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COMIC CON
(July 2007)
AT: David, what was it like
to have Amanda Tapping on your show?
DH: It’s great. Sometimes she kisses me on the side of the face and I
get warm and fuzzy on the inside (AT giggles at that)
Do they have any scientific/medical/engineering background that helps
with the role?
AT: I actually won the science award in high school.
DH: Did you?
AT: Yup. My parents were ‘go science, go science’ and of course I
became an actor but a scientist actor so I fulfilled their craziest
fantasies, but David Hewlett, not so much.
DH: I failed out of high school
AT: Faker.
DH: Failed. Failed. Yeah, I failed drama in high school, actually.
[shows clip from “Lifeline” with Rodney and Zelenka] I made a plant
growth simulator, no, stimulator, that was it. It would makes noises and
apparently it would make the plants grow but I cheated and I traded the
plants out to make them look bigger. So I cheated on my science experiment.
Yeah, sorry. Guess I just lost that B. [clip from “Lifeline” with Rodney
and Ronon] God forbid we change anything, because all of a sudden, it’s
like that galaxy doesn’t exist anymore. If you screw up the technobabble,
you kind of lost the show. [clip of Sam and Jack from SG1]
AT: Entire races die without you even knowing it.
DH: You make stuff up, people get hurt. [clip from “Lifeline” with
Rodney and Sheppard]. You know, especially when it comes to
astrophysics, phsy…
AT: Spell it! Spell it! Spell it!
DH: I’ve never had to say it. It’s my job. [clip of Sam and Rodney
from SG1 “The Road Not Taken”]
Will McKay become the second tier of scientist on Atlantis now that
Carter is there?
DH: I think there will be plenty of tier climbing back and forth I
think throughout season four. There’s plenty of staggering up and down the
tiers, I think.
AT: I think it’s all good. All good.
DH: Yup. [clip from season 4 episode with Rodney and Ronon in
Mess]
How will leadership change Carter’s character?
DH: I’ll do my questioning look.
AT: Oh, that’s a good look… my role has changed dramatically. She
went in with a lot of trepidation about how to handle the situation and how
to handle the fact that they were losing a leader who was much loved and so
she stepped back on her game a lot… in terms of her scientific knowledge,
she defers to McKay and allows him to shine, she defers to Sheppard in terms
of the military knowledge of the Wraith. I feel like I’m playing an entirely
different character in a lot of ways. And I think she’s more in love with
McKay than ever.
DH: I know McKay is.
AT: I don’t want anyone to ever actually hear that, so (to camera
man) don’t role on that one.
DH: Camera, right, Amanda?
AT: And that red light means…?
DH: Means go. (Amanda giggles) [clip of Rodney and Carter from SG1
“The Road Not Taken”]
Will Carter and McKay get together? (romantically)
DH: Well, in my dreams, we’ve already had an episode where that’s
practically happened.
AT: Yes, we did.
DH: Of course McKay’s fantasy happens under 4,000 feet of water with
giant whales swimming around so…
AT: And I’m wearing a blue bra kissing you.
DH: Sweet!
AT: Sweet? [clip of Rodney and Carter from “Grace Under Pressure”]
He’s desperately in love with her. He knows that she’s way, way, way smarter
than he is and that turns him on, basically.
DH: All I heard was ‘turns him on.” (AT giggles) It’s a
slightly rocky road that we’ve had.
AT: It is a rocky road. They’re both incredibly intelligent people
and that intelligence breeds a certain amount of ego and in the case of
McKay, if I may say, that ego is WAY out of control. … There’s almost a
sibling rivalry between the two of them and…
DH: Except for the ‘turns him on’ part.
AT: Except for the ‘turns him on’ part…siblings with at twist.
DH: (Laughs) Oh no…. A whole new gate has opened! … We work
against each other very well. Yes.
AT: Very well. Friction abounds!
DH: We’re like yin and yang of sci-fi.
AT: Yeah (going into cockney accent), like the yin and yang,
yeah, yeah.
DH: Only not British.
AT: Sorry
DH: Why did you go British?
AT: Its easy. [couldn’t decipher a few words]… I’m British so I can
say that.
DH: I’m British, too.
[they both turn to each other in almost Valley girl type speak]
DH: Oh my god!
AT: Suddenly I like him. … Will our characters ever really get
together?
DH: Not a chance in hell. When that happens, it’s like hell freezes
over.
AT: Yeah.
DH: But wait for it cuz it could happen
AT: Shut down the franchise.
DH: If that’s what you’re looking for. Yes. If not, then no. You
decide (the viewer) That’s the good thing about scifi is you can do
anything.
Does Amanda feel pressure to prove herself?
AT: I have a huge amount of pressure to prove myself to the Atlantis
fans. Huge.
DH: And I point it out to her every time. So we start every day and I
go ‘hey, are you going to let the fans down today? I hope not.’
AT: ‘I hope you don’t let the die-hard Atlantis fans down today,
Amanda,’ says the entire cast and I say ‘I hope not either. Okay I’ll step
up my game. Stargate Atlantis survived perfectly well for three years
without my intervention, thank you very much, and I was happy on Stargate
SG-1 and I’m thrilled to have moved over.
DH: Yeah, now we got her.
AT: I love the cast, and I love the crew and I love the atmosphere
there and honestly it’s a great move for me personally and for my character
but I am painfully aware that I have a lot to prove.
What will “A Dog’s Breakfast” be about?
DH: ‘Dog’s Breakfast’ is the first film that I’ve written and
directed and acted in. It is a sort of a ‘Fish Called Wanda’ style comedy
about a guy who hates his sister’s fiancé so much that he decides that he’s
got to kill him. And one of the reasons he hates him so much because he’s a
cheesy sci-fi actor. You know you can’t trust them, right, Amanda?
AT: Ever. Don’t ever trust a cheesy sci-fi actor. (makes hand
gesture)
DH: Yeah, exactly. I know what that means. Time-out. I think she
wants time out.
Originally posted at Wraithfodders Lair
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