 |
Chief Ingredients: Aaron Douglas Plugs in his Inner Toaster
By: Jeff Renaud
Date: May 2008
Source: Geek
Monthly |
Canadian-born actor Aaron Douglas was raised on healthy portions
of Buck Rogers and the original Battlestar Galactica growing up as a kid
in New Westminster, British Columbia (just minutes outside of Vancouver
where the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica is filmed). So when his BSG
character Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol was outed as a Cylon in last
year's season finale, he would think that was pretty cool, right?
"No, I didn't want to be a Cylon at all,"
asserts Douglas.
"I thought that they would be taking a character that the fans really
love and really marginalizing him. I didn't think the fans would like
it. Suddenly, you have this character that everybody likes and then you
don't like him because he's a Cylon. And it's worse for people who don't
really get te whole notion of who is really the bad guy here. Is it the
Cylons or is it the humans?"
Discouraged, Douglas did the same thing Chief would do if presented
with a problem like checking the servos on Airlock 12. He headed to the
source in search for answers.
"I got Ron (BSG executive producer Ronald D. Moore) on the phone
after I found out, and he talked to me for like an hour and a half and
he explained to me why he was doing this and his beliefs and why he
thinks it's a good thing, and by the end of the conversation, he had me
convinced,"
says Douglas, who originally auditioned for the role of Apollo and was
called back to read for Felix Gaeta before landing the part of Chief.
"I have always trusted the writers and I think they are the best
writers on TV. And after having shot 13 episodes of Season 4, I am not
wrong," he continues. "They're remarkable, and I buy into what they're
doing one hundred percent. It's very, very cool. If you liked Seasons 2
and 3, Season 4 is even better."
As for his belief that the lines in the sand, which divide humans and
Cylons, should be further examined by fans of the show, Douglas
maintains that life in the Twelve Colonies is no different than here on
Earth.
"There is no good guy or bad guy,"
explains Douglas.
"Those are names that we call each other to justify our own position and
justify our own actions. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom
fighter, and every culture has a different way of expressing their
distaste for what's going on."
"And as abhorrent as some things may be to some, they are not
necessarily abhorrent to others. And I think it's the same in the
Galactica universe. The Cylons have done some horrible things, but I
think the humans have done some pretty damn horrible things too. So I
don't think it's a good guy/bad guy thing. I think if they can move on
together and take the best from each other and learn from each other's
mistakes as well as their own, it could become a remarkable society."
"Whether that's going to happen or not, I have no idea. We have only
shot 13 and we, the actors, don't get told what's going to happen at the
end until we're actually on the set shooting it."
While Season 4 is scheduled to be the final season for BSG, Douglas
admits he would love to do more Chief.
"Maybe to explore some stuff from before or during these four years ,
but I would have a whole bunch of caveats to put myself in that position
and one of them would be that Ron would have to be involved. And that he
would have final say,"
says Douglas.
"I think Ron has determined that it's time to finish this tale or at
least, this part of the tale. Whether we come back and do something that
carries on, or do something that's a prequel, or do something like Razor
where they have a movie that's sort of clipped out of time about
something that was eluded to but not actually shown. There are rumors
about stuff like that but I don't know if it's just fans making rumors
or the network or whatever, so we'll just have to wait and see."
But if this turns out to be Douglas' final tour of duty as Chief,
he's going to enjoy it while it lasts.
"I have friends who are laboring on other shows that have been going
for years or they are just sort of in their mid-run and they are just
tired of it. And they all hate me for being on Battlestar when they are
stuck on their [pauses and laughs] wonderful shows."
"That's quality television over there on Stargate, isn't it? Oh, did
I say that out loud? I am kidding, of course."
|
[click thumbnail to enlarge image]
A huge thank you to
nnaylime for the above
magazine scan and interview transcript |
|
