The new action-packed Syfy thriller Alphas premieres on July 11th at 10 PM ET/PT. The series by Zak Penn (The Avengers, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Michael Karnow stars five ordinary people who are brought together to form one extraordinary team of Alphas. Each of them have the unique power to stretch the capabilities of the human mind giving them superhuman physical and mental abilities.

PCM got the rare opportunity to talk to several of the "super" actors from the show. We got to hear from executive producer Ira Steven Behr, Ryan Cartwright who plays Gary Bell, and Azita Ghanizada who plays Rachel Pirzad on the show.

Question: How did you become involved with Alphas?

Ryan Cartwright: I think I was the first actor on board. I was having another fun horrible pilot season in LA running around doing my monkey showings trying to get a job and then this really good script turned up and I just wanted to be a part of it immediately.

And went into the audition and it was a tricky role for me because the character has autism and it was a bit intimidating. But then once I'd signed on one good piece after another fell into place and everyone that got on board after that and that was already on board that I met was fantastic and smart. So I was super happy to get it.

Azita Ghanizada: You know, I was the last person cast. I think they had a hard time finding Rachel. She was originally written as somebody kind of very different than what she has become now that Ira and Zak and Michael and everyone else in the writers room have really dug their teeth into her.

And so, I think in my real life I'm a little bit more ballsy and courageous than Rachel is and so I think people had a hard time originally seeing me as that. But I kind of went in and rearranged bits and pieces of myself and understood very quickly what it was like to live in a conservative home.

I'm a child from a Afghanistan and grew up with very strict parents in the United States and that was part of Rachel's journey from the pilot, kind of not fitting in at home was something I responded to. And I just kind of went in and did it and they hired me, those silly bastards. And I got on a plane, I went to Canada and we really you know, kind of found it on the day.

It was like building a play every day when we were shooting the pilot. We really kind of found all the nuances and it was such a new experience and I really credit Zak Penn and (Jack Bender) and everybody that was there that just really kind of helped fill her out flesh and bone. And now even so even after the pilot meeting Ira and everybody else in the writers room, kind of took a step back and just saw the character and decided to kind of build so much more of a story for her that I respond to even more so.

I think all the characters get faster and sharper and I think the writing, the stories that they've been breaking are just so cool. And the concepts are just so awesome. So I'm lucky that they were foolish enough to cast me in the first place. You know, so that's how I got involved. I lied. I acted my way into this job.

Ira Steven Behr: I had taken a year off actually to finish up a novel I had started a couple years ago and decided to finish it. And I just turned down TV work for a year, which did not make my agents happy or my wife.

She wanted me out of the house and as soon as I was done I called my agents and said let's see what's out there. And one of the first jobs I went on was Alphas and I saw the pilot, which I thought was really interesting and I really liked the characters, which is what I really look for in a pilot.

And I met with Zak and Michael Karnow because it's really important you know, if you're going to be the show runner it's always nice if you can get along with the guys who thought up the project so there's not going to be any kind of tension.

And we got along really well and I just thought the possibilities for a really good show were there. So and I had been doing a dance with the Syfy Network for about ten years of them offering projects and me turning them down or me going to them and it not working out. So I figured you know what, let's just end this once and for all and let me do something for Syfy. And here we are.

Question: What was it particularly about Alphas that attracted you?

Ryan Cartwright: For me, I was actually excited by a lot of the good humor in it because you know, I love comedy and been in really good comedies and stuff. And a lot of the pilots that I was going up for were comedies (and good comedies).

But they didn't compare because the comedy was kind of just a lot wetter and not as real. And the humor in Alphas from the people trying to rub along I've realized is actually a lot funnier and drier and more real and comedy is best when it comes from a real place. So that really excited me. Yes, I really liked the comic element of the characters' relationships with each other.

Ira Steven Behr: My answer is pretty much in line with Ryan's. I've done a lot of genre television and it's always been a struggle, one that I have kept fighting sometimes when fighting will seem to be the most ridiculous thing to do.

And I wish I would have just stopped fighting but I was always fighting to try to get humor into the shows. And it wasn't always easy and sometimes it was impossible. And here was a chance, I mean like right there on the plate to do honest, real character driven humor in a show that had enough other elements in terms of you know, drama and mythology that the humor was going to be woven into that fabric in such a way that it could not be pulled out.

And I thought yes, finally, they can cut this, they can cut that but they can't cut it all, in each episode. So and as it turned out much to my shock, everyone was really serious about the humor and they were not you know, turning around and saying you know what, second thought, screw the humor. They actually have supported the humor and as long as it stays as Ryan said, as long as it's real I think it will remain a really important part of the series and a really true and unique part of the series.

Page 2 - Page 3