he is capable of playing the pain, doing the vile things, and still showing some spark of whatever he might have been before this all happened...I find myself thinking of what River would have been like if loose in the world without Simon to look out for her, or what that Slayer in the final season of Angel came to be like...

...on that note, if Joss really wants to make me happy, I think I'd like to believe we finally know what organization Marcie ("Out of Mind, Out of Sight") ended up with...wonder what Clea DuVall is up to these days...

doubtful guest | February 24, 20:47 CET

Alan is going to make an awesome Big Bad! I agree with Doubtful Guest - I don't think Alpha will be downright evil, he will just be a psycho who believes in what he's doing.

Shep | February 24, 22:28 CET

I am blaming my missing this entire post/thread on my pregnancy, which has scattered my usually-freakishly-linear brain. I cannot WAIT for Alpha now.

mumpower | February 24, 23:45 CET

I was all prepared to say "Who?" - hehe, but oh no.
I can't quite picture him in that role, but he's a good actor so i have no fears. In fact, now its looking up for the so far Dollhouse.

Hunted | February 25, 02:04 CET

I knew it. At least I thought I knew it. I hit pause on the exact spot linked to above and when I came back to the computer I yelled "Tudyk!" and did a little happy dance.
Although I wasn't sure enough that I just read this link, made my kid look first.
Joss always says that actors who can do comedy will deliver the drama. I can't wait.

deadbessie | February 25, 02:48 CET

I resisted reading this but then I realised I didn't care. This isn't really a spoiler as such to me (it's about the actor playing a character rather than anything about the character or about the story). Plus as soon as I saw his back in 'Ghost' I knew it was him (which is kinda weird now that gossi has said that that wasn't even him ...)

Cool news, though, hopefully it will get some resistant Firefly fans to watch

Let Down | February 25, 08:52 CET

Stupid active Dollhouse spoiled it for me on their front page! >:(

[ edited by Rhodey on 2009-02-26 06:13 ]

Rhodey | February 26, 05:59 CET

I imagine this bit of casting was inspired by that brief bit of mistaken identity upon viewing the 3:10 to Yuma trailer.

NoSadSeven | February 26, 07:58 CET

February 23 2009