malik yoba talks alphas season 2

NBC UNIVERSAL/SYFYModerator: Stephen Cox

7-26-12/5:00 pm CTConfirmation # 21600945

NBC UNIVERSAL/SYFY

Moderator: Stephen CoxJuly 26, 20125:00 pm CT

Operator: Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for standing by and welcome to Syfy's

Alphas conference call.

During the presentation all participants will be in a listen only mode.

Afterwards we will conduct a question and answer session. At that time if you

have a question please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. If at

any time during the conference you need to reach an operator please press star

0.

As a reminder this conference is being recorded Thursday, July 26, 2012. I

would now like to turn the conference over to Stephen Cox from Syfy. Please

go ahead.

Stephen Cox: Hi everyone. Thanks for joining us today. We're really excited to have Malik

Yoba from Syfy's Alphas here to answer your questions. Just a reminder;

Alphas airs Mondays at 10:00 pm only on Syfy. So without further ado we'll

hand it over to your questions.



Operator: Thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen if you wish to register a question please

press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. You will hear a three-tone

prompt to acknowledge your request.

If your question has been answered and you would like to withdraw your

registration please press the 1 followed by the 3. If you are using a

speakerphone please lift your handset before entering your request. One

moment please for the first question.

Our first question comes from the line of Erin Willard with scifimafia.com.

Please proceed with your question.

Erin Willard: Hi, thanks so much for being on the call today.

Malik Yoba: Thank you.

Erin Willard: And congratulations on a terrific season premiere. I really liked it a lot.

Malik Yoba: You enjoy that?

Erin Willard: Absolutely, yes. It was (unintelligible)...

Malik Yoba: All the action?

Erin Willard: ...action and - absolutely. It was neat. And that's actually kind of what I

wanted to ask you about. It seemed - I know it's the season premiere and that's

always a little bit different, but it seemed like there was a lot more intensity, a

lot more action in the season premiere. Is that going to carry out throughout

the season?



Malik Yoba: Not necessarily. I think that - and you know, the writers probably could speak

more to it, and the director of that. But I think that the goal was to try to start

it with a bang, literally.

So and it still, even to us like you know, Season 2 is a bit almost like, you

know, doing a mini-pilot again, you know, you have to kind of set up who's

who, where we are. And obviously we were a little disjointed so there was the

process of creating a team all over again but.

Yes, there's some good action coming up though. I get beat up quite a few

times, which I don't really appreciate but you know. The good thing is I can

always - I just look at the production manager and go, "Please schedule a

massage for tomorrow."

Erin Willard: Nice. So will we be seeing a Bill-centric episode or story arc this season?

Malik Yoba: Not - yes, I don't know why I was saying no. We're on 13 right now so it's

been a while. But yes, I think the season actually kind of opens with Bill-

centric, at least certainly for the first couple episodes, I think that the Bill

storyline, we kind of get right into where Bill's at, where we left him and

where he is now and how - you know, what state he's in.

Without giving away too much, I was definitely like, "What, really? All

right," that kind of thing. But yes, it's been good. It's been good though.

Erin Willard: Great. And you're - are you done shooting now for the season or it's still on?

Malik Yoba: No, we're on 13 right now.

Erin Willard: All right. Well thanks so much and I will...



Malik Yoba: Okay, cool.

Erin Willard: I'll make room for somebody else.

Malik Yoba: Okay.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Jamie Ruby with

scifivision.com. Please proceed with your question.

Jamie Ruby: Hi, thanks so much for talking to us today. Can you talk about what the most

challenging part of your role is?

Malik Yoba: Not looking like I did when I was 26. You laugh with me. Actually you know,

the fact that we started the season off with a lot of action and a lot of physical

stuff, for me.

I had an experience that I never had before on set where I turned to Warren

Christie's character one day - not his character, but to Warren, we were

shooting the episode that I think is Number 3, where Bill goes into a fight

club. And I had like 3 fight scenes in a week, more in 2 days or something like

that, during a week of shooting. It was very, very physical and I remember,

and I was really tired and I turned Warren and I was like, "Dude, I think I'm

going to cry right now."

So like there was a literal physical challenge for me. But it's great because I

am 45 and you know, I work hard to stay fit. And so the physical challenges

are there. I think that's probably it.



