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Old November 12th, 2003, 01:48 PM   #1
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Exclamation Katee Sackhoff on Starbuck & Battlestar Galactica

Katee Sackhoff on Starbuck & Battlestar Galactica

An interview with the self-described "ex-jock" who takes on the challenge of playing Starbuck in the Sci-Fi Channel's re-visioning of a beloved (and be-groaned) '70s classic.

Me: How much is it destiny that a gal from the Portland/Seattle area is playing a Starbuck?

KS: You picked up on that. You're really classy.

Me: Thank you.

KS: Actually, I'm hoping get free coffee for the rest of my life.

Personally, I could have talked coffee all day, but we needed to get down to business.

Me: What makes up the core of Starbuck's character?

KS: Before the Cylon attack, I don't think she knew herself too well. The military is all she really knows. Then there's the attack, and I know this sounds odd, but she thinks, "Oh, thank God, I finally have something to do." If they decommissioned the Battlestar, she wouldn't have anything left.

Me: A few days ago, Donald Rumsfeld spoke about sending reservists into Iraq and stressed that they would be happy to see some action. Do you see Starbuck that way, happy to be getting the call?

KS: Well, it's a lot easier to say that when it's imaginary. If Eddie Olmos turned to me and told me to go to Iraq, I'd be on the first bus to Canada. But, yeah, maybe that's kind of how Starbuck feels.

Me: I don't want to spend our time harping on the differences between the original BG and yours, but I am somewhat concerned about Starbuck as a woman, since the "original" character was not just a man, but a Ladies Man with a big old phallic cigar and all that. What about now? Does Starbuck have something to replace the cigar?

KS: She still has the cigar. God, I must have smoked about 30 of the things. I've talked with [scriptwriter] Ron [Moore] and others about what they thought, and she really needs to be a player.

Me: She still plays cards?

KS: Oh, yes. She's got to be in there.

Me: Starbuck has lots of interesting angles, though. One thing stressed in the original series is Starbuck's "orphan" status that separates him slightly - at least in his own mind - from the nobles and commanders he hangs out with. Were you able to use any of that in this version?

MS: Yes. We don't know Starbuck's parents are from. The military is her family. Everyone else is talking about their parents, and you see in her that she doesn't have anybody else.

Me: What about Apollo?

KS: Apollo has been gone for two years, and there's a tension between because they are really good friends, but they haven't spoken. And -

Me: Ack! No spoilers!

(Actually, my supposed desire to avoid spoilers didn't keep me from asking other questions, through which I learned that if the show makes it to series, there's talk of bringing back some more characters seen in the original episodes who didn't make it into the movie. Sackhoff also said something about how [Edward James} "Eddie" Olmos is pushing to have her dog put into the script to make up for the missing Muffit, and how she'd love to have a flying motorcycle (a la Galactica 1980).)

Me: A problem I have with some sci-fi out there that features strong female characters is that while the women are smart and good fighters, and all that, there's a decided lack of female-to-female friendships.

KS: Well, Starbuck and Boomer are friends. There's a scene where I'm playing cards. Originally, it was written that it was going to be several background players and Colonel Tigh, but at this point in the shooting the camaraderie had become so strong that I felt Starbuck needed to have her friends there. That's part of what makes her human. She does have friends. And the producers agreed, so that's how the scene was shot.

Me: How about as an actress. Do you feel your ability to develop the character as a woman is stunted by not having other women characters to work with?

KS: You know, when it comes to Starbuck, she is such a strong woman if you put her around men it makes sense, if you put her around women…she might be overpowering. When she's with men, she looks feminine; when she's with women, she looks like she's going to kill them.

But with the friendship - and how great it is to work with Grace Park -- it makes her more feminine to be with Boomer. If the show goes to a series, I think that will be a constant struggle for me, because I'm very feminine, and it was kind of hard for me - if I were Starbuck I'd be flirting with all of them. Starbuck doesn't flirt.

Me: No?

KS: Not yet, anyway.

Me: What is it about space that all the men out there are such lookers?

KS: Really! You know, it's something I said on the set, that everybody gets action except Starbuck.

e: (somewhat appalled) Adama has sex?

