Dan Stevens Speculates His ‘Solar Opposites’ Character’s Letterboxd Top 4

The Big Picture

• Dan Stevens was already a fan of ‘Solar Opposites’ before taking over the role of Korvo.
• Stevens believes that Korvo’s favorite movies would have to be something older and homoerotic.
• Stevens was told to make Korvo’s voice his own instead of trying to recreat Justin Roiland’s voice.

Dan Stevens may have risen to fame from his role as Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey, but he became even more well-known for his work in genre fare and big-budget blockbusters such as The Guest, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. After co-creator Justin Roiland was fired from Solar Opposites in early 2023, many were wondering who would become the new voice of the series’ snarky and often maniacal alien Korvo. Stevens was announced to be taking over the role only two months before Season 4, and breathed new life into the character, making the voice his own instead of trying to replicate what Roiland did before.

Stevens is having a great 2024, having had roles in numerous high-profile movies, such as the box office hit Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the Universal monster movie Abigail, the recently released psychological horror flick Cuckoo, and now the fifth season of Solar Opposites. We were lucky enough to sit down and talk with Stevens about working on the show, his love for adult animation, how he got into voice-acting, his friendship with director Adam Wingard, and much more.

Collider: Between this new season of Solar Opposites, Godzilla Kong, Abigail, and Cuckoo this weekend, are we in the Dannisance?

DAN STEVENS: [Laughs] That’s the first time I’ve heard that one. That’s a good one. I mean, it’s certainly a busy year. It’s one of those funny years where you spend a couple of years making all these different things, and then they all come along, they all come out at once. It’s delightful to get to show such a variety of things in such a short space of time. It feels like doing somersaults for the fans, which is always fun.

Dan Stevens Was Already a Fan of ‘Solar Opposites’ Before Being Cast

You were cast as Korvo midway through the show. Did the creative team instruct you to make the voice your own or did you already know what you wanted to do? What was the process behind that?

STEVENS: Mike [McMahan] found the idea of making Korvo completely different, in terms of making him British, very, very funny. I was also keen to kind of preserve the spirit of Korvo and the kind of character. So it was just like, we worked together really workshopping what he would end up sounding like and I’ve always found kind of angry Brits very funny anyway.

We were constantly coming up with ways to sort of, evolve his character in my direction, really. Very often when we improv a line, Michael asked, ‘Well, how would a Brit say this?’ or you know, ‘What would you say instead of saying this expletive?’ You know, ‘What would a Brit say here?’ We just get to kind of gently massage it in my direction, which is fun.

So had you watched a lot of the show before being cast or were you kind of introduced to it when you were cast?

STEVENS: Yeah, no, I had watched it before. I’m a big adult animation fan. I love a lot of shows like Solar Opposites. But I think Solar Opposites has a particularly kind of special place. I think. it’s very sharp writing. It’s also deeply silly and I think the sort of the premise of it and the way that it plays on, you know, kind of classic 70s and 80s TV tropes, it is very appealing to someone of my generation. I’m very, very fond of it.

So, it’s obviously an unusual task to kind of jump in on something midway through but it’s the kind of show that I’ve wanted to be involved in for a long time. And it’s a great opportunity to get to play with us those guys.

Dan Stevens Talks About His Love for Adult Animation

So jumping back into adult animation because I’m also a massive fan of it, I grew up watching The Simpsons even if my parents weren’t big on it. You’re mainly known for a lot of live-action acting, so how did you make the jump into voice acting? Was there a big adjustment period or was it pretty natural for you?

STEVENS: It’s something I’ve wanted to get into for a long time and it doesn’t necessarily translate that, you know, just because you’ve been in a bunch of TV shows and movies, that you’ll get to do it.

What I have done since the beginning of my career is a lot of audiobooks. And so I’ve been kind of like developing voice work for a long time. Again, that doesn’t necessarily translate into a native performance either. But, I feel like I’ve kind of been workshopping this stuff and just slowly doing little bits on animated features and little shows here and there.

I got to do a really fun show called Kipo for DreamWorks a few years ago and that was probably like the biggest animated role I’ve had prior to this. Every time just king of learning from animators and creators about what’s required of this kind of performance; because it is different.