And I think sometimes, you know, just making sure that you know

collectively, meaning writers, directors, all the actors, everyone is working to

keep one vision when you have so many moving pieces, you know? And with

so many characters I think we're still in a place where, you know, sometimes

we have to just - that presents its own like creative challenges.

But those are good because I think that as a result of it, everybody contributes

to making the moments the best that they can be, first when they're on the

page, and then when you're on set and you're in a moment.

And you know, you might have something that, you know, you were actually

challenged by in that moment like, "Okay, how are we going to make this

work? Where's the logic here? Who should do what? How do we," you know.

And I think that's the part - or at least for me, that I really, really love, you

know. Because out of that comes the thing that people enjoy. So whatever the

challenges are, it's always good because we meet them and then I think we

have some level of success.

Jamie Ruby: Okay great. And how are you most like and most different your character?

Malik Yoba: I think Bill is shorter and I think the fact that Bill is a former agent and comes

to the group as a person with a certain expertise in, you know, law

enforcement and you know, protocol and procedure and all that kind of stuff, I

think you know, I had a scene with the three women in the show the other day

and I was like, "This is like Daddy mode," and I am a dad so you know, how I

was talking to them was how I'd talk to my kids.

So I think there are those times when just as a man and an authoritative figure,

you have to sort of take a position that could feel very, very familiar. But I try



in this particular case, you know, I definitely don't feel that I'm often times

like tapping into like Malik stuff to play Bill, if that makes sense, other than

like...

Jamie Ruby: Yes. All right, thank you so much.

Malik Yoba: Well I was going to say other than humor. I think that humor is a really

important element of our show. And so just I always try to also work from that

place of, "Wouldn't this be funny if..."

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Tony Tellado with Sci-Fi Talk.


Tony Tellado: Hi Malik, we talked last year. Good to talk to you again for Season 2. I really

liked the opener.

Malik Yoba: That's good right?

Tony Tellado: Yes, it was it great. I want to ask you about Bill a little bit. I thought during

the episode he kind of had some misgivings of some of the choices he made

when Rosen was incarcerated. Can you kind of tell us mentally where he is at

the beginning of the season?

Malik Yoba: I think Bill is definitely - and this happens throughout the season, I think you

know, we start off where I feel like, you know, we've been lied to, or just the

whole truth wasn't told. And so over the first few episodes you're definitely

going to get some of that tension between Rosen and Harken.

And it'll - yes, it's - there's a couple good moments with David and I where we

get to deal with that stuff so. Bill is - Bill, you know, as we said in the



premiere that for the last 8 months he's, you know, he stayed on the job. And

you know, because that's all he really can do and wants to do.

And so he, you know, he begins to question, you know, where Rosen's head is

at and why he does what he does. I think that that's some of the conflict that

we'll definitely see in Season 2.

Tony Tellado: You know, just briefly I thought the scene in the second season opener

between you and Gary, after having the adventure you both had last season,

was very telling on how things were. And you could sense your frustration

trying to communicate with him. It was a really good scene for the both of

you.


Tony Tellado: All right, thank you.

Malik Yoba: Thank you, have a good day.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of (Tim Hogan) from TVOvermind,

please proceed with your question.

(Tim Hogan): Hi, it's nice to get to speak with you. This is my first time talking to you.

Malik Yoba: How you doing man?

(Tim Hogan): Great.

Malik Yoba: When's your birthday?



(Tim Hogan): September 24, '69.

Malik Yoba: I felt that man, that's a week after my birthday on the 17th.

(Tim Hogan): Really?

Malik Yoba: I am, there you go.

(Tim Hogan): You've got some psychic powers.

Malik Yoba: So a week before your birthday you can think of me and I'll think of you.

(Tim Hogan): I will. I didn't know you had that gift. That could be your Alpha - secondary

Alpha power huh?

Malik Yoba: I'm pretty intuitive around certain things. I'm just you know, it's kind of crazy.

(Tim Hogan): I have multiple questions, I'll just ask two now and get back in the follow-up

line. The first one is considering your work in action driven shows like Nikita

and Person of Interest, I feel that you could speak with some authority on fight

choreography, you being around it and experiencing it, and for this fight club

Alpha episode, was a new fight choreographer or stunt choreographer brought

in or did you use the same person as always (unintelligible)?

