Solar Opposites: Dan Stevens Opens Up About Taking Over the Show’s Lead Role (Exclusive)

When Solar Opposites needed a new actor to play its lead character, the acclaimed Hulu animated series went in a vastly different direction than Rick and Morty. Both saw lead voice actor and producer Justin Roiland removed from his roles. While Rick and Morty replaced both of his characters with actors who could replicate their exact voices, Solar Opposites took the opportunity to create something brand new for the character of Korvo. Roiland was replaced with fan-favorite genre star Dan Stevens, who brings a thick British accent to the character.

Korvo sounding completely different worked wonders for Solar Opposites, as the show fully embraced the character’s reinvention and used it to their advantage. The show’s fifth season is now available on Hulu and, ahead of its premiere, ComicBook spoke with Stevens about how he came to take over as the new Solar Opposites lead.

“I think it’s a real gem and I’m such a fan of adult animation,” Stevens told us. “I’ve always loved doing voiceover and animation and I’ve slowly been working my way into that side of the industry. It takes longer than you might think. It doesn’t necessarily translate that just because you’re in a bunch of TV shows and movies or whatever that you’ll just sort of end up in these things. Some people don’t even want to go here, but it’s a real passion of mine. I love doing it. And so when they were looking for the voice, I just threw my hat into the ring. Mike [McMahon] found the idea of this angry, very particular kind of Brit very funny. I felt they came up with a very sweet and simple and silly way of just being like, ‘Okay, it’s different now.’

“I think maybe in the past it was more of a thing where they’d switch out an actor and just carry on and no one would bat an eyelid. I guess it’s more rare now. I was delighted that they could just switch me in so neatly. For the most part, it seems to have gone down pretty well with the fans. I think, if anything, it serves to just point out the difference between this show and Rick and Morty now. I think the similarities were bound by a certain voice and now they’re distinct in that way.”

Stevens went on to say that his natural accent was always what the Solar producers wanted him to bring to the table. It wasn’t about trying to figure out how different he could sound or anything like that. The goal was something that sounded fundamentally different from Roiland’s version but still got across the point of who Korvo is as a character.

“They wanted me to do my native accent and it was really just about preserving the tone of Korvo and the character,” Stevens explained. “He’s a very fastidious character, who’s a guy on a mission who’s a bit pissed off to be on this shitty planet but is going to make the most of it, is helplessly in love with Terry. I think that’s where a lot of the sweetness and optimism comes from. It’s another kind of dysfunctional family that time and time again just find a way through any given situation and, also, they’re bound by this love for each other. I’m such a fan of the other characters as well. I think was Thomas [Middleditch] does with Terry is so delightful and it’s great fun to play opposite.”

Season 5 of Solar Opposites is now streaming on Hulu, alongside the first four seasons of the series. The series has already been renewed for Season 6.