The Umbrella Academy Kept A Season 3 Scene The Cast Thought Was Sure To Get Cut
Season 3 of "The Umbrella Academy" was a deliciously gigantic chaos sundae with a timeline altering cherry on top, or, as we say in the biz, just another season of "The Umbrella Academy." As the real world around us continues to feel like we've entered our own kugelblitz, having the ability to give ourselves over to some quality escapism is as important as ever.
Fortunately, "The Umbrella Academy" is the cure for the existential crisis blues, heightened by the fact the cast is clearly having the time of their lives getting to play in this superpowered, twisted timeline universe. The cast gets to have kickin' fight scenes, wear ridiculously cool costumes, and have full-on dance battles throughout the seasons, and it's evident by the way they all talk about the show off-screen that it's the most fun an actor could hope to have on set.
Even better, the creative team takes an active interest in highlighting the unique lived experiences of the real people playing these characters, and find ways to incorporate their stories into the narrative of "The Umbrella Academy" in both big ways and small. In one of the best moments of the third season, David Castañeda as Diego Hargreeves and Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves are squaring off in an argument, when both characters spontaneously burst into Spanish and Korean language, respectively. It's a great moment to highlight both Castañeda and Min's acting chops, and as we've recently learned, their improvisational skills as well. That's right, the moment was totally unscripted, but "The Umbrella Academy" team loved it so much, they kept it.
'They freaking kept that scene!'
During an absolutely delightful interview with Newsweek, Castañeda and Min were asked specifically about this scene, and the two immediately burst into overjoyed laughter. "That was completely improvised!" Min elates. "That was a great suggestion of Mr. Castañeda here."
The duo explained that they had recorded the argument scene multiple times and included a variety of different improved lines and ad libs, before Castañeda suggested to Min that they should argue in Spanish and Korean. There's no real rhyme or reason for the two characters to speak a different language, but that's "Umbrella Academy" baby! The scene is fantastic and the passion the two have the second they flip into Spanish and Korean only adds to the heightened stakes of the scene.
"And they kept it!" Castañeda exclaimed. "I remember Justin sent me a text like months later, because he went to an ADR session, and he's like, 'They freaking kept that scene!'" Min said that they were "shocked," the moment made the final cut, fully believing that it would end up with the rest of the improv lines that weren't used. "We for sure thought it would hit the cutting room floor," Min said. Castañeda echoed the sentiments and said, "Yeah, we were like, 'It's gonna get cut right before, you know, we start arguing, but nah, they kept it."