TV SQUAD: David Hewlett on 'Stargate Universe' and the Future of the Sci-Fi Franchise
by Mike Moody, posted Apr 4th 2011
Smart, geeky, passionate and verbose -- not only could that description suit 'Stargate Atlantis''s science wiz Rodney McKay, it also fits the actor who played him, nerd-for-hire David Hewlett.
Two years after viewers waved goodbye to McKay and Hewlett in the 'Atlantis' series finale, the fan-friendly genre actor is resurrecting his most famous role tonight with a guest spot on Syfy's 'Stargate Universe' (Mon., April 4, 10PM ET).
We got a chance to chat with Hewlett about bringing McKay back to 'Stargate,' a franchise that's in danger of disappearing from the TV landscape after the recent cancellation of 'SGU.'
Hewlett, who blogs about his work and life for Syfy's Blastr site, offered his thoughts about the future of 'Stargate' and what it was like playing McKay on 'SGU,' a show he said exists in "a different world when compared to the other 'Stargate's." The actor also briefed us on the status of his in-the-works pet TV project, 'Starcrossed,' which he described as 'Galaxy Quest' meets '30 Rock...'
Stargate Atlantis' Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett)
... TV Squad: In your first blog for Blastr, you wrote that you were "Stargate's biggest fan for life." It must have been pretty easy for you to say yes when the 'SGU' producers asked you to bring back McKay for a guest-starring role.
David Hewlett: "Yeah, that's it. I had so much fun [playing McKay]. I always felt sorry for everyone else on the show ['Stargate Atlantis']. I would say, "Well I got the best character!" I think the writers enjoyed writing McKay, and you could tell. And the issue with 'SGU' is that it was such a different world when compared to the other 'Stargates.' I could bounce back and forth between 'SG-1' and 'SGA,' but 'SGU' was a very different world. I was obviously concerned that, you know, you didn't want McKay to show up and not be McKay unless there was a good reason for that. I think, as ['SGU' co-creator] Brad [Wright] said when I got there, was that he was happy that he could sort of bridge those worlds without really breaking the rules of either of them, which I think was an important thing.
It's so difficult, because McKay wouldn't survive in an 'SGU' world, for the most part. I mean, he'd be killed, basically! And I know Brad said he had a hard time trying to figure out how to bring McKay back, but I'm really glad he did, and it's too bad that the show's not going to continue, but I wasn't gonna be turning that down in a hurry..."
No comments:
Post a Comment