The Umbrella Academy's Ritu Arya admitted she thought Five (Aidan Gallagher) and Lila's romance was a joke. During an exclusive interview with Digital Spy the Lila actress revealed that she waved the idea off when she first heard it.
"A writer sort of accidentally let it slip to me at the last premiere that this thing would happen with Lila and Five," Arya said.
"I thought that they were joking because it seemed so outrageous to me that I didn't really think about it again. Then when I read the script, I was like, 'Oh my God, they weren't joking'. That was wild."
Despite Five and Lila's connection being "a big surprise" Arya shared why she believes the plot development could have been planned a while ago.
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"Going back in my mind [to] the previous seasons, it kind of made sense to me that this was where it was heading but I never thought that before. I think that they always saw that coming.
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"There's so much friction and there's so much of a battle and there's this chemistry. There was always this thing because they're, I think, the most intelligent ones so I think there's a respect there and a connection. Nonetheless, it was such a huge surprise for me."
Speaking on his character's development throughout season four Gallagher explained how the romance grew his character Five.
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"It gives him purpose when it comes along. I think Five without a crisis doesn't know what to do with himself and his worldview of what a life is like is fragments of a bunch of different things he's seen but no place or time and few people.
"He can't really relate to things," Gallahgher added. "He's sort of drifting until they get lost in the subway."
When asked what it was like to explore the more tender side of his character, Gallagher responded: "It was really gratifying for the character to see him end up in that place."
The Umbrella Academy seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Netflix.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
