From a Tasmanian childhood spent exploring the waterways of Bruny Island, to an international film, theatre and television career, Essie Davis stars in Alien: Earth on Disney+, out this month. We sat down with her in Hobart recently to chat all things Alien…and Tassie politics.

How did you get involved with the Alien series?

I got the script in my inbox one day. They were doing round-the-world casting for a very select group of people. As soon as I saw Alien in my inbox, I got extremely excited because I loved the first two Alien films. I didn’t see them until I was well in my 20s, when Justin (Essie’s husband, director Justin Kurzel) introduced me to them. What great, amazing feminist storytelling about the women taking control and fighting for everyone’s lives. I loved the nuance of the films, the subtlety, the unseen, the fact that the horror wasn’t just a beast. It was artificial intelligence and humankind. That combination is just thrilling. This series also has all of those elements – the extraterrestrial terror of that particular creature, but also the drama and terror and apprehension about ‘what is human?’ Are humans good? What are we creating with artificial intelligence? Who’s in control of that? What’s the moral line? What’s around the corner? What have I created?

Tell us about your character, Dame Sylvia. You’ve played complex women in horror settings before. How did this compare?

Dame Sylvia is very different from anyone I’ve played. She’s an extremely intelligent scientist who works in psychology and genetic engineering. She’s very high up in the pecking order of a corporation called Prodigy, and she is the partial inventor of a new humanoid creation, a hybrid. She’s very ambitious, concerned about humanity, and walking a fine line in this particular world.

With all the effects and immersive sets, what was it like stepping into the iconic world of Alien? Did you come face-to-face with a xenomorph?

I’m not allowed to tell you that! I would have to kill you. But I will say, we worked in Bangkok on the most incredible sound stages and the sets were astounding. The design of it is completely influenced by that first film from the 1970s. A lot of the world is analogue. It’s this beautiful ‘70s feeling world. It was mind-blowingly cool when we all walked on, you just want to touch everything.

Sci-fi often explores deep themes about humanity. Were there any larger ideas or emotions in Alien: Earth that resonated with you?

So much of it is relevant to what is happening in the world and Tasmania. We’re losing our grip on what really matters to us as people. In the ‘olden days’ of the show, there used to be governments, and now corporations rule the world. And really, how far away is that from the actual truth? I’m quite concerned about that. The rich are richer. The poor are poorer. Five people run the world. People want to stay young forever. There’s chatbots that you get to talk to about whatever you want. ChatGPT is basically plagiarism. Our minds are incredibly creative if we actually allow them to be, and we don’t need to keep on relying on our phones and on our devices.

In the recent Tasmanian state election, Peter George was elected and you were part of his campaign. Why did you get involved?

I met Peter because I was really horrified by what the salmon farms were doing, particularly to the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and what I was seeing in the water. I grew up running around Bruny Island fishing and playing in rock pools. My dad, George Davis, a natural historian as well as an artist, so he was super fascinated by what was in the water. We played, studied, looked, observed, caught lots of species of all kinds of things, put things back. Then coming back from overseas years later, I was horrified to see what had gone and what was there instead. Slime, sea lettuce, and the total lack of things that used to be there, like leatherjackets. I haven’t seen a leatherjacket in…I can’t tell you. They used to be the most common thing everywhere. Bit by bit, through meeting community members on Bruny, we connected and realised how this was happening to communities all around the south of the state, we began a movement. It’s hard to keep up the energy, but Peter George just kept on going. When we were all flagging and failing and just going, “I can’t protest anymore”, Peter kept going. I’m really hopeful. I know there’s going to have to be compromise. This could be the cutting edge of clean, green, dynamic energy. There’s heaps of jobs in looking after the environment and sustainable energy.

What are you working on next?

There’s lots of possibilities but I can’t really say! At the moment, Narrow Road to the Deep North is on Amazon Prime. It’s a brilliant series, so I think everyone should see it. Next, hopefully season two of Alien. A couple of films, a couple of television projects. Hopefully even a couple of plays. I’m desperate to do some theatre again. Our world has changed so much since the strikes and streaming. A lot of people don’t go to the cinema anymore. But it’s such a great place to go, the cinema. It’s one of the best places in the world.