Alien: Earth star teases his mysterious cyborg character in the Hulu sci-fi horror show: ‘he’s an iPhone 1 in a world of iPhone 20s’

• One Alien: Earth star has likened his character to a really old iPhone
• Babou Ceesay says Morrow is an “iPhone 1 in a world of iPhone 20s”
• The cyborg is one of many Synthetics that fans will see in the show

It’s rare that you hear an actor describe a character they’re playing as a really old iPhone, but that’s exactly what one Alien: Earth cast member has done ahead of release.

Speaking to me before the sci-fi horror show’s arrival, Babou Ceesay, who plays the duplicitous Morrow, referred to his character as “an iPhone 1 in a world of iPhone 20s”.

It’s not such a bizarre comparison when you learn more about Morrow. Indeed, originally he was 100% human but, without spoiling how or why, he’s turned into a cyborg by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, the nefarious multinational whose shadow has loomed large over the Alien franchise since it hatched in 1979.

With Morrow having been given a new lease of life by Weyland-Yutani, Ceesay agreed with me when I suggested that a “blind loyalty” to the megacorp runs through the character’s veins – or, whatever passes for veins in individuals who are part-human, part-machine.

However, over the course of the forthcoming Hulu and Disney+ TV Original comes and goes, suggested that Morrow’s allegiances will be tested “to the limit”, and he also drew parallels between the struggle his character endures as his human and synthetic halves vie for supremacy, and issues around the development of AI in the real world.

“I love that [observation],” Ceesay added. “What you just said about the blind loyalty… I’ve been thinking about it more and more. I wish I’d thought of it at the time, but there’s a pressure we’re all under now. It almost feels like you’re, you can never be enough and you have to just keep leveling up.

“I’ve flippantly said that Morrow is an iPhone 1 in a world of iPhone 20s,” Ceesay continued. “You know, Boy Kavalier [ played by Samuel Blenkin] has invented synthetic bodies with human consciousness. That’s the next level, right? Morrow’s also [an] enhanced [being] but it’s like ‘Okay, if that’s what I am, I have to go even further in terms of my usefulness, to still be relevant, [and] to still have a reason to keep existing.

“I don’t know how far we [humanity] are going to go [in the real world],” he added. “If you’re not really that connected to AI – I mean, maybe, that’s a good thing. We can all go back to living in cabins! But, seriously, are we all going to just keep pushing ourselves to the limit? I think that’s something Morrow keeps asking himself in this show.”

Alien: Earth launches with a two-episode premiere on August 12 (North and South America) and August 13 (everywhere else). Before it does, read my Alien: Earth review and our dedicated guide on Alien: Earth.

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