A native of British Columbia, Aaron Douglas had bit parts in films like I, Robot (2004) and Catwoman (2004) before landing the role of Chief Tyrol on the new Battlestar Galactica. I caught up with Aaron as he was walking with his liaison to prepare for a table signing with Nichelle Nichols. I stopped him and asked if I could sneak into one of the empty panel rooms for a quick interview. He said, "Sure, as long as I can bring my beer." We laughed and prepared for the interview.

So, how did you get into acting?

I always wanted to be a lawyer, then after seeing And Justice for All (1979) on screen, I wanted to be a lawyer, but only on TV or film [laughs]. I also did community theater, Shakespeare, and really got into acting around age 28. And now I'm the chief on good old Battlestar Galactica.

Did you ever watch the original series?

Oh yes, I was a fan.

How exactly did you land the part of Chief Tyrol on the new series?

Well, I actually tried out for the role of Apollo, but Jamie Bamber got it. I was glad 'cause I didn't have to always go to the gym [laughs]. Jamie's all buff, and while he goes to the gym, I go to the bar.

How difficult is your role to portray for you?

It's easy to remember stuff, the only hard part is all that tech talk stuff, but my character doesn't have to use it that much, and if I read a line that I think is bulls--t, I usually change it anyway.

Can you get away with that?

Well, these writers are really great about us understanding our characters, so they give us leeway when we think a line doesn't come across right.

What's on the horizon for you?

Battlestar shoots till March, so we can't really make any plans until around January or February. I'd really love to do a World War II movie...I'd kill to get a role in something like Band of Brothers.

Well you already have the look for it….

Yeah, just give me a gun and a role and let me shoot somebody. No, but really, I'd love to do a war movie, or, um, a sitcom.

Personally what do you like to do?

Well, I'm just hanging out waiting for Hockey season to start again and…going to the bar.

Anything else you would like to add to end the interview?

Edward James Olmos is a bastard. Okay, no, I'm just kidding.

After the interview, I asked Aaron to sign a few things I had stowed away in my camera bag and his liaison gave me a photo from Aaron's table for him to autograph to me as well. We did a few photo ops and then took Aaron back to his table. What a great and fun guy he is!

[click thumbnails to enlarge]