Sara Tomko, who plays Asta Twelvetrees, the town nurse in Patience, Colorado, who unknowingly ends up working with an alien pretending to be a doctor, is finding her footing in her first role as a series regular. “It’s just been such an amazing adventure to film this show over the last 2 1/2 years,” she says. “It really has been a dream come true.” Looking for some of her other roles? You may have seen the actress, who recently got engaged to director and filmmaker TJ Pederson, in guest roles on Sneaky Pete, Once Upon a Time or S.W.A.T., among others. Parade.com had a chance to chat with Tomko about Resident Alien and her co-stars.
How much did you enjoying filming Resident Alien?
So much my heart exploded and regenerated daily! Ahem, excuse my excitement. It’s just been such an amazing adventure to film this show over the last 2 1/2 years. I have this awesome new family built from synergy, great talent and lots of laughter.
I imagine there were a lot of laughs on set. Was there a prankster on set?
I’m surrounded by incredible comedians! Although funny enough, no pranksters…yet… between Corey’s delicious tall tales, Alan’s funny videos, Alice’s model-making faces, Liz and Mere’s random run-on sentence singing, Levi blushing, Levi laughing, Levi blushing & laughing, Elvy cackling while dancing & Judah entertaining us all, I’d say we had a blast!
While there are a lot of laughs on Resident Alien, there are also some profound and serious moments. Do you prepare for these scenes differently than the comedic ones?
Yes and no. Every scene requires listening, being present, being flexible and open to your true feelings in the moment whether it’s taking in the crazy new doctor who is sniffing body parts in front of you or realizing that you’ve made a terrible mistake and letting that information hit you right then, it all comes from truly centered impulse work that requires a lot of thought and preparation beforehand. However, I certainly don’t put too much thought into how to react to Alan, I just let him do the work and I witness his glorious humor organically. The profound moments are more about making sure I am fully memorized and fully aware of my circumstances before arriving to set so that the last thing I’m thinking about is a line. How can I let my guard down if my mind is on the page?
What did you do to prepare for the role of Asta Twelvetrees?
I spent many days and nights with my fiancé rolling around on the ground. No, really. He is a filmmaker and incredible acting coach and one of our favorite exercises is impulse work which requires body movement and getting out of your head and into your senses. Then, once I’m all warmed up and completely relaxed, I add Asta’s words into the mix and we explore any bumps in the road I might be hitting. If I have a hard time remembering a word or sentiment, it’s probably because I haven’t made sense of it yet so I repeat the word on top of body movement and I let my impulses guide me. If anyone ever watched this work, they might think we were crazy but let me tell you, it is so freeing.
In the series premiere, after dragging Harry away from killing Jimmy, Asta has him take her to a forest clearing where she steps out of the truck barefoot onto the snow. What was the significance of this for Asta?
The significance for Asta is that this is a place she comes to often, winter or summer, to find her center when she feels out of balance. She actually enjoys the cold, it helps her think. Being barefoot in the snow shows how rooted to the earth Asta is and sometimes she needs to be reminded literally by planting her feet firmly on the ground, closing her eyes and breathing deep. This scene is significant mostly because Asta shares some pretty vulnerable information with a complete stranger. Why him? Why now? There’s something about Harry that she oddly trusts and understands. Sometimes you just need someone to really hear you and Harry is the one.
Do you have a favorite scene from this first season of Resident Alien?
There are a lot of wonderful moments to choose from and without giving any spoilers away, I think some of my favorite moments are really any time I get to be in a scene with Alice [Wetterlund]. She plays D’Arcy, Asta’s best friend, but she really is becoming a good friend of mine now, too. We laugh a lot, like cry laugh, and then we hold each other because, well for one, it’s freezing out but also, two, because we like to.
Do you have a favorite episode of Resident Alien?
Ooh, good question, I think I have to say episode 4. It was written by Tazbah Rose Chavez and she has this incredible knack for combining really grounded sentimental moments with hilariously, truthful comedy. Asta goes on a journey in episode 4 and we learn a lot about her, it was quite a rewarding episode to shoot.
If you could play any other character on the show who would it be and why?
I’d play the mayor! Now, first of all, Levi [Fiehler] does an incredible job of being so genuine and nervous and determined to prove himself as a great mayor and be a great parent and husband so I would never want him replaced ever, ever! But the truth is, his wife, Kate, is played by Meredith Garretson, and she just happens to be one of my best friends, I’m saying college years bestie, like we sat and looked at the stars and said “One day, you’ll be in NY and I’ll be in LA and we’re gonna book the same show and take over the world” and then…we did… although, we haven’t taken over the world…yet… but if I was the Mayor of Patience?! I feel like we could! Me and Mere and Max driving off into the sunset, leading the charge, cue the music!
Asta loves reading very terrible beach books. What kind of books do you like to read?
I love books but I have a hard time focusing on just one. I have about 10 with bookmarks in them right at this moment and I kind of like just picking them up and reading a chapter here or there when I feel moved. The books I choose, though, are not new to me, they are favorites of mine, which is why I can just pick them up any old time… right now I’m circulating between Labryinth, a novelization of the Jim Henson film, The Moon Book by Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, Secret Garden, The Giver, The NeverEnding Story and then sprinkle in some poetry by Rupi Kaur, Lucille Clifton, Adrian Michael Green, Billy Collins and finish with three tarot decks by Kim Krans and a fourth deck by The Holy Spectrum and I’m filling my soul daily with so many treats.
In an upcoming episode, Asta, D’Arcy, and Harry dine on ramen. What’s your go-to comfort food?
You can almost always find string cheese in my fridge which I like to pair with dates for breakfast. I’m a charcuterie-style eater, I love taking a bunch of savory snacks and fruit of the earth treats and then putting them together to form meals. I will do this for every meal if you let me. I stopped eating processed sugar last year so when it comes to “comfort” my go-to is frozen green grapes, they taste like popsicles! Also, a yummy Four Sigmatic coffee with sugar-free hazelnut creamer is my favorite way to start the day! And lastly, throw in a good salty chip to any fancy meal and I’m your girl. My fiancé was so confused the first few times I did this. Truly, he makes me salmon and asparagus and turmeric sweet potatoes with carrots… and then I politely also add sour cream and onion chips on the side. What’s wrong with that? Resident Alien airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on syfy. Viewers can catch up on the show at syfy.com or on the syfy OneApp. Next, Find Out What Alien Harry Learns About Love While Living on Earth
