Fans of Netflix's three-season animated series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia may have picked up on some pretty high-profile voices in two new characters that curiously show up in the last episode. It turns out that Aja and Krel, a sibling set of teen alien royalty, are introduced because they're the focus of the next installment in the television trilogy from Guillermo del Toro. So who voices Aja on 3Below? You may recognize that vaguely Eastern European accent as none other than Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany.
She put on a similar accent, of course, when playing Helena, the Russian orphan in a set of clone sisters. But on 3Below, she voices an alien princess in the body of an unassuming (okay, very conspicuous) "exchange student" new to Arcadia. And Maslany isn't the only Emmy winner in the A-list cast. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid's Tale), Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), and Glenn Close (Damages) all lend their voices to the first season of the series, too.
Since wrapping on her award-winning five season turn playing no less than 13 characters on Orphan Black, Maslany has snagged roles both in film (most notably opposite Nicole Kidman in 2018's Destroyer) and on Broadway (she currently stars alongside Bryan Cranston in the play adaptation of Network).
Anyone who's seen the Canadian actress' previous work knows she's a incredible talent, but 3Below's prolific, multi-Oscar-award-winning series creator confirmed that she was a joy to work with. According to Syfy:
del Toro praises Maslany (the alien princess Aja), calling her "one of the best actresses working." He calls her truly transformative (which is not a surprise) and says that both she and [co-star Diego] Luna found their characters in the very first session. "All of a sudden we were all better directors and writers, we're really really good — no, she's really good."
3Below follows Aja and her brother Krel as they're driven away from their home planet during a Civil War, finding themselves marooned on the most primitive planet in the galaxy. (Psst, that's us, guys. Earth is the worst.)
The siblings, along with their bodyguard Vex (voiced by Nick Offerman), assume the human forms of a thickly accented girl, a Latino boy, and an elderly man to better assimilate into the town of Arcadia. Of course, their strange ways pretty quickly set off alarm bells amongst their classmates and they're discovered for who they really are, which everyone turns out to be okay with!
As the trio tries to search for safe passage back to their home planet, they're ultimately left asking the question, "What is home?" The first season of 3Below: Tales of Arcadia drops on Netflix Dec. 21.
After a very frustrating first birth experience, this Deaf mother wanted a change. Will the help of two Deaf doulas give the quality communication and birth experience this mom wants and deserves? Watch Episode Four of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below, and visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for more episodes.
