Secret Invasion: Who Plays Raava & What Does She Look Like Under The Costume?
"Secret Invasion" is filled to the brim with Skrulls, but there are a select few who are especially important to the narrative. Of course, there's the ultra-scary villain Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), there's Nick Fury's tried-and-true ally Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), and then there's Raava, who gives viewers arguably the biggest shock of the entire series when it is revealed in Episode 4 that she has been impersonating James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka War Machine (Don Cheadle), for an unknown amount of time. Raava's surprise debut is quite the twist, and fans may be wondering just who is playing the character.
In her natural Skrull appearance, Raava is portrayed by none other than Nisha Aaliya. An actor from the United Kingdom who is relatively new to the scene, Aaliya has appeared in notable productions from recent years such as the supernatural sitcom "Ghosts" and the long-running soap opera "Emmerdale." She has also dipped her toe into the world of Bollywood, appearing in Netflix's 2021 remake of "The Girl on the Train," among several other films.
Secret Invasion is Nisha Aaliya's biggest credit yet
While Nisha Aaliya has spent several years working as a professional actor, her role as Raava on "Secret Invasion" stands as her most high-profile appearance yet. Fittingly, the actor has been quite vocal about her excitement about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Wrapped on my dream project with Marvel Studios a year and [a] half ago, and still getting my head around being in the MCU from the comics," she wrote in an Instagram post. "A milestone, a manifestation, a day dream, and now #secretinvasion."
Aaliya is getting quite the unique MCU debut too, as both the show and her character are proving to be massive shake-ups to the status quo of the franchise. In an interview with The Movie Times, Aaliya noted how much "Secret Invasion" stands out from what has come before. "I think this is definitely different to the other Marvel Studios projects," she explained. "It's an espionage thriller, so I think people will really enjoy this and I think it's a new and exciting thing as well for the MCU to be exploring."