‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3: Justin H. Min Talks Ben’s ‘Exhausting’ Change
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 hits Netflix this June, and it will see the show’s titular group of heroes going up against the Sparrow Academy. Introduced at the tail end of season 2, the Sparrows are Reginald Hargreeves’ (Colm Feore) adopted children in the future created by the Umbrella Academy’s time travel. The group consists mostly of new characters, but it also includes a Ben who’s very much alive. According to Justin H. Min, capturing this version of Ben in The Umbrella Academy Season 3 proved an “exhausting” experience, mostly because he’s so different.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3 will introduce a new Ben Hargreeves
Ben Hargreeves dies well before The Umbrella Academy‘s first season, but fans meet Justin H. Min’s character through his brother Klaus (Robert Sheehan). Because Klaus can communicate with the dead, viewers get to know Ben’s ghost. And for most of the series, he serves as a compassionate voice of reason.
However, that looks to change in The Umbrella Academy Season 3, which will introduce viewers to an all-new version of Ben. In the future created by the Umbrella Academy’s time paradox, Ben is a member of the Sparrow Academy. And as Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) puts it in Netflix’s season 3 trailer, “he’s a complete d***head.”
The original group of heroes will no doubt find Ben’s personality shift a jarring development, and they aren’t the only ones. Min recently spoke about capturing the Sparrow iteration of his character. Apparently, it took a lot of hard work.
Justin H. Min called Ben’s transformation in season 3 ‘exhausting’
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Justin H. Min was asked about capturing Ben’s “transformation” in The Umbrella Academy Season 3. According to the actor, he needed to work on his vocals and do physical training, making for a tiresome experience:
“To be honest, it was exhausting. I got to work with a voice coach while I was filming to slightly lower my register, as well as learn how to project more. And they wanted me to physically embody the character, so I had to go to the gym for the first time in many years. Having those external factors in place in terms of body and voice really helped me to inhabit the character in a real and convincing way.”
And the way Ben presents himself in the season 3 trailer is noticeably different. He’s more cocky and confident, and he looks capable of keeping up with his siblings. That could prove a problem as the series continues. After all, the coming episodes promise to pit Ben’s new family against his old one.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ promises to pit the Umbrella Academy against the Sparrows
As though meeting an entirely new Ben isn’t difficult enough, The Umbrella Academy Season 3 promises friction between the Sparrows and the Umbrella Academy. Knowing how much his former siblings care for him, that will be difficult to watch. It could also prove a disadvantage for them.
As Justin H. Min told EW, the original Hargreeves’ siblings are more in tune with their relationships than their abilities.
“The way I thought about season 3 is, the Umbrellas are a family that didn’t know how to be superheroes,” Min explained. “The Sparrows are superheroes who never knew how to be a family.”
Whether the two teams can learn from one another remains to be seen, but it will likely take a lot for it to happen. In the meantime, viewers can expect plenty of sparring in the future.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 debuts on Netflix on June 22, 2022.