Malik Yoba: No, we used Jamie Jones. Jamie Jones is our Stunt Coordinator, he's a great

guy. I mean you could do a whole series on that dude and his family. His

actually wife and his four kids are all stunt people and they - the entire family

works on the show, which is pretty amazing.



But no, Jamie did it. And I also contribute. I practiced martial arts growing up

so I try to incorporate some of that stuff, like if you saw last season when I did

that flying kick and bust through the door, that was you know, my idea. It was

written literally like, "Harken like a rhino busts through a door." I was like,

"No, I'm going to be a little more elegant. How about if I fly through the air

and kick it?" And so I just did it.

But no we use the same fight choreographer and it's very collaborative, again

you know, in terms of how much I want to put in or not put in, how much I

want to do and not to do for me. So it's a lot of fun.

(Tim Hogan): The prison fight in the premiere seemed kind of hard core, like extra intense.

Okay, so my second question is about your co-star Azita, she impresses me as

an especially fun type of person to be around. Do you have any thoughts or

anecdotes just about working with her, being friends with her?

Malik Yoba: I hate her. I absolutely hate her, can't stand her. No, Azita's like my little sister

twin kind of thing. She does like to have fun. Anecdotes about Azita? Plenty,

plenty. She's just fun to watch.

You know, Azita is very - she's one of these kids that, you know, and if you've

talked to her you could ask her the same things, but you know, she grew up

you know, as an immigrant kid from Afghanistan watching television,

wanting to like just be entertained and wanting to be a part of it. And so I love

watching the fact that as an Afghan woman, she gets to actually live out her

dream and work on being a little starlet.

So one of my favorite moments with Azita is I guess when she ended up in

Maxim magazine, because that ended up on the wall in my trailer.



(Tim Hogan): I'll have to check that out.

Malik Yoba: Yes.

(Tim Hogan): Thanks a lot for answering the questions Malik.

Malik Yoba: You're welcome.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of John Soltes with Hollywood

Soapbox. Please proceed with your question.

John Soltes: Hi, thank you for the time today, I really appreciate it.

Malik Yoba: How you doing man?

John Soltes: Looking at your character through the first season, and now you know,

entering into the second season, are you happy with sort of the changes that

have - that come about? I mean he's definitely seemed to, you know, almost

soften a bit, and you know, become a little bit more receptive to Gary and the

others. Do you see that and do you like it?

Malik Yoba: I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?

John Soltes: Yes, do you like how your character has changed a bit over the episodes, and

kind of softened a little bit with the other Alphas?

Malik Yoba: Yes, I mean you know, television being a long-form story-telling format, you

know, we get a chance to - we have to evolve. So and that's one of the things

that, you know, in Season 2 we try to figure out how we can retain some of



that stuff that, you know, causes conflict and tension, because that's really

where the comedy or the drama will come from, you know, real conflict.

But yes, plus I just love working with Ryan and we - you know, the fact that

he's an autistic character, there's always going to be so much that you can do

and how far you can actually go. So we have a lot of fun improving on the

show.

So yes, I'm happy to where we go. But you know, as you'll see and of course

through Season 2, we're not always happy with each other.

John Soltes: Have you - it's kind of a corny question, but have you ever thought if you

were an Alpha, you know, what special power you would want?

Malik Yoba: I'd have the ability to stop - to make people stop asking the same question. I

don't know man, I guess I'd levitate or something.

John Soltes: All right.

Malik Yoba: Yes, yes.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Ernie Estrella from buzzfocus.com.


Ernie Estrella: Hi Malik, thanks for talking. I wanted to ask you about, "Will there be an

evolution of powers, or new abilities for Bill this season?"

Malik Yoba: How do I answer that? Definitely an evolution, I think the idea that it's an

evolution, yes. It's an interesting thing when you do a show with these abilities

because I think that careful consideration has to be given to like how we



actually treat it so that we can be consistent. And so you talk about evolution

or a different ability, like that's an interesting concept that we play with like,

"How does this evolve?"

In Season 1 we - okay, we work with this doctor who helps us understand who

we are and how we are and why we have these abilities. And so if there's a

downside to them, how do we manage that? And I think in working to manage

the downside, the ability shifts a bit. And so you'll definitely see that in

Season 2, yes.

Ernie Estrella: Okay cool. And is - what about the subplot of Bill and his wife wanting to

have children; does that come up again or does it (unintelligible).

