If Umbrella Academy star Aidan Gallagher could have any superpower, he would choose the ability to effortlessly create music straight from his mind. It’s not because it might make him more prolific — rather it’s because it removes the barrier between overthinking and action. “[It would make the composition] incredibly honest and heartfelt,” he tells Teen Vogue.
While Aidan might not have any superpowers in real life, his character Five on Umbrella Academy is a spatial-jumping, time-traveling 58-year-old former assassin stuck inside the body of his 13-year-old self due to an accidental time jump. In the first season, he uses his abilities to save his superpowered family from an apocalypse in 2019. The second season, which premieres on July 31, leaves the Hargreeves family scattered throughout 1960s Dallas. It’s up to Five to find his siblings and convince them to team up once more to stop yet another world-ending scenario.
“Five's in a very strange predicament. He spent the majority of his life growing up in this apocalyptic wasteland where everyone and everything that he knew was dead and on fire. He used this mannequin as a psychological crutch in order to keep him sane,” Aidan says. “I do my best to keep all of that in mind whenever I approach a scene with a character so rich as Five. I want to make sure that I play all of those different colors.”
Thankfully, Aidan was a fan of the UA comics before ever auditioning for the role of Five; he says he often referred to the comic series when auditioning for the role.
“I reread them and made sure that I did justice to all the little and very subtle quirks of Five,” he says. “I looked at his posture. I looked at his facial expressions. I always had an idea of how Five should be and it was very funny to entertain that idea when I got an audition for it.”
On-screen, audiences can see Aidan’s dedication to reflecting the subtle and not-so-subtle grouchiness of the 58-year-old man inside a 13-year-old body. There’s a touch of desperation from surviving in an apocalyptic world by himself and a tinge of childlike longing for the childhood he wasn’t able to have. Perhaps Aidan’s biggest challenge was playing the oldest sibling (while being the youngest cast member) in a dysfunctional family of ragtag world defenders.
But 16-year-old Aidan — a seasoned actor who got his start on Nickelodeon’s Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn — says he isn’t intimidated by his mostly 30-year-old costars, partially because of what he learned about adapting quickly while on the Nickelodeon set. After filming his first Umbrella Academy scene with Ellen Page, Aidan says his nerves mostly dissipated because he had to focus on the details.
“Shooting Umbrella Academy is like shooting five movies,” he says. “You're working with a cast of incredibly talented 30-year-olds who all know what their mission is. When you're in seeing someone like Ellen Page, and you're right then, it's just the two of you. You're locked in. There's this incredible subtlety and control of the actor who's sitting across from you that you’re really required to step up your game.”
As Aidan waits to hear whether the show has been renewed for a third season, he says he’s spent the majority of his time at home over the past few months further refining his skills as a musician. A lyricist, singer, instrumentalist, and producer, Aidan has released two new singles in 2020, “I Love You” on March 20 and “4th of July” on July 4. The latter single he started working on while filming the second season of UA. He hints that there will be even more musical endeavors dropping throughout 2020.
Though Aidan is himself a musician, he didn’t put two and two together at first with Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy talents and his status as the renowned frontman of My Chemical Romance. He says he was a fan of Gerard’s separate creative endeavors without even realizing it.
“I thought Umbrella Academy was this really interesting and unique world. And I thought that MCR was probably the best manifestation of all the coolest elements of rock music.” he says “I see Gerard as this godlike creative force, who never ceases to amaze [with] whatever he puts out. Gerard is like someone who can just effortlessly pull out something amazing and we all are very lucky to hear it.”
Effortlessness sounds familiar — his dream superpower, remember? Maybe, whether in real life or onscreen, it’s not so far off for Aidan after all.
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