Lukas Engel joins the ‘Odd Squad: Mobile Unit’ as Agent Ohab

Lukas Engel - Odd Squad

When Lukas Engel was very young, he was inspired by his big brother, Alexander. Alexander was an actor, and Lukas was often brought along to auditions until one fateful day when he was asked by the casting director to audition with his brother. He knew at that moment that he wanted to be an actor, and it awoke a passion that has remained with Lukas to this day.

“I like being an actor because every workday is different. It is always exciting to be on set. I get to dress up in new clothes and learn new things. There are endless opportunities to meet new people and make friends. None of my workdays are ever the same, I am always doing something new,” he says.

Since that first ever audition, Lukas has been a celebrated actor for the majority of the last decade, growing up on television screens across his home country of Canada and the world. Now 15, Lukas has starred in many hit series, doing voice work for Netflix’s Hello Ninja and Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol, winning awards like a Leo Award for Best Actor for his leading performance in The Shallow End, and hosting The Wacky Word Show, to name a few.

“Working with Lukas was a fun, pleasant, creatively fulfilling and productive experience. Lukas is professional, comes well-prepared to set, has a very positive and cheerful attitude, is wonderful to the other members of the production team, and creatively is not afraid to take chances and have fun along the way. In short, Lukas was great to work with and is the type of actor that every production wants to have on their team,” says Zsolt Luka, Director of The Wacky Word Show.

One of Lukas’ most prolific roles was as Agent Ohab in the hit TV series Odd Squad: Mobile Unit. Odd Squad: Mobile Unit is a spinoff of the children’s series Odd Squad, which follows young government agents who use math to investigate strange occurrences in their town. The Mobile Unit is a division of the Odd Squad, with the same premise. Lukas had wanted to be a part of the series since he was a child, having been a longtime fan of the show and its messaging.

“I really wanted to be part of Odd Squad because the show was so well written. It was clever, funny and has a huge global fan base. Every episode of Odd Squad: Mobile Unit is teaching the audience a new math or science concept. It teaches kids without being boring. They are watching the show and learning about how to add and subtract, all while laughing and enjoying the show. I think it is so important to make learning fun, and that is exactly what Odd Squad does,” says Lukas.

Lukas had a blast on set of this iconic series. Agent Ohab was written with Lukas in mind, so it was easy for the actor to find the tone of the character. Agent Ohab is very “chill” and runs the Arctic Unit of the Odd Squad Mobile Unit, making him a vital character to the Mobile Unit. Odd Squad: Mobile Unit traveled to many places, and this was one of the main locations. 

Before filming, Lukas went over the scenes and practiced becoming very low key and calm. It was his responsibility to teach the young audience about friction in an informative but entertaining way, so he worked on capturing the comedic part of playing such a nonchalant character who seems unaware that everything around him is frozen.

“I loved working with this director and writer. The set of the show was amazing, and because it was a long running series, they were very well organized. It allowed me to really work on my character and have fun. I enjoyed wearing the Odd Squad uniform. I loved the whole environment, and I really enjoyed playing the role of a very chill character. It was extremly funny and really allowed me to show off my comedic timing,” he says.

Odd Squad: Mobile Unit is on PBS in the United States and TVOKids in Canada. It has won many awards, including two Canadian Screen Awards and two from the Writers Guild of Canada. For Lukas, the greatest award is working on a show that brings so much joy to its audience.