THEM! Meet Cast and Crew #03

You've met the dreadful extraterrestrial villains, now it's time for you to meet the valiant heroes of our Squadron 51! A diverse cast of actors with very different backgrounds constitutes the group responsible for freeing humanity from the oppressive forces.

LIUTENANT KAYA (KAYA RODRIGUES)

Let's start with the one and only Liutenant Kaya, the protagonist of our story, and the one who pilots the aircrafts controlled by players during the gameplay. She's a very skilled pilot of "Foxtrot", one of the subsections of Squadron 51. The character was named after its actress, Kaya Rodrigues. Kaya is not only an actress with experience in film, television and theater, but also a singer and a very energetic "carnavalesca" (name given for the artists who lead Carnaval parades). You can see her on action in comedy sitcoms like "Necropolis" and "Alce & Alice", both of them available on Netflix Brazil, and also in high-profile feature films, such as Berlinale winner queer drama "Hard Paint" (2018) and upcoming Sundance flick "The Pink Cloud" (2021). You can check the video for her latest single below:

CAPTAIN ISHIRO (MARCELO EGUCHI)

Also on the Liutenant Kaya's division is Captain Ishiro, the leader of Foxtrot. He was named after famous japanese filmmaker Ishirô Honda, the father of "Godzilla" (1954) and responsible for multiple Kaijuu films of the 50's and 60's, such as "Rodan" (1956) and "Mothra" (1961). He's played by Marcelo Eguchi, who has little experience as an actor outside of advertising commercials (he was in more than 30 of those), but has plenty of practice in other areas. Son of a Japanese couple, Eguchi represents the very strong Japan's presence in Brazil, result of decades of immigration, which is not a very well known fact outside of Brazil. Very much connected to asian culture, Eguchi is a assiduous budhist, a very skilled martial artist, not only in Karate, but also a black belt in Taekwondo, and owner of a Sushi restaurant for 10 years now. He's also a skater and a musician, versed in a variety of instruments, such as guitar, bass, saxophone, flute, harmonica and percussion and use to play in an Emocore band called Coopet.

CAPTAIN ZEFERINA (PAULA SOUZA)

The other important division is team Bravo. This one is led by the fierce Captain Zeferina, who’s not only a pilot, but also Squadron 51’s official archer. Her name is a homage to Zeferina, a warrior who lived in Salvador in the 19th Century. Brought from Angola to Brazil as a slave, she struggled for freedom and founded “Quilombo do Urubu”, an important resistance spot for abolitionist fight in our country. The actress responsible for embodying her strength is Paula Souza, who’s been an actress for 23 years now, withe experience in theater, advertising, music videos, TV shows and films. Recently, she was in the awarded short films “Quero ir para Los Angeles” and “Fragmentos ao Vento, 1945”, and also on the upcoming thriller series “O Complexo”. You can follow her on her Instagram page @atrizpaulasouzaoficial.

AIR MARSHALL LAMARCA (ADRIANE AZEVEDO)

Occupying the highest rank in the group is Air Marshall Lamarca, the respectful leader who flies the Camelia, Squadron’s patrol bomber. She’s also named after a brazillian historical figure, Carlos Lamarca, a deserted Army Captain who became one of the biggest anti-fascist leaderships during the Military Dictatorship in Brazil. Here, she’s played by Adriane Azevedo, who’s been acting in theater plays since 1982 and won multiple awards for her performances throughout the decades. She was the wife of the late João França, who played Major Ivan (you can read more