Malik Yoba: She has an affair with another Alpha woman. You heard it here first. Oh is

that a spoiler, I hate when I do that.

No we get to - we just actually shot a scene the other day. So the baby issue

definitely continues and is dealt with in an interesting way.

Ernie Estrella: Okay cool.

Malik Yoba: I'll say that.

Ernie Estrella: And then one last question then about the diversity of the cast that it's really

refreshing to see a cast comprised the way that it is and the characters, as well

as their differences. But they're not necessarily limited by what makes them so

diverse.

Malik Yoba: That's right.



Ernie Estrella: Was that important for you when coming onto this project, that you know, Bill

wasn't going to be, you know, a token character or something like that so?

Malik Yoba: Well the irony is Bill was written as a white dude with an Asian wife. So

when we did the pilot there were still script - you know, stage directions that,

you know, talked about a white guy with his cheeks reddened and I told them

to leave it because I thought it was kind of funny that you know...

But I think that's important. I think that that's definitely something that I've

talked about. I actually just wrote an email to Bill - Bruce Miller this morning

about like even how we use music, diverse kind of music, for instance (Beanie

Man) as a reggae - huge reggae artist is a huge fan of the show and so how we

can use music to expand the audience - the diverse audiences that will come to

a show like this, that I think people who aren't necessarily sci-fi fans do enjoy.

It's important in the casting. I was very happy to see that by the like fourth or

fifth episode of this season we have more diversity in casting than we did the

entire last season. And those are things that everybody, you know, from Bruce

on down, obviously is giving consideration to.

So the thing I also love is that we never deal with race; it's Alphas or non-

Alphas, good Alphas, bad - you know, that's very refreshing to work in

television and not have to deal with that. So yes, and we don't even discuss it

as a group, like it just never comes up. If anyone brings it up it's me, and only

to the extent that, "Let's get..."

Like the wife, I thought she should have remained Asian. You know, I've

never had - every time I've actually had an opportunity to have an Asian

woman as a character in a movie or a TV show there's some reason why they

couldn't find one. I'm like, "That's ridiculous."



So - not that I'm trying to not have black women work, but I just think that in

general, like I'm directing a film right now, and I'm very conscious of showing

the world I live in -- that's important to me, that we live in a diverse society. I

think that television and mass media definitely has a great responsibility in

presenting the whole story, which we don't always do.

Ernie Estrella: Well it's great. It's very noticeable with you and (Holly) and Azita as an

Asian-American myself it's really - it is refreshing to see a show like this and

not, you know, throw the race issue always out there.

Malik Yoba: Yes man. Yes, definitely. So yes.

Ernie Estrella: So thanks.

Malik Yoba: And I think Syfy in general tends to do that, but yes. Thanks for noticing.

Ernie Estrella: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Renee Martin with

fangsforthefantasy.com. Please proceed with your question.

Renee Martin: Hi Malik. Thanks so much for doing this.

Malik Yoba: Thank you. Thanks for the fantasy.

Renee Martin: I just wanted to say before I ask my question that, "You're a large part of the

reason I watch Alphas."

Malik Yoba: Okay, thank you. Ego, stroke, stroke, ego, stroke, stroke. I'll take it.



Renee Martin: Okay. I'm going to touch a little bit on what the last person asked. Science

fiction has a tendency to erase people of color, and when they are included,

they're usually token roles.

So one of the things that caught my attention right away was that Bill was

actually the leader of the group and he wasn't a token and he wasn't overtaken

by Cameron. I'm wondering how - if you feel that by taking part in this that

you're sort of moving things forward in the genre where we'll begin to see

more inclusive roles for marginalized people?

Malik Yoba: Well the good thing is we shoot the show in Canada. So you mentioned

Cameron right? Warren Christie is a Canadian, and we shoot with a Canadian

crew. And so it's interesting even just dealing with the whole race politic

question shooting in Canada, which - because it doesn't come up.

I am often the only black dude on set, but I don't think about it, I don't feel it,

we don't talk - you know it's - and not out of like no one's aware but - we are

but, what I like is that were professionals and people who care about a

particular product and project. And so we work really well collaboratively to

make the best show possible where that really never comes up, so that's

interesting in and of itself.

Second part for me is I've been in this game for 20 years as a professional and

I've been doing it since I was in elementary school. And for me it was just -

you - my father always said, "Build your own generator so when they turn off

the power you still have light."

