(Please follow the link to download the audio interview and/or read the interview transcript.)
Rodney Forever
GateWorld talks with David Hewlett
Though Stargate Atlantis has reached its triumphant fifth season, David Hewlett has been playing Dr. Rodney McKay for some eight years now. His character was introduced in the fifth season of Stargate SG-1 ("48 Hours"), and went on to win fan acclaim as a main character in the spin-off series.
As David tells us in this new interview, however, that wasn't always going to be the case.
GateWorld caught up with David Hewlett just a few days after the SCI FI Channel and MGM announced that this year will be the last for Atlantis -- though they plan to make a series of movies starting in 2009 (story). The actor candidly shares his disappointment, tempered by the optimism of an actor who is ready to try new things.
Also be sure to listen to Episode #8 of the GateWorld Podcast, in which Hewlett joins us for a special, extended discussion of "The Shrine!" Look for the podcast on iTunes, subscribe with your favorite podcast program, or listen right here at GateWorld. Our thanks to David for spending time with us. Interview transcript at the link above.
A brief excerpt:
GW: One of the things that Brad [Wright] said -- I got on the horn with Brad, it must have been Thursday, and did a phone interview. And the way he explained this decision was [to say]: We really wanted to have Atlantis go out on a high while there was enough life left in it that it would support movies. Because he is really committed to the movie format.
DH: It just makes sense on so many levels. SG-1 has proven that that's a model that can work. And I think movies are exciting. It's a really exciting process to come in, and you know you are there for a month or two months (or whatever it ends up being), and you can really focus on it. And then you can sort of let it go.
The "light at the end of the tunnel" while you are shooting is really important. And sometimes with episodic, and certainly with the frantic pace that we shoot Atlantis at -- I mean, we're literally shooting two or three episodes a day, sometimes. Obviously not the whole episodes, but scenes from three different episodes at the same time. And for a character like McKay, that is pretty daunting. It's like, "Whoa, wait a sec! What power is failing now?"
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