s Richard Dean Anderson, star and executive producer of Stargate SG-1, gears up for a fifth season of the Showtime series, he's looking forward to seeing more special effects and character-driven plots on the show.
Anderson, a Minnesota native, started his television career in the soap General Hospital in 1976 when his dream of becoming a hockey player didn't work out. He went on to play one of the most popular characters on TV in MacGyver, which ran for seven years on ABC. Anderson created Gekko Film Corp. with his business partner, Michael Greenburg, and he has gone on to star in and produce several television movies and series, including Stargate.
Besides being very busy in the entertainment industry and with many environmental causes, Anderson recently had his first child, a daughter named Wylie Quinn Annarose. He talked with Science Fiction Weekly about Stargate, being a producer and his hair.
What can we look forward to in the future for Stargate SG-1?
Anderson: We're entering year five of first-run stuff for Showtime, and as far as the episodes that we should anticipate ... we've continually gotten a slightly larger budget every year, so we're able to put more on the screen, as the saying goes. That means that we can start utilizing the incredible talents of our special-effects people, so we'll be hopefully seeing a lot more of that. As the year progresses and unfolds, Brad and Robert, that is Wright and Cooper, will be piecing together hopefully some more character-driven stuff. Let me just throw that out there. But I can't give away any plot lines, that'd be ludicrous. Nobody'd tune in. As far as the future for the Showtime episodes that have already aired, we are sold into syndication so we'll be appearing primarily on the Fox syndicated networks and then eventually the SCI FI Channel. So, we'll be around for a while.
Stargate has developed a rich mythology. What has been your favorite storyline or episode, so far?
Anderson: In the first season of Stargate, there was an episode called "Cold Lazarus" that dealt with my character's haunting past of having his son kill himself with a handgun, and it tied off some emotional story lines for the character to get on with life. That was fun to play. There were some nice special effects coupled with some really nice moments with child and wife. I also was able to age to about 100 years in "Brief Candle." That was a lot of fun as an actor to play with that much prosthetic. It allowed me to tap into the real me, which is at least 90 or 95 years old.
And I have to throw in this bone, and don't let this out, but I like most scenes that are written with Michael Shanks, especially written by Brad Wright because he understands the rhythm between the two of us and certainly the two characters. Shanks and I tend to have a lot of fun. And, oh, any of The Simpsons' episodes are my favorites too.
How is working on a series that deals with fantastic science fiction elements different than working on a project that is more Earthbound?
Anderson: The biggest difference is the fact that you're dealing with special effects when you're in a science-fiction-oriented show. You sort of have to rely on a department [to create something] that doesn't even exist in depicting real life. So that's the biggest obvious difference. The other one is that you're dealing with a concept that forces you to relinquish your ability to believe. You have to suspend disbelief a little bit to buy into your situation and to the story and to how the character will react. You have to tweak your credibility a little bit, is basically what it comes down to.
How has your character, Col. Jack O'Neill, changed since the beginning of the series? What part of him do you relate to the most?
Anderson: : Mostly what's changed has been his hair, I think. It used to be kind of longish and not real military, but the older I get I find the shorter I like to keep it. Less maintenance. Less to keep track of. Both the character and I, Richard Dean Anderson. And it's a little lighter. I don't know if you've noticed but I've got some patches of silver right here in my temples. Call me Jack.
Okay, Jack ... the cast has a wonderful chemistry onscreen. What happens when the cameras go off?
Anderson: I can't tell you anything about what happens after the cameras go off, mostly because I'm usually unconscious by then. Nothing. We're all friends and friendly. So when the cameras go down, depending on the mood or the nature of the material we're dealing with, there's usually a kind of a prevailing light attitude that's floating around. There's a bit of merriment that takes place. Mostly, because it's such a machine making an episodic show that's laced with special effects, things move at a fairly rapid pace. There's not a lot of fooling around, but there is a genuine sort of light air about it all. It's a lot of work, so you sort of have to keep ...
Oh, who am I trying to kid? It's a madhouse. The minute those cameras go off, things just explode, everyone is just at each other in one way or another, in closets or cat fights here and there. It's nuts. You know, I can't be a part of it.
What has been the best thing about doing Stargate?
Anderson: Well, I don't want to sound like any actor that has been doing the series for any length of time or has been in the business way too long. But my answer to that question would have to be, aside from the obvious, which is the people and the relationships that you garner over a long period of time ... but the catering. The catering. They're the best. So it's the food.
How does being a producer on a show differ from coming in to a series like this exclusively as an actor?
Anderson: It's just a lot busier, basically. There's more to do as a producer. You have another responsibility or two or three. Although, as one of the producers on this show, my station is very well protected by the likes of Brad Wright, Michael Greenburg, Robert Cooper, Andy Mikita, John Smith. People like that who are real lifers as producers. So they're very protective and supportive of my flailing. The bottom line is that you're a lot busier. There's editing, and scripts to read and edit, and casting, and all the elements of production that just sort of take up the normal downtime that you would have as an actor. So there's not a lot of that for me.
Has becoming a father changed the way you approach your work?
Anderson: Being a father ... well, I don't know if this is a change, but it makes me want to get out of here faster. Get off the clock. Just 'cause the baby is my reason for living, my reason for coming to work. Being away from her is torturous and I'd much prefer to be with her. So I just try to get out of here as soon as I can. I make sure I do my job real well and fast.
You're involved in several charities and environmental causes. Please tell us about the ones that are closest to your heart.
Anderson: I have several recent ones that I've associated myself with. I spent a lot of time in South America this last year and made my second trip, which was a diving trip to the Galapagos Islands off the Ecuadorian coast. I refamiliarized myself with the Charles Darwin Research Center there. They are what they sound like, which a research center for the preservation of the marine park around the archipelago. Also, the Water Keeper Alliance. I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the chief litigator for this corporation, this Alliance, and their job is to prosecute corporate polluters of the great bodies of water in North America.
I've also been working with the Challengers Club in the inner city of Los Angeles for 15 years now, I guess, and it's essentially an inner-city recreation club for boys and girls. It's a very protected environment right in the inner city. And Sea Shepard Foundation, which is Captain Paul Watson's group. They are a fairly aggressive conservation organization that was started to protect the great whales particularly, but in general all marine life around the world. So those are the people I'm trying to attach my name to.
What can we look forward to in the future from Richard Dean Anderson?
Anderson: I've recently partnered with Eric Hertz, Steve Mahan, Kate Geis and Robert Currie. These are people from Earth River Expeditions. I was fortunate enough to be on a rafting trip last summer where I met these guys. The company basically is a rafting expedition corporation that has a calendar of raft trips around the world. Eric approached me and asked if I'd be interested in being part of the documentary film group that would chronicle the great rivers and highlight the more positive sides of rivers that may be at issue with hydroelectric or logging or damming or pollution. Whatever the issue might be. But also to highlight the cultural aspects of the people surrounding any river valleys, the politics of the area, the heritage and basically that's it.
I went to Chile. I was on the Futaleufu this last February. I'll be going to Tibet in July for about three weeks. I'll be Peru, Alaska, Quebec, back to Chile again. I'll be in Africa at some point in a couple of years. Running all these great rivers. We're loosely calling it The River Project, so we know what we're talking about. Right now it has a bit of a loose form, but hopefully the pieces that we put together will be educational pieces that will throw some light on the situation [as to] what kind of jeopardy may be surrounding our great rivers. So it allows me to travel, I'll be doing that and running these great rivers and doing what I've done [in the past] without much purpose other than for the experience.
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