How Andy Allo went from playing music with Prince to costarring in ‘Upload’
Growing up in Cameroon and then California, Andy Allo had two dreams. She wanted to be a musician, and she wanted to be an actress. “I put on plays and concerts for my family,” recalls Allo, 33.
Allo found astonishing success and much wider audiences in both fields: In her twenties, she was a guitarist and vocalist in Prince’s band; the legendary musician also co-wrote several songs with Allo and served as executive producer on her second album, “Superconductor.” And in her thirties, she has become one of the two stars of “Upload,” the Prime Video series from Greg Daniels (“The Office”) returning for its second season on March 11th.
The first season of “Upload” introduced viewers to a near-future world where people can, instead of dying, be uploaded to a virtual reality, where they can live quite lavishly… as long as someone living is covering the bills. Nora who worked as an “angel” (customer service rep) for wealthy Afterlife patrons fell into a budding – but virtual – romance with Nathan (Robbie Arnell) and then into a dangerous – and real life – power play by Nathan’s enemies that nearly got her killed.
Season two begins with Nora on the run, joining a group of activist rebels called the Ludds, who live in the forest and live off the land as they plot to take down the forces behind the upload technology. The show is a comedy but it also has plenty to say about technology and the inequality in wealth and political power between classes in America.
Allo spoke by video recently about working with Prince, about finding the right tone for Nora, and about whether she would upload given the chance. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q. How did you go from an unknown musician to a member of Prince’s band?
My first album was featured on The Africa Channel and a year or two later they called and said, ‘We’re working with Prince and we want to connect you two and see if there’s musician magic.’ It was so random.
They invited me to his concert series at the Forum. We met and I got invited to the afterparty at his house. He had listened to my album but didn’t like it – he liked one song, barely. He was very honest. But he invited me on stage at his house to sing with his band. I was not thinking it would lead to anything, just that it was part of a crazy night. We just started jamming. I sang [Bob Marley’s] “Waiting in Vain.”
Q. How did playing and recording with Prince influence you?
I got to see his unencumbered artistry – he had an ability to get out of the way and let things flow and not be too precious, while still having a reverence and respect for the art.
The other thing I learned from him was that when it’s go-time, in the studio or on stage, you show up 110 percent.
Those two things continue influencing me today, in music but also on a TV set. I was on stage with Prince in front of 50,000 people and you just have to go out and let it flow. It’s very much like that in an audition or on a set – there are fewer people but the same pressure and you still have to just go do it.
Q. Were you always interested in acting in addition to music?
Yes. Growing up I put on plays and concerts for my family. I did indie movies and commercials while also working on music. It was just that music took off first.
Q. How has acting influenced your music?
Acting is very much a hurry-up-and-wait job. Before learning this lesson, with music I always wanted things to work immediately and I’d get frustrated – why isn’t this song hitting now – but now I’ve learned patience, to know it’s going to happen, and I just have to relax.
Q. Do you see yourself in Nora?
I connect so deeply with Nora, with her love of caring for people – even when she makes judgments, she still gives them a chance and I think that’s a beautiful quality.
Q. Did moving from Cameroon to California as a child and having to start over shape you to be more open in that way?
Growing up in Cameroon was a very specific way of life and moving to the States was a very different way of life. And I’m so grateful for that experience – it allowed me to see different perspectives and ways of life and to see the beauty in both. A lot of my life is this duality, of existing in two different worlds and that’s Nora’s too. She lives in the real world and in virtual reality and in this season she’s part of the Ludds but is still working and using tech. That duality resonates so deeply with me.
Also, when I moved to the States, I learned how to move and speak in a more Western, American way because I wanted to fit in. That ability to be a bit of a chameleon – “Let me survey the scene, see how things work – helped me as an actor and it’s something Nora does too.
Q. How do you balance the comedy, the political plots, the virtual reality tech and the human relationships at the heart of the show?
It’s a testament to Greg and the writers that the writing does most of the work. You just have to get out of the way – you don’t want to put too much on it. When I auditioned, I went in big, going for comedy and the casting director said, ‘Let’s throw all the comedy out.’ I was hitting all the jokes but she said Greg really wanted the show to be grounded. Nora is a regular woman and this is her life. That shifted everything for me.
Q. This season reveals an even sharper political perspective, which paint the ultra-rich as not just out of touch but as an existential threat to democracy. Do you see the series as dark and frightening despite being a comedy or do you see it as ultimately hopeful?
People relate to it because it feels relevant but it’s not soul-crushing. It’s about finding that little bit of light. I take Nora’s point of view, which is hopeful. Her attitude is that we could give up but why would we – we do get this life to say something and to do something about it. Her time in the Ludds does embolden her. Nora loves technology and that we’ve been given this knowledge and the ability to create new things, like Afterlife in the show or the Metaverse in real life. She knows that there are people who will use it for selfish and evil reasons but she believes it’s up to us, the people who see the beauty and benefit in the technology, to combat those things.
Q. Would you Upload?
I go back and forth on this. Some days I say yes, absolutely. Other days I think the life you get is the life you get and you should just make the most of it.