British actor of Indian descent Ritu Arya, best known as Lila Pitts from The Umbrella Academy, is back in action as MI6 agent Zara Taylor in Apollo Has Fallen, the second chapter of the Paris Has Fallen series. The eight-episode action thriller, which also stars Tewfik Jallab, premieres on OTT in India today.
For Arya, action is less about spectacle and more about what it allows her to discover as an actor. While she enjoys the physicality of the genre and doing her own stunts, she says the new season gives her more room to explore Zara beyond the action. “What’s really exciting about this season is it feels a lot more personal. There is more action and higher stakes, but it’s more character-driven this time,” she tells us. The season, she adds, delves deeper into the characters’ motivations. “We learn more about their backstories, we learn more about where they’re coming from and why they’re doing what they’re doing and what they’re hiding and where these trust issues are coming from and why they’re maybe dependent on each other.”
That exploration, she says, is what anchors the physicality of the role. “I think that is what we really enjoy playing as well as, you know, all the physical stunts and locations we get to travel to. For actors, it often is that the anchor of the psychology,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}That exploration, she says, is what anchors the physicality of the role. “I think that is what we really enjoy playing as well as, you know, all the physical stunts and locations we get to travel to. For actors, it often is that the anchor of the psychology,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}The 37-year-old has no hesitation about the action itself either. “I prefer doing our stunts. There is so much joy in action. I would love to play more action too,” she shares. But Arya does not want to be boxed into the genre. “I would love to do more action, but I’d love to play a variety of characters too. It’s such a blessing, because as an actor, you do enjoy putting on many different hats,” she says. Her upcoming work includes The Split Up, where she plays a lawyer, taking her into a different space from Zara.
Coming back to her recent show, however, came with its own expectations. The actor admits that the season 2 pressure is real. “With any show, when you do a second season, there can be pressure. You want people to love it as much as season one, but then you also get the opportunity to build on that, which is exciting. You’ve already established these characters. So where you want to push them to, that’s all up to you,” she says.
The familiarity with the characters also allows the actors to take them further, while the audience response has added to the experience of returning to the show. “It’s just really lovely to hear audience’s reaction. Because we just hear that from people and that’s just lovely to see that people are enjoying the show and the characters. I feel like everyone pours a lot of passion, and the reaction is rewarding,” she ends.