David Rysdahl
David Rysdahl stars as lead technician Arthur Sylvia in Alien: Earth …a show that he says will make you squirm. it is the first live-action series based on the amazing Alien franchise of which we are huge fans of, so we jumped at the chance to catch David at his cozy home in Brooklyn to chat and snap pics spotlighting his personal style. Scroll on down as we chat sustainable fashion, filming Alien in Thailand, side passions including basketball, chess, a good NYC stroll, living with beautiful actor and wife Zazie Beetz who is his top bare essential along with human ingenuity and an occasional sauna.
hat: bailey
the bare magazine: you mentioned being very proud of Alien Earth ...can you share what about the project makes you feel that way?
David Rysdahl: Noah Hawley has used this show to explore the moral questions of our times. We are living in science fiction - we are on the cusp of superintelligent AI, we have billionaires trying to live forever, we have multinational corporations controlling much of the world’s resources, and we are questioning humanity’s role in the extinction of our fellow species as we begin to deal with climate change. A good story sparks conversations. It doesn’t give answers, but it raises questions - it’s up to us all to come up with the answers.
bare: what can one expect tuning in to Alien? Do you feel it is a great escape?
DR: That’s the fun of Alien - a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. There are a lot of ideas in the show, but at the end of the day it’s also just really damn fun. It’s a show that tickles the brain and the gut - a show that will make you squirm.
bare: how did the experience of filming in Thailand enhance and expand your life?
DR: When you work in a place you shed the identity of “tourist” and are allowed a glimpse into the local culture in a way you would never get by just visiting. The Thai crew invited us into their lives and made us feel at home. And it is such a beautiful home! The food, the countryside, the underlying Buddhist social fabric - experiencing it all helps you pop the bubble of your own existence. It reminds you that there are many ways to move through life and you aren’t the center of the universe.
bare: we captured you at home in brooklyn - it was great to get a sense of your style. most of your clothing is eco-friendly and sustainable wear. why is that so important to you? who are your favorite designers/brands?
DR: Zazie (my wife) is so playful with what she wears, and she’s pushed me to have more fun, to take more risks. We are both actors and we use costumes to discover our characters. We do the same in real life - allowing our outfits to pull us in new creative directions. As for sustainability, there is so much waste in fashion. And it doesn’t have to be this way - there are so many brands designing clothes with natural fibers in a sustainable way. I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to be better. I love Sivan Suits, Everlane, ASKET, and ROTE T-shirts (they use algae for ink).
bare: we also found out you love chess, piano, and basketball - would you say those are top 3 side passions? and what got you into them?
DR: I started playing basketball at age four. My two brothers and I had a hoop in our front yard, and we’d spend hours playing together. As I’ve gotten older I’ve found it’s a wonderful way to create community. Wherever I’m filming I’ll find a court. It’s a kind of language - the rules are the same worldwide and playing a game is a way to break down cultural barriers. You go from being strangers to sweating on each other. I’m just praying I’ll prolong the inevitable achilles tear for as long as possible…
I’ve tried replacing social media with online chess - it’s much better for my brain. Also, similar to basketball, chess is a game played around the world. Adrian Edmonson (plays Atom Eins on Alien) and I would play games between takes. His character has a higher status within the fictional world so it felt good beating him in the real world…I hope he reads this.
bare: you and your wife are both actors...is it helpful when it comes to sharing ideas, running lines, auditioning, getting to go to locations...do you find the support grounding?
DR: It took a couple years to figure out how to share our love of acting with each other. Acting is extremely vulnerable as is falling in love. Doing both felt like too much for a while - we both had subconscious fears we needed to understand and overcome. We’re now 11 years in, and we’ve figured it out. We love sharing ideas, running lines, breaking down a scene, finding a character. We help each other push past old acting tricks into something more interesting.
bare: can you list your top 6 bare essentials (they can be anyone or anything)?
DR:
1. My wife! She’s the most fun.
2. A good stroll - my favorite part of living in New York is how much you walk. It is full of all kinds of characters, all kinds of inspiration.
3. My garden. I grew up very religious and I miss that part of my life. I’ve been finding my way back to the divine and that journey feels closest when I’m in nature.
4. My family. My four siblings (and now their partners) and I are especially close. They’ve seen the best and the worst of me and have loved me through it all. We are all versions of each other - mashups of our parents. We sharpen each other, push each other and we just have a lot of fun together.
5. Saunas. One of the splurges Zazie and I have allowed ourselves with some of this TV money is to have a sauna in our home. There’s just something about a good sweat that clears the brain and relaxes the body.
6. Human ingenuity - this sounds vague, but I do some volunteering for groups combating the climate crisis and am amazed at all the innovative ways humans are working to fix the problem. From kelp farming, to sustainable heat pumps, to supplements limiting cow burps - there are many ways to combat the crisis. I’d love to shout out the podcast How We Fix This and Dr. Ayana Johnson’s book What If We Get It Right?
Founder & Editor in Chief - The Bare Magazine
