Drew Van Acker Talks Orion, Truth, Twists & His Intense Sci-Fi Thriller Role
Reel Perspectives
September 25, 2026
There is much more hiding beneath the surface of Orion than an astronaut returning from space with no memory of what happened to his crew. The new sci-fi thriller, directed by Jaco Bouwer, takes what initially appears to be a tense alien mystery and gradually turns it into something far more personal, psychological, and thought-provoking. At the center is Apollo, played by Drew Van Acker, an amnesiac astronaut whose catastrophic mission leaves more questions than answers.
McCarthy plays Jim, a NASA interrogator tasked with uncovering the truth behind Apollo's fractured memories. Apollo has returned from space under horrifying circumstances, but the more Jim questions him, the less certain everything becomes. Somewhere inside Apollo's memories is the truth about what happened to the crew, including the identity of whatever—or whoever—was responsible for the slaughter.
As the interrogation intensifies, the film becomes a fascinating chess match between two men who may each be withholding more than they reveal. What begins as an investigation into an unexplained disaster slowly becomes a deeper exploration of perception, identity, communication, and the complicated ways human beings decide what they believe to be true.
For Van Acker, the opportunity to play Apollo was especially personal. The actor, whose credits include Pretty Little Liars, DC's Titans, Life Like, and Last Survivors, wasn't simply drawn to the character, he helped develop the story itself. That connection gave him an opportunity to explore a character filled with contradictions, darkness, uncertainty, and emotional layers.
Drew Van Acker sits down with Reel Perspectives to discuss Apollo, working opposite Andrew McCarthy, the psychological tension of Orion, and the film's deeper questions about truth, perception, and humanity.
“I always wanted to kind of play a character that was very nuanced and had layers to him. But also layers that weren't necessarily all light and positivity.”
That complexity is part of what makes Apollo so compelling. He isn't presented as a straightforward hero or victim, and Van Acker deliberately embraces the uncertainty surrounding him. Throughout the film, the lines between right and wrong, light and darkness, truth and deception begin to blur, leaving audiences questioning whether they should trust what Apollo says—or even what they think they are seeing.
Playing that uncertainty required Van Acker to carefully control what Apollo reveals and, perhaps more importantly, what he doesn't.
One of the film's biggest challenges is that the audience is discovering Apollo's fractured memories at the same time the character is trying to understand them himself. Van Acker had to perform the scenes knowing where the story was ultimately heading while making sure Apollo never appeared to have knowledge that he realistically couldn't possess.
For the actor, that meant finding the subtle moments between the dialogue, the hesitation, the glance, and the smallest physical reaction that might suggest something without giving the audience an answer.
“There were some difficulties at times kind of keeping the layers within the layers within the layers, and the lie within the lie, and the deceit within the deceit,” he explained. Rather than giving everything away through Apollo's words, Van Acker focused on allowing the character's emotions to live beneath the surface. A slight change in expression or a moment behind the eyes could potentially tell viewers something—or deliberately make them wonder if they had interpreted the moment correctly. That balancing act became one of the most rewarding aspects of the performance.
Van Acker also credits Bouwer with helping him maintain that delicate line throughout production. The director and actor worked closely to determine exactly where Apollo was emotionally and psychologically at each point in the story, constantly deciding when to reveal something and when to hold it back.
The result is a performance that asks audiences to pay attention not only to what Apollo says, but to everything happening underneath it.
Much of Orion rests on the relationship between Apollo and Jim, making the chemistry between Van Acker and Andrew McCarthy crucial to the film. Rather than relying on elaborate visual effects or nonstop action, the thriller builds much of its suspense through conversation, confrontation, and psychological pressure.
For Van Acker, working opposite McCarthy became an experience in itself.
The actor described McCarthy as immensely talented and seasoned, admitting that he often found himself watching and studying his co-star's process. Their scenes required long stretches of dialogue in confined, physically demanding environments, but McCarthy's ability to stay present and make each exchange feel fresh helped elevate the dynamic between them.
Working with McCarthy also allowed Van Acker to stop worrying about everything surrounding the production and simply exist in the moment with his scene partner, Van Acker added. It becomes a psychological duel where every exchange carries the possibility of another hidden meaning. Apollo is trying to understand what happened to him, while Jim is trying to determine whether Apollo can be trusted. And somewhere between those two objectives, the audience is left trying to figure out who is actually telling the truth.
While Orion has all the ingredients of a gripping sci-fi thriller, Van Acker sees the film as something much more human underneath the mystery. The actor helped develop the project at a time when he was deeply interested in knowledge, perception, and the ways people understand themselves and the world around them. Those questions ultimately became part of the DNA of Apollo's story.
At the heart of the film is a provocative idea: What if there isn't always one definitive version of the truth? Van Acker believes people can experience the same situation differently and sincerely believe their own interpretation is authentic. That idea gives Orion a surprisingly emotional dimension because the film isn't simply asking audiences to figure out which character is lying. It's asking them to consider why people believe what they believe in the first place.
For Van Acker, that idea extends far beyond the film.
Van Acker hopes audiences walk away thinking about the possibility that multiple truths can exist simultaneously, especially when those truths are shaped by individual experiences and perceptions. That perspective also changes the way we communicate with one another. If two people can genuinely believe their own versions of reality, then understanding may not always begin with determining who is right and who is wrong. Sometimes it begins with listening.
The film's mystery may revolve around an astronaut, a catastrophic mission, an interrogation, and the possibility of something alien, but its most powerful questions are distinctly human. How do we communicate when we don't share the same reality? How easily can language be manipulated? Can we understand someone whose truth is completely different from our own? And what happens when the person sitting across from us believes their version of events just as deeply as we believe ours?
Those questions give Orion an unexpected emotional weight. Van Acker's performance as Apollo is ultimately what allows the film to move beyond the traditional sci-fi thriller formula. His character is mysterious, but he is also vulnerable. As Apollo's interrogation of Jim grows more heated, audiences are encouraged to question every revelation and reconsider everything they thought they understood. The film's eventual reveal about the “alien” pushes the story in an unexpected direction, but the real surprise may be how much the story says about humanity itself.
Van Acker hopes viewers leave Orion questioning their own assumptions about truth and perception rather than simply walking away with an answer. That makes the film more than a guessing game. It becomes an invitation to look at how we communicate, how quickly we judge, and how difficult it can be to recognize another person's reality when it doesn't match our own.
For audiences heading into Orion, expect suspense, mystery, and plenty of twists, but also something deeper waiting underneath the surface. The film wants you to figure out what happened to Apollo, but it also wants you to question how you decide what is true.
Orion arrives in theaters on October 2, 2026 (Limited theatrical release)
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