Alien Nation

Aidan Gillen plays a UFo investigator in a new sci-fi show that’s been dubbed the real-life X-Files.

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After bowing out of Game of Thrones in dramatic style as conniving villain Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish, Aidan Gillen steps into another world of secrets and intrigue this week.

The Irish actor investigates flying saucers and paranormal encounters in Syfy’s new US drama Project Blue Book, based on a real-life top-secret programme the US government wanted kept under wraps.

The 10-part science-fiction series opens in the early 1950s, when US Air Force captain Michael Quinn (Michael Malarkey) recruits astrophysicist Dr Josef Allen Hynek (Gillen) to join him in investigating reports of UFOs as well as other unexplained phenomena in the skies above America.

However, Quinn’s government superiors don’t actually want them to prove the existence of alien life, and insist that the men cover up any hint of extraterrestrial activity.