Interview: Andreas Katsulas | Read Pt. 1 | Read Part 2 | In his five years on Babylon 5, Andreas Katsulas gave an impassioned performance as G'Kar, the Narn representative to the titular space station. Of all of B5's characters, his went through one of the most distinct transformations — evolving from a deceptive, excitable warrior to a serene and wise Alliance leader. In part two of this interview with the sole B5 star to appear in the Legend of the Rangers telefilm, Katsulas talks about portraying this latter-day G'Kar, and about the fondly remembered character's place at this new juncture in the B5 universe. Q: How much of the G'Kar seen in Rangers is shaped by the G'Kar of B5 past? Does his history from B5 carry forward? A: The essence of G'Kar is always the same. I would say that on the exterior level, he's experienced even more. I mean, he already had a great deal of experience with life and a variety of things, but now he's maybe even a lighter and freer G'Kar. [laughs] Q: G'Kar has come a long way since he was introduced in The Gathering. A: Well, you know, what's better? To play a character who stays stuck in the same baggage year after year, or to play a character who gets beyond that and goes to a new level? Q: How did it feel to step again into G'Kar's skin, literally? A: I didn't experience anything unusual or different; it was so just right. I don't know how to explain it. Just because time had passed made no difference. But it's the last [major role] I really played, and nothing has happened to sort of jar or pull me in a new direction where it would be hard to find my way back. It's just been suspended time; there's been nothing [in between] which would distract me from what I know of playing G'Kar. Q: How do you manage to be so expressive through all the prosthetic makeup? A: If the inside is right, the outside will correspond somehow. And since I hadn't lost the insides of G'Kar — I mean, the outside is put on you, then it's a question of getting your feelings and movements and everything inside to correspond. And when it does, then the mask takes on what it's supposed to take on. It's not a study that you do in front of the mirror, where you say if I move my left eyebrow up a quarter of an inch it gives this expression, or if I drop my jaw, it does that. You really can't think about that, and make it work in that way, and make [the character] living. Q: What was it like working with a new generation of B5 actors? A: Personally, I think if it had been the old cast reassembled, we would have been 90 percent partying and just enjoying the fact that we were together, and about 10 percent working. Whereas this was a new cast that still had to prove themselves and find their characters, and really work hard on this to make it work. So I really appreciated that I was coming into an atmosphere of a work in progress, and had to join them in all seriousness in the Rangers' world, and not just sort of party with Jerry Doyle and Peter Jurasik. Not that I wouldn't have been equally happy to see the old buddies and see it all start up again that way. But this was more of a work situation, and a very good one. Q: How did it feel on a personal level, given that you were sort of an experienced guide to the young cast, not unlike G'Kar is to the Rangers in the movie? A: On an individual basis, I felt very at home with all of them, whether I was out of the makeup or walking about on the parking lot and having lunch. We were all in the same boat, with a real energy and enthusiasm. You're only as good as you are now — not as good as you were before. The fact that maybe I had some success playing G'Kar doesn't guarantee me three years later that I can still do it, so I have to keep my senses alive and still be working on it. Q: What was your first day on the set like? A: I really liked the new sets a lot. [J. Michael Straczynski] had shown me around the day I arrived, before I shot. He took me on a tour of the sets, and I was really, really pleased with the changes and how things, I thought, had improved in the physical sense. Q:What did you enjoy most about being included in this continuation of the Babylon 5 legend? A: I was flattered by the fact that Joe appreciates my work enough to include it in the next thing he's doing; that's like a validation. This is like [him] saying, 'You certainly did do a good job as G'Kar, and we'd like you to do it again, that's how much we liked it.' It's one of those things; you just get a very nice stroke from being included in the next thing. Q: Do you have any parting thoughts? A: I'm just personally really happy and excited for Joe and Doug [Netter] that they're finding a way to continue a good thing. And I wish them much success whether I continue with it or not. I just hope that it goes and that they have a great time and do some good work.