Ash, the new sci-fi horror from multi-hyphenate director-musician Flying Lotus, comes to video on demand this week following its theatrical premiere in March. Eiza González (3 Body Problem) stars as Riya, a would-be colonist who wakes up on an alien planet to discover that all of her fellow crewmembers have been brutally killed, except one: Brion (Aaron Paul), a space pilot who was offsite at the time, and returns to help Riya make sense of the carnage. With no memory of what occurred, Riya must decide whether she can trust Brion, and herself, if she has any chance of escaping the inexplicable horrors of this strange world. Polygon spoke to González and Paul last month in the lead up to the film’s premiere. We talked about their experience working together on-screen, their affinity for sci-fi horror stories, and which fictional alien planet they would most like to visit. Oh, and Avatar! Polygon: I learned that you two have known each other for more than a decade and actually are neighbors, but Ash is your first time performing in a movie together. What was that experience like? Aaron Paul: I love Eiza so much. I’ve known her for a long time. When she moved to L.A., we became fast friends. She’s just so magnetic, and you just want to be around her. She lights up every room, nobody’s a stranger. She just loves everyone and is just so damn brilliant. But the moment we decided to tackle this together, I quickly realized, holy shit. I mean, she’s at the place where she’s at because of all of the love, the dedication. She’s just obsessed with filmmaking. She loves being an actress, and the preparation she did on this was just blinding. I just have so much respect and admiration for her, and I would gladly ride her coattails anywhere. Eiza González: Me too, I would do anything for Aaron. I think that Aaron is incredibly talented, but also is one of the kindest people. He smiles for everyone, has a kind word for everyone, thoughtfulness for everyone. When you have a teammate that way, it elevates you. I remember going to the set and seeing him talking to everyone and asking questions and being curious, and I was like, Oh, he’s a seasoned veteran. He’s worked for years, he could be jaded, [but] he’s such a kind soul. And Aaron just has — I was joking about it when we were waiting for interviews — he just has friends everywhere, because everyone loves him. How are you not going to love Aaron? Neither of you are strangers to working in sci-fi, having starred in 3 Body Problem and Black Mirror, respectively. What are some of your favorite sci-fi horror shows or films? González: I mean, Black Mirror is definitely one of my favorites, I’m obsessed. You were too — that’s how you ended up in the show! Paul: Yeah, yeah I told them [I was a fan]. And you should do it — I told you that! González: I’m going to email them! Paul: Yes, you should. I’m sure they would love to have you. Black Mirror, I’m obsessed. 2001: A Space Odyssey is definitely up there as one of my top of all time. I mean, of course Alien, everyone brings up that. It’s unbelievable.  González: I’m a huge sci-fi girl, so I tend to go more toward sci-fi than horror, personally. But I realized that I watch a lot of horror simultaneously. Blade Runner changed me, the original Blade Runner. I love the original Dune, too. [Alejandro] Jodorowsky is the one that I love. And so when I knew that Denis Villeneuve was going to do Dune, I was obsessed with it. I obviously love the new Dunes. When it comes to horror, I definitely think The Silence of the Lambs is one. It’s obviously not a sci-fi, but it’s one of the movies that stuck with me really early on in the horror space. And The Exorcist, obviously, that really scarred me. Aaron, you play a really interesting dual character in this movie, both as Brion, Riya’s colleague and the ship pilot, and on the other hand as this “idea” of Brion that’s interacting with Riya. What was it like creating that performance? Paul: I mean, I try to play it just as honest as possible as her [scene partner]. I don’t want to give away anything. Also, memories are an interesting thing. You only really remember the last memory you thought of, or the specific memory that you’re thinking of. Minds play tricks on you. I wanted to play him as this honest good guy that’s just trying to figure things out with her, and trying to figure out if he can trust her. I approach any character to just try to be as honest as possible. And then as the film goes on, more and more layers are revealed. What was your favorite scene to film during production? González: That’s a tough one. I obviously have a lot, and every scene is different for obvious reasons. I really had to access a lot of emotions. I think when it comes to the emotional part, I do love our scene together in the Blue Room. I think that was really fun and emotionally challenging, and I was able to discover parts of me in the performance thanks to Aaron and his delivery and his way of performing that really fed my performance. I really enjoyed every part of the chaos of the third act. I’d never done gore-based films like that. I’d done From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, but with From Dusk Till Dawn, I didn’t have to have that level of gore. I’d never stabbed someone like that in my life. I’d never done any of these things. And weirdly, I was like, Whoa, this has to be the wildest physical experience, and it really takes you to a different place. But all the action, like my fight with Kate, I really enjoyed. There’s so many, I really can’t choose one. Paul: Yeah, same. I want to echo the Blue Room, even though we hated the med-bot prop that we were dealing with, but it turned out great. It looked great. The product was amazing, but it was just such a quiet scene, just realizing a lot. These characters are realizing a lot [and] a lot is going on. But yeah, I loved it all. If you could travel to any alien planet from any sci-fi movie, where would you go? Paul: [Pandora from] Avatar. González: Avatar! Paul: Avatar. It’s so beautiful. I love their way of life. Just respecting the earth and just protecting it. What a thought. González: Did I ever tell you I auditioned for Avatar? Paul: No! González: I did. [Laughs] Oh, it was the craziest audition I’ve ever had to do, because I was in a room with, I think it was James [Cameron], because I’d just done Alita: Battle Angel with James and Jon Landau, rest in peace, who I adored. And they’re like, “Oh, we should audition her for Avatar.” And I remember they gave me this script. They locked me in the room. I read the script, and it was out of the movie. There was a phone. And then when I was done reading it, I had to phone them and be like, “I’m done.” And they covered my eyes, took me to a different room, passed me through the whole thing, and then they gave me a tail. I had a tail, a little tail! Half of my lines were screaming on the floor. Then I was on all fours. I was like, I’m going to commit. You’ve got to just commit. And I was like, on the floor on all fours, gibbering Na’vi or whatever they speak, and running around wild. I mean obviously, I didn’t get [the role] and it was so funny, but I enjoyed it so much.  It was the best experience. I was like, “That’s the closest I’ll ever get to Avatar, and I’m obsessed with it.” What is life? [Laughs] Ash is available to rent and purchase on Amazon Video and Apple TV Plus.