‘Colony‘: Josh Holloway Left ‘Emotionally Sore,’ Injured From ‘Darker’ Season 2

Colony caught a little flack its first season for being an alien invasion show that was particularly light on aliens, but that’s the part Josh Holloway (Lost) happens to love.

“I am a huge fan of sci-fi, and I liked Falling Skies, [where] you see the aliens and they’re fighting them all the time. I didn’t want to do a full‑on alien show because they did it so well, and not that long ago,” says Holloway. He plays Will Bowman, a family man who uses his law enforcement skills to help the alien’s human collaborators, to get the information he needs to find his missing son. “[Executive producer] Ryan [Condal] explained it’s a sci‑fi story that’s ultimately a human story. It’s more about how humans react under colonization,” he said. “Some rise up and are heroes, and others do the worst of the worst to their fellow man.”

That said, Holloway does admit there’s “a hell of a lot more of the alien stuff” in Season 2. “I love how [Condal’s] eking it out slowly and thoughtfully. But it’s good stuff, I promise. Worth the wait.”

Related: Winter TV Preview: The Scoop on 29 New Shows

In an interview with Yahoo TV, Holloway also talked up the action, which occasionally left him a little worse for the wear, and the “darker” tone of Season 2, which unfortunately started to feel “more and more relatable,” thanks to current events such as the contentious presidential election and the situation in Syria.

Yahoo TV: So when I sat down to watch Season 1, it was different than I expected. I was expecting alien domination, and yet we did not even get to see an alien until the end. There were so many questions about what they were doing on Earth and so on. Were you ever disappointed there weren’t more aliens in Season 1?
Josh Holloway: No, because I knew what I had signed up for. Because I love sci-fi so much, this is probably my favorite series ever. [When it was first offered to me], I started thinking, “What if the aliens were good and actually better than us? What if they’re smarter and they’re right? What if we suck?” [Laughs] I had that conversation with Ryan, and he explained that they were making a human story and I was like, “Oh, s***. Yes, now I get it.” It’s a sci‑fi backdrop [for] a human story and a family story of dealing with the alien invasion. So I love it.”

And Ryan promised us that we’d get way more information about the aliens this season.
Eventually, as it builds, there’s going to have to be a lot more sci‑fi. I like the way it’s not gotten there yet. It gives each world time to unfold. First, the Santa Monica bloc; maybe we’ll get to see outside the blocs — who knows? I’m so excited about the second season. It was already good, but it really elevated this season. Everyone was like, “Damn, what’s going on with the scripts? They’re awesome.” It’s excellent. I’m super proud of it. It’s a tough damn season. After this season, I felt [how you feel] after playing a basketball game and you can barely drag your ass off the court. We left it all on the court. I’m done. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I don’t want to go through any more drama or worry that my kids are dying for another few months, please. I’m sore. I’m emotionally sore. Leave me alone. But that means it’s a really good season.

Basically all hell broke lose in the finale. Will discovered Katie’s betrayal. The rebellion killed a V.I.P. Snyder was out. Your son was arrested, and you were going to the Santa Monica bloc.
I love the way they did that. They blew the family apart. They blew everyone in different directions. So now there are different storylines. I’m in Santa Monica. There’s a bit of time cut, so I’ve been there a couple weeks when it picks up. Not all the blocs are the same. Let’s just say it’s a little harsher in Santa Monica then it is in LA. You think they’d be all posh and s***, but no. [Laughs] He’s having to find his son and try and negotiate that world, which is really fun. How in the hell is he going to get back?

How is he feeling, given that he realized his wife was in deep with the resistance and put it above him and the kids?
I think Will is in soldier mode. He’s got a mission to find his son. And he’s put all that other s*** to the side. It’s there, but he’s like, “F*** it. I’m going to go get my son.” He’s going to have to deal with that other stuff when and if he gets his son back, and gets over the wall and all that stuff. However that transpires, he’s got to deal with, later, his job and the family.

A lot got said about Katie’s involvement with the resistance and how she was the worst mom ever for putting you and the kids in constant danger. What are your thoughts on your TV wife? Some thought it was unrealistic.
You can be both things — rebel and wife/mother. That really did happen in the resistance against Nazi occupation in France and other countries. There were housewives fighting. There were people involved that risked their lives to resist, in small and big ways. I don’t blame her for trying. Will knew he married a rebel and loves her for that, but feels betrayed because she was working both sides. Also, there’s a time to be a rebel, and a time when you have children and they come first. Does he disagree with what she did? Yes. But their love is still there. They’re bent, not broken. Will did everything for his family too. He collaborated because that was his best option for keeping them safe and getting his other kid back.

