During last week’s TUDUM fan event, Netflix teased all sorts of titles that are set to premiere on the platform in the coming months. The star-studded event also unveiled trailers for highly anticipated projects like 3 Body Problem, a sci-fi series created by Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss along with Alexander Woo (True Blood).

After the first trailer for the series was revealed along with the release window, Collider had the chance to talk to Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Jess Hong (Inked), Jovan Adepo (Welcome to Derry), Alex Sharp (The Trial of the Chicago 7) and John Bradley (Game of Thrones), who make up the main cast of the series. The group spoke about their expectations for what the series might accomplish, what they like most about their characters, and their favorite sci-fi movies. You can read the full interview below or watch it on the player above.

COLLIDER: We just had the opportunity to see the first teaser for 3 Body Problem and I have to tell you guys, it looks exciting. It’s visually stunning. It looks ambitious. I want to know, what are you guys most excited for people to see? Of course, without getting into any spoilers!

JOHN BRADLEY: In a funny kind of way, we’re excited to see it as much as everybody else is because we shot a lot of it so long ago, and it’s on green screen, so you can’t really see what’s going on. When we saw the trailer, it was the first time we’d seen a lot of those visual effects ourselves, so we didn’t really get a sense of what it was like when we were filming it. So, we can’t wait for people to see all of that, the finished product, but likewise, we’re just as excited as we hope they are to see it!

JESS HONG: Oh, there are so many cool things to look forward to. I think there are just so many twists and turns, so I can’t wait for everyone to go, “Oh, okay, this is the show. Oh no, this is the show— Oh, this is also the show!” There are just so many layers to it, it’s like peeling an onion, and hopefully, it will make everyone cry as well. [Laughs]

Image via Netflix

We don’t know much, or maybe at all, about your characters because everything is kept under wraps, so I’d like for each of you to tell us a little bit if you can. What do you like most about your character when you approach it and all this general stuff, without getting into any spoilers, of course?

ALEX SHARP: Well, the writing is so incredible and the dialogue is so rich. I like just how full and human my character felt and how fleshed out and profound his arc is. I was just excited, aside from it being a truly spectacular level production, just also the very human storyline was a delicious thing as an actor to get to tuck into.

JOVAN ADEPO: I have to agree. It’s something about seeing characters, specifically for me, but also for all of the characters in the show, that they’re flawed in their own ways. I think it can get boring if you’re watching programs where you have these cut-outs of different archetypes of characters. I like to see people who are people, and these are people that audiences, when they watch the show, they can relate to the people that they’re seeing on the screen and relate to the things that they’re going through. So, that’s what I really enjoy, to piggyback off of Alex about the dialogue and about how these different characters were interacting with each other throughout the series.

BENEDICT WONG: Just like the complexity of all these characters and just seeing them all sort of interweave in their different journeys. I think– Oh god, I mean, can we talk about much about our characters? He’s incredibly committed and also the gumshoe of the piece, where nothing else matters but everything for the greater good.

BRADLEY: It was an interesting one for me, actually, because before I’d even read the first script, I got a message from David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss], who I’d worked with on Game of Thrones for all those years, telling me that this character was the character most like the real me that I’m ever going to play. And so then it was a case of waiting for the script to find out what kind of guy they think I am.

WONG: Because John’s a multimillionaire.

BRADLEY: [Laughs] Yeah, exactly! So, people are gonna have to wait and find out whether I was flattered by that or whether I was gravely insulted.

HONG: I love how ambitious and driven my character is. In a way, I’m similar, but I’m much more kind of, “Let’s see what happens,” whereas she’s very focused on her goals, to the point where she loses sight of other things sometimes, and that’s kind of one of her flaws. I love that what makes her great in her field is also what makes her not so great in life. [Laughs] I love that kind of duality in her. And just her curiosity about the world because I feel like everybody could remember to be more curious about what’s happening around them.

Image via Netflix

We’re talking sci-fi and an ambitious project. I want to know, are you guys big on sci-fi? Are you huge sci-fi fans? What are your favorite sci-fi movies? Do you wanna talk a little bit about that?

ADEPO: I really enjoyed Arrival. I really enjoyed the film.

HONG: Oh, I love Arrival!

ADEPO: That’s one that I’ve rewatched a few times. I’ve gotten more interested in sci-fi as of late, but I really enjoy the sci-fi material that isn’t just sci-fi. I think that’s another testament to why everybody wanted to come on board to do this project, as well, because there are so many themes that are discussed in this science fiction series that it’s really exciting and compelling. And I think, again, the audiences will really relate to all of the themes discussed, and fans who may not be traditionally sci-fi fans [will] find themselves watching the show.

SHARP: I’m not particularly a sci-fi fan, but I mean, I liked Arrival, yeah. If it’s good, then it’s good, if it’s good storytelling. I think what’s exciting about this project is that it’s sci-fi, it’s a thriller, it’s action, it’s drama, it is incredibly– I think you said ambitious earlier. I think what they have tried to do with these books, these unbelievable books, is super ambitious and super exciting. So, yeah, it’s thrilling to be part of it for that reason, and the sci-fi element as well.

So, since you mentioned the books, had you heard before about the novels that inspired the series, or is this your first contact with 3 Body Problem?

SHARP: I’d heard of it, but I hadn’t read them.

BRADLEY: Yeah, same. I’d heard of it, and I knew the reputation that these books had for being adult-focused, very, very dense sci-fi, but rooted in a sort of scientific reality, as well, almost. But I hadn’t read them. I think what David and Dan and Alex [Woo] are very good at is taking the books, which are quite dense and quite scientific, and making them approachable and making them feel familiar and making them human. So, if you’re fans of the books, you’ll love the show, but the show is a sort of slightly different thing.

WONG: Yeah, and sort of much more palatable as well, isn’t it? I really love what they’ve done with the adaptation of it, you know?

Image via Netflix

Jovan, what can you tell me—again, if you can—about Welcome to Derry?

ADEPO: Oh, you caught me off guard! It’s being made by the same creators of the films and everybody’s really excited and working on it. We’re working hard. We just started filming, so there’s very little that I can tell you because we’re still in the thick of it, but it’s an exciting project for sure.

Benedict, I want to ask you, do you know when we’ll see Sorcerer Supreme again?

WONG: Well, I see him every time I look in the mirror. [Laughs] I don’t know! You know, there’s a special phone in the corner that rings every now and then.

So, so far, this phone hasn’t…?

WONG: No, not yet. We’ll see.

3 Body Problem premieres on Netflix in January 2024. You can watch the trailer below: