In a recent interview with IGN Stargate Universe actress Ming-Na gives the low down on the up and coming Stargate Universe.
IGN TV: When you joined this show, how familiar were you with Stargate?
Ming-Na: Quite frankly, I wasn’t that familiar with it. I think I had vague memories of seeing the original movie and maybe an episode or two, but I hadn’t kept up with that franchise. And I told them that. But for me, in a way it was good that I didn’t know about the previous Stargates, so that I could come into it with new perspective about how to play the character.
IGN: It looks very different from the other Stargate series, with a grittier feel. Did you get the idea that was the intent?
Ming-Na: Absolutely. More in your face, where it just had elements of almost a reality show that everyone is so used to and the voyeuristic approach to showcasing an episode of almost anything these days. And what’s fun for us as actors is that because we don’t know where the cameras are half the time, we just pretty much have to play it like a theatre piece and just be fully invested in it, each and every take.
IGN: What can you say about your character?
Ming-Na: I play Camile Wray. She’s an IOA officer – head of the human resource department. She’s very complex. She is a woman in a very male-dominated world of the military, as well as the diplomats that she works with. When she’s stranded on Destiny, along with everyone else, she has to sort of figure out who she is in that environment, and her ultimate goal is to still get these people back to Earth, when it seems like everyone else’s goal – the military and the scientists – is to continue to travel through the Galaxies.
IGN: Robert [Carlyle] has said his character, Dr. Nicholas Rush, is far from what you’d call a people person. What does Camile make of him?
Ming-Na: Well, I don’t trust him. I don’t trust him at all. But at the same time, I know that I need him to help me get to my goal, which is getting everyone back home. Because I know he has the knowledge of the Stargate and no one else does.
IGN: At Comic-Con, it was revealed your character is a lesbian.
Ming-Na: That’s right.
IGN: How much room is there in the storyline for romance?
Ming-Na: Well, I think it’s great with a show like this that anytime she is in a scene with a woman, you don’t know… There are so many layers that can be played into it, whether she is just being a friend or whether she wants to get something more out of it. I think the audience sometimes can decide that more than I’ll let on.
IGN: Have you quickly learned the ropes with the Stargate terminology?
Ming-Na: I’m still learning! I’m a sci-fi buff, but some of this quantum physics stuff is definitely way over my head. Physics was not my forte!
IGN: As a writer for IGN, I have to ask – do you get approached about Street Fighter still these days?
Ming-Na: Yeah! Chun-Li was kick ass! She was a good character to play. I thoroughly enjoyed working on that film.
IGN: I went to a Van Damme double feature at a revival theatre a few months ago and everyone applauded when they showed the Street Fighter trailer.
Ming-Na: Seriously? I told ya! It’s weird how some projects become cult classics or cult favourites. You never know. Sometimes the campier they are, the more they inspire a following.
IGN: Do you still have the Chun-Li costume?
Ming-Na: Oh, let’s see, those fishnet stockings in red… Maybe, yeah!
The more I read about this show the more I hate it. Bring back Atlantis.