Each kind of mode is very, very different and I love exploring all those different modes and learning from these guys about, okay, what is different about doing a show like Solar Opposites to reading an audiobook? They’re very different skill sets, but there’s some crossover. So I’ve always loved voice work and always wanted to get involved in shows like this and like you, I grew up on The Simpsons as a teenager and student with the brilliance of Family Guy and things like King of the Hill, South Park. All of those kinds of shows, they were a big part of my consciousness growing up and obviously Solar‘s a much more recent show, but every time there’s a new show like this that comes out, and I was really excited when Solar came along because it was from the creators of Rick and Morty and I was like, ‘Great, another one!’ It’s like, in my mind, you can never have enough of these kinds of things and it’s such kind of sharp and silly writing that I really adore it.

Dan Stevens On Bouncing Between Genres

So I think I was first introduced to your acting in The Guest and then right after Night at the Museum, which is two completely different movies.

STEVENS: [Laughs] Yeah, that’s quite a double bill.

You have done such a wide range of roles from comedy to drama to horror. Do you have a preference on the genres that you do? Is there always a different vibe on set or in the recording booth when doing these kinds of roles?

STEVENS: Um, I don’t really have a preference. I think my preference is really for variety. The more I get to kind of explore and expand, the happier I will be. I think increasingly I’m drawn to comedy and things with a sense of humor. I love the genre work. I love doing horror. Mainly because of the audience and the fan reaction. I think being a part of that world is very important to me. I love the filmmakers that kind of gravitate to that work. But I also like to kind of bring humor to those pieces too. And so, increasingly there’s a sort of crossover of things. But, as you say, like doing something like Night at the Museum, I learned a huge amount about comedy, about action. doing The Guest, the particular kind of style there. And learning from, Shawn Levy and Adam Wingard and, just an amazing array of directors that I’ve got to work with. And every project I take on, I feel like there’s always lessons to be learned, I like the feeling of just like constantly learning really. In the same way that I love learning how to do adult animation. That’s like, for me, a new-ish skill set that I’m kind of building on.

Dan Stevens Tries To Guess Korvo’s Favorite Movies

So, my ears perked up when I heard Letterboxd referenced in the Private School episode, and I know you’ve done the four favorites with them before, but do you know what Korvo’s would be?

STEVENS: Oh my god, that’s a great question. Oh my god. [Laughs] I really don’t. What would his favorites be? I don’t know. It would probably be something sort of classic. Like he’s probably really into Star Trek. He’s probably also into something really kind of classic, like Spartacus or something like that. Something kind of, classic and homoerotic. But those are only two. I can’t really think of any others right now. What a funny question. [Lauhgs]

So I know, especially since the pandemic, that voice casts of shows don’t usually record together, but have you interacted with Thomas [Middleditch] Sean [Giambrone] or Mary [Mack] off-set?

STEVENS: Sadly, I haven’t met Sean or Mary, although I’d love to and I was gutted not to make a Comic-Con this year. I know Thomas a little bit, we played pickleball together. The others I haven’t had the joy of meeting yet, but one day, hopefully.

Dan Stevens Teases the Next ‘Solar Opposites’ Halloween Special

So you are a certified scream king, and I think it’s perfect that they’re doing another Halloween special this year. And could you tease anything? I know the show has a knack for pop culture references, would there be anything meta going on?

STEVENS: [Laughs] I’m trying to remember what actually happens in the Halloween episode. I remember that it’s absolutely bonkers, I’m trying to think of any specific pop culture references, I can’t recall any right now, but it’s a really, really good episode; it’s absolutely insane, as you would expect.

But yeah, I love it when they do their specials, I really enjoyed the Valentine’s Day special for example. They’re always a treat and an excuse to go extra off the rails, I feel.

Getting cast in the show as it’s midway through, Korvo and Terry’s relationship is easily one of my favorite aspects of the show because it’s not only funny but I also can’t help but root for them. And I’m curious, how do you develop that when there’s already that pre-established stuff beforehand? Did you rewatch a lot of it or did you kind of talk with Mike or Thomas about any of it?