So throughout my career I've had other things that I initiate on my own as a

man, but I happen to be a black man. So I say all that to say that conversation



about being groundbreaking or, you know, the opportunities or lack of

opportunities, at the end of the day this is a really, really hard business no

matter what - who you are.

And I say all that to say, like we just have to continue to have the conversation

about doing our own shit, like I write, I direct, I produce, I'm working on my

own film right now. In fact I'm shooting a trailer for my film, What's on the

Hearts of Men, which is going to be a very diverse audience because I also

understand international distribution doesn't just look like black people and I

understand the challenges of selling us internationally.

But while I'm shooting a series I'm directing my own piece and no one else in

the cast is doing that because one, that's just not where their head is. But that's

my determination, you know, I'm pushing to direct the third season of Alphas

and I have full support of production, you know, in this endeavor of my

entrepreneurial pursuits, so that really is the question. And the answer for me

is like, "We can't keep talking about the opportunities we don't have if we

don't work really hard to create our own luck."

And if I - and having some perspective, you know, when I was a kid I gave

my teacher my autograph when I was 13 and told them I was going to be

famous. And I was in the Drama Club from elementary school to high school

performing arts programs, and worked at the Negro Ensemble Company as a

16 year old and did all that and have all that kind of perspective.

And at the end of the day the thing that I feel has contributed to my ability to

continue to work in this business, and I feel like my career has largely about

hitting singles, right, if this is a game, and by staying in the game I still hit

300.



And I think the biggest part is because I don't think about what is impossible,

you know. And that's one of the things I love about Tyler Perry, you know,

having worked with Tyler, having known Tyler before he did he first films.

Knowing him from the play game. That's an example of - he - there's one

thing about him, is that it doesn't matter what he doesn't know, it doesn't

matter that he didn't go to film school, it doesn't matter that he didn't get a

degree in writing from some place.

For everything he doesn't know how to do from a film making perspective, he

just does it anyway. And he wins. And that - and people support that. And I

think that's how we shift this whole conversation about what we have or don't

have. Because here's somebody who wasn't even in the game that changed the

game.

Woman: Okay. And if I could just ask one last question. I know that you also sing, so I

was wondering, are we at some point going to see a softer side of Bill where...

Malik Yoba: I hope so, I was hoping to actually...

Woman: ...the writers will incorporate that?

Malik Yoba: I, you know what, since you said it, I'm going to have to think of - we're not

done filming yet, so I'm going to work it in somehow girl. Work it into this

last episode.

Woman: Thank you, I'd appreciate that.

Malik Yoba: But no, I definitely - actually recently go some music placed on the show, but

not my actual music, just some artists that I'm working with. But that, I

definitely plan to do more of that, so thank you.



Woman: Well thank you for your time.

Malik Yoba: Yes, thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes is a follow up question from the line John Soltes

with Hollywood Soapbox, please proceed with your question.

John Soltes: Hi, thanks again for answering these questions today. You know I was curious

of how difficult is the shooting for Alphas? You had mentioned a little earlier,

you know, that some of the stunts and action, is it difficult compared to your

other work?

Malik Yoba: Filmmaking is difficult not matter what it is, but definitely the physical

component, that definitely adds to the challenge of it. But this season because

the way they they've writing episodes, the workload has been distributed a

little more evenly. Especially toward the second half of the season, for me

personally, like today is a day off, last season I had four days off the entire

shooting schedule.

So this year I've, you know, I've made five trips back home to New York so

we were able to do Comic Con, I was able to, you know, travel and do some

other things so it can be tough, but it hasn't been brutal like it was last year.

John Soltes: I'm curious also, you know, in the beginning stages when this was coming

about, when you were offered the role did you sort of just jump in head first or

was there any hesitation about getting into, you know, such a big commitment

and perhaps also the types of job (unintelligible).



Malik Yoba: I said no three times actually. For my agents, when they first called and said -

because I had just done the series Defying Gravity the year before in 2009,

and we set the pattern for this in 2010.

So in 2009 I had spent six months doing Defying Gravity and Alphas is

actually my 11th television series and the Law of Averages says that most

aren't successful, so for a number of reasons I said no, which were mainly

about who were the people - like I didn’t want to be away from my kids. And

you know, as I mentioned before I'm an entrepreneur so I have a bunch of my

own, you know, things going on.

