Raphael Alejandro, star of Netflix's recent film Incoming, gave some insight into that disgusting Tesla scene as well as the prospects of a sequel.
The movie follows Mason Thames' Benj and his group of friends as they navigate becoming freshmen in high school. The crux of the story revolves around Benj's love interest and the antics of a crazy party being thrown by Koosh's (Bardia Seiri) brother.
Alejandro, who plays Connor, doesn't actually get to attend the party. Instead, he gets stuck driving around a Tesla with one nasty surprise.
Raphael Alejandro Breaks Down Incoming's Gross Tesla Scene
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, Incoming star Raphael Alejandro (who plays Connor) opened up about the film's disgusting Tesla scene.
While two of his other friends get to go to the big party, Connor gets stuck in a Tesla with Ramon Reed's Eddie. They end up needing to fill in as a spontaneous Uber driver for a drunk high schooler, Loren Gray's Katrina.
Things don't go as planned, as the drunk Katrina, who was also fed heaping portions of Taco Bell, ends up pooping all over herself and Connor's borrowed Tesla.
Alejandro revealed that the fake poop was made from "a mixture of peanut butter and oils:"
"It was a mixture of peanut butter and oils and stuff like that. It was--I don't like peanut butter. I really don't. I don't like peanut butter, which is an unpopular opinion. Reeses are mid. Definitely, for me, I was just not obviously thrilled. And it actually helped because the mixture really resembled whatever it was supposed to resemble. So, obviously, it helps the acting. Ramon and I were shooting those scenes in that car for a while. Sometimes, we didn't even have to act at all."
"I had never done an R-rated movie in general," the actor noted, adding how they also "needed to work with an intimacy coordinator" for all the poop scenes with Gray's Katrina:
"I had never done an R-rated movie in general, like this. But also I had never done something where––We had to do that scene where we were cleaning Loren [Gray] after everything. And that scene, actually, we needed to work with an intimacy coordinator. A lot of safety protocols had to go into place. So it wasn't the hardest scene, but it was definitely something surprising because I'd never done something like that before. You know, we have to be in close contact with Loren."
"[Loren Gray] was awesome," Alejandro reiterated, noting that he "recalled loved how the scene turned out:"
"And [Loren Gray] was awesome. Afterward, Ramon and I were super respectful, and she goes and says, 'Thanks, guys, for being gentlemen' and all that stuff. So it was a really wholesome and nice moment, but it was definitely something that I had never dealt with before. I was nervous going into it, but it was a great experience overall. And I really loved how the scene turned out."
But could a potential sequel for Incoming ever be in the cards? Alejandro admitted "that'd be cool," while adding how he "can't really discuss too much about a potential sequel:"
"I mean, that'd be cool. I can't really discuss too much about a potential sequel. Just stay tuned, guys. I've been hearing a lot of support for maybe a movie two, which is, you know, really happy as an actor."
The actor did theorize that in a hypothetical sequel, Connor would "be a bit potentially tamer:"
"In terms of Connor that would be cool--freshman in college. I mean... I think he learned that pushing himself towards that edge and feeling like he needs to be, everybody else is having a bunch of fun, so he needs to have fun too. I think he learned a lesson that if he wants to have fun, if he wants to get wild and all that stuff he can but he doesn't need to do it, because he feels like everybody else is doing it, so I have to do it... So maybe in the second one, he'll be a bit potentially tamer, but I think just as angry."
When it comes to Connor as a character, the actor explained that in figuring out who he was, one key element was to solve "why he's so angry:"
"I think the North Star is obviously the basis of his character and everything and is figuring out why he's so angry. And it's not; I don't think it's only because he's also short and everything, but more so that he's just afraid that because he's short, or because, you know, whatever is impeding him. Even if he wasn't short, I think him as a person, he would feel like he's always angry that they're gonna not include him. He's always angry that somebody's going to snub him out, say that he's not allowed, say that he's part of the in crowd, part of the popular crowd."
He went on to explain how the character's "confrontational" side existed to help "save himself from being hurt from that:"
"I think that was the basis of his character. It was figuring out why exactly he was always angry all the time. Because anger is, from a psychological perspective, a secondary emotion. There's, first, another emotion. And I think it's the hurt he feels that he could potentially be not invited to a party. So he always is angry, and always confrontational with somebody so that he can save himself from being hurt from that. So that's the North Star I use for Connor and the basis of his actions."
"He's not always angry," Alejandro made sure to clarify, pointing specifically to a different scene in their Tesla adventure:
"Because he's not always angry... Sometimes, when I'm in the Tesla, like when the cops don't stop us in the Tesla, he smiles, and he's actually happy, and he's all that stuff. Really, he's not angry because people think he's short or anything. It's because he thinks people don't take him seriously. So he wants to be taken seriously. He wants to be cool. He wants to be adventurous and wild. So, that's the basis of Connor as a character."
Raphael Alejandro's personal schooling experience is admittedly a tad different from the traditional one.
"I've been acting since I was four years old," the actor shared, with lots of it being "online:"
"It's a bit difficult to say if it's super close to it since I've been acting ever since I was four years old. So, most of my school life has been online and not like the traditional sense of what normal people go through in high school. But I have gone to many wrap parties and parties, and even though they haven't been as wild as the one in 'Incoming,' they've definitely been just as fun. So I tapped into that for sure."
In the movie, Connor has a close-knit friend group: Mason Thames' Benj, Ramon Reed's Eddie, and Bardia Seiri's Koosh.
Alejandro shared that, as actors and people, they "immediately clicked," which isn't something he can say of every experience he's had on a set:
"… We immediately clicked, and then we saw each other at the high school. And then that's where it really clicked, the whole friendship and the whole chemistry. And it was really rare. Honestly, I've been on many other projects where it takes a bit of an adjustment period for you to get that chemistry and everything. But it was pretty instant with this cast… When we were on set, you could instantly feel the chemistry in the air."
Speaking on how his experience on Incoming helped him grow as a performer, the actor explained how he came to realize that "letting go and just being there was the best thing:"
"I had never done something like an R-rated comedy before where you just go there and I'm just like, cursing or whatever... I think that it definitely helped me overall, just as an actor, realize, you know, letting go and just being there was the best thing. But especially in this comedy, Dave and John Chernin, the directors, made it a really safe environment. If you wanted to suggest... [or] improv something [they were down for it]... So, I think it just helped me realize how collaborative the process of filmmaking really is and how free you can be as an actor, especially in comedy."
Rafael Alejandro was also excited to talk about another project he has coming up, which is Dreamworks' Wild Robot:
"If you're looking for something else that I'm going to be in, I don't know if you've heard about Dreamworks' 'Wild Robot.' I'm actually going to be in that movie as a character named Peck. And you may not even recognize me if you're going to watch it because I put a voice unlike my own. So stay tuned for that."
He continued, escaping how he feels Wild Robot has a "really important message" and "story to tell:"
"I worked with Producer Jeff [Hermann] on Boss Baby 2. He called me to do the Wild Robot. When he told me about the project, about the messages, and everything, I thought it was a really important message and a really important story to tell. So, I'm glad that I'm able to be a part of such a beautiful story."
Incoming is now streaming on Netflix.
