Klyden on ‘The Orville’: All About Bortus’ Partner & the Actor Who Plays Him

Bortus and Klyden will be a main focus of The Orville tonight, now that they have hatched their egg. But if you saw Klyden’s brief appearance on Sunday night, you might be wondering exactly who the character is on the show, and why the character seems so familiar.

Here’s what you need to know.

If Klyden’s voice sounds familiar, that’s because he’s being played by Chad L. Coleman. You may remember Coleman from his many popular roles. He played the beloved Tyreese on The Walking Dead, he was Dennis “Cutty” Wise on The Wire, and he’s Col. Frederick Lucius Johnson on The Expanse.

He’s also appeared on many other shows, including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrow, Freakish, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Electric City, and more.

FOXChad L. Coleman in the About a Girl.

As for Klyden, he will likely add an extra dose of humor of the show, even if we don’t know too much yet about his background or how long he and Bortus have been together. He’s going to be a big part of tonight’s episode, marking another great acting choice for Chad Coleman.

So what do we know about their race so far? We know that Moclans are from the planet Mocas, and they’re a single-gender species who seem very stoic and formal in their interactions with others. (At least, that’s what we’re getting from Bortus. It will be interesting to see if this is unique to Bortus or if it’s a trait of the entire alien race. Remember how he disapproved when the bridge crew talked about Mercer and Grayson’s breakup?)

So far, we’ve also learned that Moclans only urinate once a year, and they reproduce by laying eggs that are incubated for 21 days.

In an interview with Peter Macon, who plays Bortus, he told LifeofDad a few more details about Moclans.

(Mocas) is a planet full of dudes. The whole planet is all men. You are like how do you procreate? Funny you should ask. (Both laugh.) You have all of these juxtapositions where it is a warrior culture. My mate and I went on our first date to something like a laser tag or paint ball. We slayed many enemies together. It is out there. I do lay an egg. They are like what because I go in and ask for paternity leave because I need to sit on my egg. …We can eat anything.

This should be a pretty interesting episode. Watching Bortus sit on the egg during the last episode was hilarious. And now a monogender race suddenly has a gendered female baby. How will they react? How will the show handle this turn of events? It will be fascinating to see.

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