And it is a huge time commitment, we spend four and a half months of our

lives in another country away family, you know, working on a television. And

so if all the pieces aren't working, if these interviews don't happen, if the

marketing isn't right, if the outreach isn't right if you're using social net, all the

elements that make something find traction.

If those things aren’t employed it can be very, very frustrating from business

standpoint. So I'm definitely am one of those actors that doesn't, you know,

the business is longer than the show, you know what I mean, literally. And so

if the business isn't right then I don't want to do it, I don't want to be a part of

it.

And fortunately, you know, this has been one of the highlights of my career. I

love doing the show, I love the people I work with, I love shooting in Toronto.

I think we have an opportunity to really build a brand that, you know, can be

around for a while and already seems to mean something to people.

And having, you know, in television I've only had that experience a couple of

time with like New York Undercover, that show radically altered the



television landscape. You know, then doing shows like Girlfriends, or even

doing a show like Arrested Development, being part of those shows that really

mean something to people. And so that's the reason why I said no initially, but

I'm glad I said yes.

John Soltes: Thank you very much.

Operator: Our next question is a follow up question from the line of Erin Willard with

scifimafia.com. Please proceed with your question.

Erin Willard: Hey great, and we're all glad you said yes. I can't imagine anyone else in that

role. You just embody it so well, appreciate it. And I really miss Defying

Gravity, that was such a great show. I'm sorry it didn't get any further than it

did, I think it was just - it's hard to see it go.

Anyway you mentioned Bruce Miller, can you tell us how things have

changed, if they've changed at all since you have that showliner?

Malik Yoba: You know it's - things have definitely changed and we don't know if it's for

the good - for better or for worse or if things will stay the same. And that's an

interesting - really, really interesting thing to do. And I mentioned to an

earlier, you know, journalist how the challenges can be around fighting for

who your character is and who you are.

So Zak Penn and Michael Karnow spent five years working on an idea that

they pitched. Originally it was at ABC then it was I think at NBC, it jumped

around. So these guys lived with this thing for a long time. And then to have

Zak leave and then to have, you know, Bruce came in and then Zak left, and

to have half of the creative - the visionaries behind it, you know, that's

challenge in and of itself no matter who the people are.



Erin Willard: Sure.

Malik Yoba: And so Bruce comes in and I think he had a tremendous challenge in how

much do you retain of the old team, because everybody, you know, they just

finished Eureka, so he brought a lot of folks over from Eureka, which is a very

different show, a very different sensibility.

So it was a challenge for all of us, but I like I mentioned earlier, collectively,

you know, this is a collaborative business and so, yes there are egos and yes

there are all those things that are part and parcel to life. But I think that the

audience ultimately will decide if it's all working together, because there

wasn't, you know, any fights or like, you know, there wasn't any craziness.

Everyone was like, "Okay, this is a challenge so what are we going to do?

How are we going to keep this, you know, together?"

I just sent an email to Bruce this morning about the finale episode and, you

know, what my character is doing and how I have to, you know, say, "Hey

man we got to remember Bill is an intelligent leader, seasoned, pro-active

agent, you know, Dr. Rosen is a doctor, so let's be clear about who's who."

And not from any sort of adversarial point of view, but because you

understand truth in storytelling, and that's why I think we all love to do,

whether you're a writer, whether you're, you know, like I love the David

works. And when he breaks down the script and what he needs and how he

expresses himself. David speaks in a lot of metaphors and, you know,

analogies and stuff like that and so it's really interesting.

But I think ultimately the audience decides, you know, the audience decides

and in a perfect world I wish that Zak and, you know, Ira and the, you know,



the people who held the dream for so long were able to work things out. But at

the same time, you know, any - you always look at, you know, whoever

started the Yankees isn't the, you know, the first coach of the Yankees isn’t

the coach now kind of thing, you know what I mean?

Erin Willard: Right, yes.

Malik Yoba: And something - I was kind of liking it like that.

Erin Willard: Has they been pretty amenable to working with you and your ideas?

Malik Yoba: Yes, yes, yes. I mean in general there's an attitude of if it's a good idea let's go

with it. And it's a delicate dance, you know, interesting game, you know.

People, like I said, there's ego and there's all kind of stuff, politics, and all that

stuff that works, but I think in general yes, I think you know, I generally don't

have bad ideas.

