Stargate Universe acting legend Lou Diamond Phillips has taken time out of his busy season finale production schedule to answer a wide variety of questions with the team at ‘Deadbolt’.
You can read an excerpt of the interview below:
THE DEADBOLT: You look pretty cool inside the cockpit of a fighter.
LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS: [laughs] Well, you know, the uniform and all.
THE DEADBOLT: What type of feelings did you have stepping into a franchise with such an established history?
PHILLIPS: I absolutely love this film. I’m very, very grateful to Richard Dean Anderson for having created such a success from the beginning, and obviously Brad [Wright] and Robert [C. Cooper] continued with Atlantis. So I had a lot of confidence in the beginning. To be part of something that had that kind of legacy, there’s already a level of quality to it. There’s a level of respect for the success that’s come before. But at the same time, coming into it, I knew that they wanted to do something different and I found that exciting.
So what’s interesting is – for lack of a better way of putting it – the “baggage” of a show that came before it and myself, who’s been around for God knows how long and a resume on IMDB as long as my arm, I’ve got baggage, too! It’s interesting. There’s also a need on the show to have somebody who’s a veteran. It’s a big nod to be in the same boat as Robert Carlyle. But at the same time, we’re a little outside of the box from what people might have expected for Stargate.
THE DEADBOLT: Was there any pressure on the set given the success of Battlestar Galactica in terms of filling a void? I mean, pressure knowing there was a void on the network with Galactica gone?
PHILLIPS: No, I don’t think there was any pressure whatsoever in respect that Stargate Universe was not predicated on the success of Battlestar. I think that Stargate Universe simply came out of a need for Brad and Rob to continue doing what they’re doing and continue the journey. It’s not like they went, “Battlestar Galactica was such a big success, let’s do something just like it.” I think this was in the works for them for a long time. I think with Battlestar’s success, both with the audience and with the critics, it has expanded what some might expect from their series. And so, what I would say is that it probably prompted Brad and Rob to put their thinking caps on and go, “We’re not going to do what we did before.” The slate is kind of wiped here and we can do almost anything we want and know there’s an audience out there for it.
THE DEADBOLT: What was it about the SG-U script and the Colonel Telford character that spoke to you?
PHILLIPS: Well, I’ve said this before: The original two-hour pilot and the episode that follows it, very few people with my resume would go, “Oh, my gosh! This is something I’ve got to do.” I don’t have a lot to do early on with the series. But it was in conversations with Brad and Rob that led me to take a leap of faith. This guy’s going somewhere. He’s going to be a player and will contribute to a very interesting ensemble and a lot of very interesting interpersonal dynamics between the characters. And knowing that I get to work with Robert [Carlyle], you’re upping your game.
Chris MacDonald is an old buddy of mine, so it was a real pleasant surprise having him there. Meeting the new cast, like Dave [Blue] and Louis [Ferreira] – Louis Ferreira was in a film with Keifer Sutherland and myself called Renegades way back when. Suddenly it was it was old home week. And Brian J. Smith and Elyse Levesque, Alaina Huffman, were very exciting to work with because they brought such enthusiasm and such talent. We really have a cast that comes from across the board and everybody is very unique and individual in what they do. It’s created a great atmosphere on set and it’s one I’m really proud to be a part of.
You can read the full interview here ยป