STEVENS: I knew the show going in, so I knew the dynamic. I think that the Korvo-Terry relationship has kind of grown and they’ve really leaned into it over the years. And I think almost especially since the voice switch, and that was kind of like part of the voice switch, was like, ‘Oh no, we fucked up the voice switch.’ It’s like, ‘No, no, no, keep it, I liked it.’ And that sense of like, he’s even more attracted to Korvo now is kind of funny. And yeah, I think it’s really lovely, and I can’t think of too many other adult animations that really kind of showcases, albeit an alien, but a queer relationship like this in quite such a delightful, matter-of-fact kind of way. It allows for such an amazing variety of storylines that you don’t get to see in other shows.

One of my favorite episodes this season was the Tom and Jerry-inspired episode between Korvo and the dad. It reminded me of The Guest, and it made me want to ask the question; out of all the characters that you’ve played, who’s somebody that you would like to see meet Korvo or Terry?

STEVENS: [Laughs] That’s a great question. I mean, I think Korvo and Lancelot from Night in the Museum share quite a bit, there’s a bit of crossover there, and the voice is even quite similar. I think they’re the ones that kind of share the most similarities, like the slightly kind of idiotic men on the mission. So I think, I think they probably get along pretty, pretty well.

I don’t know how much you know, but unlike some other modern animated shows, it feels like Solar Opposites can go on forever and ever. It feels like one of those things in the spirit of The Simpsons or Family Guy or South Park. Do you know if there’s an end game in sight or do you think it’s just gonna keep going?

STEVENS: I hope it keeps going. I mean, I certainly don’t know of an end game because that’s not in my hands. I just show up and read what’s been written. I know that Mike feels like they keep going for another six seasons and I hope he’s right. I think there’s so much more fun to be had with these characters and the writing is as sharp as ever, I think, and it still makes me laugh every time I go in the booth. So, as long as that’s the case, I don’t see why we should stop.

That makes me super happy to hear because this is like a total comfort show for me.

STEVENS: [Laughs] That’s great.

So, besides Korvo, do you have, even before you were cast in the show, did you ever have a favorite character?

STEVENS: Gosh. I don’t know. I mean, I’m very fond of Terry and his wardrobe of hilarious t-shirts. I think that’s one of my favorite elements of the show is the sort of nonverbal stuff where, in every scene, Terry just walks in with another brilliant t-shirt. [Laughs] But yeah, he’s just a super sweet, lovable fool. So I think he’s still probably my favorite character.

Dan Stevens Teases What’s Next For Him

So, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Adam Wingard, You guys work magic together. I was cheering in the theater when you popped up in Godzilla x Kong while everybody was cheering on the Kaijus. And I know he’s working on something else. Do you know if you’re gonna work with him any time soon or have you guys talked?

STEVENS: Adam’s been a great friend of mine since The Guest, you know, we hang out a lot and Adam’s got several things on, you know, plates spinning, he’s always got so many brilliant ideas and, it’s always just a question as ever with the industry of like, which one will be out of the gate first? So I guess the answer is I hope so very soon. We’ve got at least two or three things that we wanna do together that I know of and I’m sure there are more in the pipeline as well. So yeah, I hope we keep working together for many more years.

I was texting my friend before this interview and he was the one who recommended The Guest to me when it first came out and he messaged me in all caps to ask about a sequel.

STEVENS: Well, you’ve got a soundtrack. We made a soundtrack for you. which is awesome, and so you can listen to that and close your eyes and just imagine the movie and it’ll probably be better than anything we could make anyway.

And I know you’re currently on set of The Terror Season 3, which is another show that you’re joining midway through. I know you’re playing a new character, but could you maybe give us a little hint at what we can expect from that?

STEVENS: The thing about The Terror is every season is a different story, so each season is unique. And this one is very, very different from the other two, but is equally terrifying and strange and kind of creatively challenging. It’s got a brilliant, brilliant cast. And yeah, currently we’re working with with Karan Kusama, who is, you know, one of the great horror directors. We’re having a we’re having a great time. So I’m looking forward to seeing it myself.

Solar Opposites Season 5 is now streaming on Hulu.

Watch on Hulu