Erin Willard: I wouldn't think that.

Malik Yoba: Yes.

Erin Willard: I also noticed in some of the write ups that I've seen it looks kind of like the

team's mission has changed a little bit. Is that right or is that (unintelligible)?

Malik Yoba: I'm curious how do you perceive that?

Erin Willard: It makes it - at least, the I read was, you know, last season my interpretation

anyway was that Dr. Rosen was out trying to find and help Alphas. And now

it seems like more this season at least, from the little blurb that I read, it's

going to be more like, "No, we're going to help the FBI and the CIA, you



know, find the bad ones and take care of them." And that just kind of - is that

right or is that not?

Malik Yoba: I don't think that - I think if you looked at the season finale, you know, the

season finale was with Rosen going on - in front of - testifying before the

Senate saying that there is - Alphas are real.

Erin Willard: Right.

Malik Yoba: And the whole idea before that was, "Let's keep it under wraps." The

government was trying to keep it under wraps.

Erin Willard: Right.

Malik Yoba: So I think that this season deals with the repercussions of him opening his big

mouth.

Erin Willard: Okay, good.

Malik Yoba: And not telling us that he was going to do that.

Erin Willard: So that's where the friction is going to be coming then I take it?

Malik Yoba: Yes.

Erin Willard: Okay, well thanks very much.

Stephen Cox: This is going to be last question.



Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Sheldon Wiebe with

eclipsemagazine.com. Please proceed with your question.

Sheldon Wiebe: Hey Malik, thanks so much for doing this.


Sheldon Wiebe: Okay. With all of the grand scheme of things, the living in the real world

chess match between good and bad Alphas, the government interference and

everything, the thing I still find most interesting about the show is the

relationships of the characters, in particular Bill and Gary.

And following the season premier Gary is more than a little ticked at Bill and

I would say, "Rightfully so." So I'm just wondering, how is their relationship

going to play out going forward?"

Malik Yoba: You got to watch Man.

Sheldon Wiebe: Well just give me a tease, come on.

Malik Yoba: You want a tease. How is it - the relationship remains solid. Yes, we still, you

know, Bill's not going to let Gary go. Bill secretly loves Gary like, you know,

a little brother.

Sheldon Wiebe: Right.

Malik Yoba: Even though he doesn't always show it, but that's actually one of favorite beats

to play, so of my beats and stuff with Ryan, because we, you know, we just -

that's - we actually literally live right next door to each other in Toronto.



Sheldon Wiebe: That's cool.

Malik Yoba: And so we spend time together, and he's a friend as well so - and I think he's

brilliant as Gary. And he comes up with some really funny stuff so we have a

good time.

Sheldon Wiebe: Excellent. And I was just wondering if you could give us a bit of a tease on

the new character Cat? And you know, nobody else seems to have thought

about her, but she's coming up shortly, what's the story there?

Malik Yoba: You know Bill has this paternal thing that he's denying to his wife. He takes

like Gary is like his little brother or son, definitely Bill is the one that takes

Cat in as his own, and ultimately like by Episode 13, we just did a scene last

night where, you know, that relationship definitely pays off when it's really

needed, you know.

So, which is really nice and Erin Way, the girl that plays Cat, is lovely. And

so it's good, I think we do some good stuff together. I think it's Episode 3

where you meet here and throughout the course of the season Bill's got her,

Bill definitely takes care of her.

Sheldon Wiebe: Cool, thanks so much.

Malik Yoba: Thank you guys.

Operator: Thank you that was our last question, I'll turn it back to you Mr. Cox.

Stephen Cox: Thank you very much for joining us today, and a special thank you to Malik.

Just reminder Alphas...



Malik Yoba: This is sounding like we're doing NPR.

Stephen Cox: I don't know.

Malik Yoba: Come on (Steve), (Steve) come on Man.

Stephen Cox: Alphas airs 10pm on Syfy Mondays. Thank you very much for joining us

again.


Stephen Cox: Have a great day. Thanks Malik.

Malik Yoba: All right, bye-bye.

Operator: Ladies and Gentlemen that does conclude the conference call for today. We

thank you for joining and ask that you please disconnect your line.

END

malik yoba talks alphas season 2

Documents

malik yoba

line of erin willard

terrific season premiere

syfys alphas conference

good action

pm ct operator

stephen coxjuly

pm ct confirmation