KS: Okay, two of us don't get any action.

Me: Speaking of such things. In the original series, there were buckets of love and affection between Apollo and Starbuck, enough that even now we've got fanficers exploring that more sexual side. I love Ron Moore's work, because he's the best writer for Picard and Q, one of my all-time favorite duos. Moore said that he envisions Q as being in love with Picard, and certainly the way he writes them together creates a love of sparks. Do you think perhaps Moore saw some of that in Apollo and Starbuck and sort of resolved it by making Starbuck a woman?

KS: (laughs) My best friend and I sat down and decided that's what we think.

Me: A female Starbuck might make it easier to deal with?

KS: Not easier, but maybe more widely accepted. Actually, the ongoing joke on the set was that Starbuck and Boomer are lovers. Now, I love Grace to death, but I don't know if I want to make out with her on a daily basis.

Me: How about Number Six (Trivia Helfer)?

KS: She may be the one to turn me. She's really cute.

Me: But if this goes to series, would you like to see Apollo and Starbuck explore a more romantic relationship?

KS: Yes.

Me: Do you see them following the path of the Mulder/Scully eternal foreplay routine?

KS: I hope that's what happens for a while, rather than just jumping into things. If they explore that relationship right off the bat, there will be too much awkwardness. If it does happen, I'd like to see it in the third season or so.

Me: Given what you said about the card-playing scene, you seem to be a part of a creative team, not just someone following direction.

KS: I think we're a team, sure. I think Rob and the producers really respect the actors' opinions. What's so great about the show because it is sci-fi and we did take it from the beginning, we can go anywhere with it. I'd like to think that the writers trust the actors to have a feeling for the characters that we play. Nobody knows Starbuck the way I do. Whoops! I mean, nobody knows the NEW Starbuck the way I do.

Me: Important distinction there!

KS: Yes. Be sure to show I stressed that!

Me: So, with working as a member of a team, how was it working from the script? Did the character seem "complete" to you on the page?

KS: Ron is an amazing writer and he writes for actors. It was a character-driven script from the beginning. He manages to have you fall in love with the characters and really get into their lives. He makes you want to know what they're going to do. But I think there are little things from your own personality that are always going to be added.

There's definitely a part of me in Starbuck. For instance, I think that MY Starbuck -- Kara -- is really angry and confused.

Me: And you take that from your own life

KS: Sure. The confusion comes from me, just like it would for any 23-year-old girl.

Me: Well, I'm 37, and, trust me, it doesn't go away. But it gets easier, you know. You stop caring about stupid stuff so much.

KS: Yes. Most of my friends are in their thirties. I've been hanging around them, upset about something, and they're, like, "Why do you give a ####?" I think Starbuck's got that. She's very confused about her place.

Me: Does this have anything to do with why you went into acting?

KS: Well, I was a jock, and I didn't go to drama class until I hurt my knee. I had to find something else to do.

Me: Well, being a jock takes acting skills. Show no pain, and all that.

KS: Yeah, and getting out of things.

Me: Really?

KS: Actually, the vice principle of my high school said that's why so I was good at acting: "She's so good at getting out of trouble."

Me: Well, the movie does sound great, and should go to series if it gets good ratings. Where do you see Starbuck going as a character if it does?

KS: There's so much to the character. I really want to explore Starbuck more. I'd like to explore a vulnerable side to her, but at the same time, her strength comes from her confidence. She knows she's the best at what she does.

I think she needs to learn grow, to ask for help, to lean on other people more. And if she does, she'll see that from Apollo.

Me: Sounds like the character has really become important to you.

KS: I love Starbuck! This is the funnest job I've ever had. I love it. I have nothing sour to say about anyone in the production.

Me: Oh please?

At this point, the interview came to an end, which is a real bummer, as I wanted to know more about the possible fame and fortune of her dog.

http://scifi.about.com/library/weekly/aa111203.htm
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Old November 12th, 2003, 01:58 PM   #2
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Hi,

There's a poll that follows the article, and one of the responses is:

"Loved the original; how dare they remake it like this?!"

Regards,

Nathan
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