The Umbrella Academy is back for its third season on Netflix, re-inviting viewers into the world of dysfunctional superhero family The Hargreeves.
Aidan Gallagher plays the “young” sibling – known as Number Five – who is actually a 50-something man trapped in a teen body — a fact for which no one can blame him. Number Five’s no-nonsense attitude and often detached nature have made him popular among “TUA’s” fanbase
Chatting with fans on Reddit, series creator Steve Blackman explained the tedious process of finding the perfect Five.
We read/saw hundreds of kids from Canada, US, UK and Australia. But I just couldn’t find the right actor who could play such a complicated character. Then Aidan walked into the room. He was 12 or 13 at the time. He sat down and said he would kill for this role. He knew everything about the graphic novel and was very insightful.
When he read the sides (the scenes we write for auditions), I was blown away. You need a certain gravitas to play a fifty-eight-year-old man trapped inside a thirteen-year-old’s body. Aidan had that… and then some.
I think we can all agree we made the right choice!
Gallagher told Collider last year about his comic fandom. “I grew up a fan of comics and hanging out in local comic book stores,” he said. “I got turned onto these two graphic novels, and it was unlike anything that I had read before, so I was instantly hooked. You can imagine how excited I was when I realized I would get to audition.