So there’s forgiveness down the road?
Yeah, absolutely. There has to be, because they are parents before anything else. Well, at least that’s how it goes in my life. The wife and I can be really hating each other and having a huge fight, but if something comes up with the kids, you have to deal with that first and with grace. You have to be a parent first. I think that also allows you time to heal your relationship. You can brush it under the rug for a while. A marriage time out. [Laughs]

You were constantly being thrown around last season. Is this season as physical? Do you want to slow down?
Oh, God no. I love it. This show is just the right amount of stunts and action, actually. The show I had before, Intelligence — that one where I was, like, a spy — had to have like two fricking fight scenes a week. I do jujitsu, but I was dying. That was ridiculous. But this is a good amount of really simple scenes, just sitting and talking — like, really good, meaty acting scenes — and action. I choreographed with the stunt guys the fight scenes and everything. But hell yes, it hurts. I got injured at least twice this year.

You’re still walking and talking.
Yes. But slower. I laugh because I had this injury when I started the season from jujitsu. It took about six months to heal. It was a good one. And probably the third day after it healed, I’m doing this action sequence, running up this hill from a sniper shooting at me. The supervisor said, “What do you think? Could you do something else bigger?” I was like, “Well, I could dive over that bush there. How about that?” So I dive over this bush, at a full sprint, no pads. So he’s like, “That’s great. Do it again.” So you dive over it again. Then, by the third time, I just dove wrong and boom – reinjured. I’m like, “Oh God, I just healed that f*****.” So that was fun. I learned. It’s about acceptance that getting old is painful. [Laughs] You just keep charging and take more Advil. It did look great. I could have hurdled that bush. I didn’t even have to dive over it. Hopefully, with the magic of cinema, they’ll make the bush look bigger than it was.

Is Will going to get sucked back into collaborating now that his other son has been arrested?
Yes. He has no choice, once again. With his other son incarcerated, he does what he knows to do best. He’s kind of stuck again for a minute. I don’t know if I was supposed to give that away, but he’s forced again to collaborate in order to find his son. But it’s a darker season, especially for Will, and darker things happen. Even if you’re not directly doing them, your soul gets tainted by that.

When Ryan and I talked late last year, he made an interesting point that the show seemed to get more relevant as filming of Season 2 went on.
Yes, unfortunately, on a global scale. There was always the historical side to the story. We’ve all been having this open conversation since the beginning of the show on the way everything is in the world, with people occupying or colonizing other countries all over. And now, of course with this election, the whole way through, we were having conversations about how it seems even more so.

Related: Winter TV Preview: The Scoop on 25 Returning Shows

Ryan mentioned that your finale shoot happened on election night.
That night, oh my God. I’ve never really channeled direct from my current situation into my lines. I didn’t even have to act. I think my line was like, “We gotta get out of this bloc, guys.” Jesus, I felt just like that. It was a very interesting night because there were people there who were Trump supporters. There were people on both sides — and that is America. That was a tough pill to swallow, and still is. I don’t agree with Trump as our president, but a lot of people do. So I’m going to continue to believe the way I believe, and believe in diversity and freedom, and continue that way. And if he tweets about it or I get locked up for it, f*** it. We’re the rebellion now. I want to be Han Solo. Finally, I get to be Han Solo.

I have such a hard time thinking about people turning against people to save themselves — as happens in Colony, with all the sympathizers and the Red Hats — even after studying Nazi Germany. You’d hope more people would fight back.
That’s what’s scary about this. Look at Hitler. Hitler was elected by the people. And we know how that turned out. We’ve been doing it since the beginning of mankind — either colonize or be colonized by somebody else. We do the most brutal things in our repressing of people. That’s what’s so interesting about the show, and I love it — and that’s why I think it will appeal to everyone.

Sounds like you’d be up for a Season 3.
Oh, hell yes. I am fully confident we’ll have a Season 3 because it’s just too damn good. And it’s set up too good for the next section of this story. I’m excited for that — where it left us. I don’t know how it could not get a third season, but you never know. Trump’s our president.

Colony airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on USA.