By Steve Fronczek If you had the chance, what actor would you want to do a major scene with? Absolutely, hands down – Edward James Olmos. I have been a fan of his for many years, and I admire him a lot as an actor. He has such amazing presence, and just oozes cool, and intensity. He’s also among the most interactive with the background performers. EJO will take the time to explain to us in great detail what we should be feeling or doing in a scene. He also makes sure to make the extras feel like they’re an important part of the process. He will interact with us directly in a scene if he feels it’s called for. He goes out of his way to show his appreciation for the work we’re doing as well. I wasn’t there, but I was relayed a story by another one of the extras where EJO asked the background on set one day who had been with them since the pilot. After a small group raised their hands, he thanked them all for being a part of Battlestar Galactica from the beginning, and just wanted to let them know they weren’t the invisible nobodies that most people see them as, but an important and integral part of the show. He’s a real class act. I’m really hoping that after the strike is over, and BSG (hopefully) resumes production, that I’ll have the opportunity to get a speaking role on the show. It’s not unheard of for extras to be thrown a line of dialogue on the show, but not something you can rely on happening. But in the event I don’t get an audition for the show, that’s my best bet. Did you watch the original Battlestar Galactica, and what did you think of it? I did, I watched it all the time as a kid, and loved it. It was one of those beloved shows that you watched when you were young, that you thought was just so amazing. I remember playing Battlestar with my friends when I was younger. I always wanted to be Starbuck, and we flew around on our bikes, pretending they were Vipers. I don’t know how well the show holds up today. I’m still very fond of it, and enjoy catching reruns when I can, but it’s obviously become dated. It had a pretty strong cast though, and for the time, I think it was a heck of an achievement. Too bad about Galactica 1980 (shudder). I was really excited when I heard about Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto starting it up again, and was looking into heavily, as I wanted to be a part of it so bad. When that fell through, I was very disappointed, even more so when I heard what Ron Moore was planning to do. I just couldn’t see how re-imagining the show could be better than bringing back the original. I’ve never been so happy to have been so wrong in my life. It would be nice to see guest appearances by some of the other original actors, such as Herbert Jefferson and Dirk Benedict though. When you stepped on to the hanger deck set for the first time what was your first impression? At that point, I still had a huge grin on my face, and was just trying to take it all in. Your eyes immediately go to the 2 full scale Vipers that are sitting there, and if you’re a fan, you just want to run over to them, and look at everything. But the hangar bay is a really cool set; I was amazed at how high it is, there’s a whole walkway above it that I’d never noticed on the show. At the same time, it’s actually kind of small. It only consists of 2 bays, and the open floor area in front of them, and then the launch tubes. Then on either side they have sliding doors/walls that have green screens behind them. It’s a pretty detailed set though, lots of equipment and tools. Totally looks like a working hangar bay in real life. Have you been able to sit in one of the viper mock-ups? I haven’t, though I’m still hoping to. About mid-season, I finally get my pilot’s wings, so who knows what may happen. I’ve been around them, and they’re incredibly detailed, and very impressive looking. You got to play with a lot of the props on set. Did you ever see anything that made you think... Hey I've got one of those, or I use that all of the time? Not really, no. The prop department is really good at using more obscure items, or taking one thing, and making it into something else all together. For example, there are these hand held video display monitors that people often carry around, and in reality, they’re plastic folder cases with display graphics glued to the front of them. Again, the attention to detail on the show is just amazing. Even just walking down a corridor, there are all these incredible touches with the props and set dec. I think the only thing that really made me go "hey, look at that, who knew?" is, they use rubber floor matting on the walls, and along the sides of consoles. Gives it a great texture, and looks cool, but is just a simple trick. Out of all of the sets on BSG which one sticks in your mind you as your favorite? Without a doubt, it has to be the CIC, which is just a phenomenal set. The scale of it is so impressive, and I don’t think you really get as good a sense of it on the show. There are so many levels, and so much going on in there, there’s almost no wasted space. When it’s all lit up, and active, it really blows you away. Just being in there, you really feel like you’re on a spaceship.
From your point of view which actor tends to make the most bloopers? To be honest, I haven’t really seen any major bloopers. This cast is really incredible, and always seem to bring their A game, and it’s an amazing thing to watch. Other than the occasional flubbed line, they seem to nail it almost every time. What I found particularly interesting was, it was my first day ever in the CIC, and it was a pretty intense scene, lots of crazy stuff happening, and EJO was at his station, and was really picking up the pace, making the action seem really frenetic, and he would improvise lines, and just throw stuff out there. Watching the rest of the cast play off of that was very interesting. They have a level of comfort with each other as actors, and with the characters that they’re just able to pick up the ball and run with it. Must make it hell for the script supervisor at times though. Has there been any major set or prop malfunctions? I’ve personally had a few mishaps, and they seem to always involve the phones in the CIC. The first time I was in there, I was doing some action with the phone, and the cord kept falling out. Another day, I was at the tactical station (with the big, green glowing map behind it), and walked by a phone, knocking it off the cradle, and as it was a resin cast phone, it snapped in two. Those things are a menace. I’ve also learned to not write on the glowing tactical map during a scene, as the grease pencils are squeaky. But other than that, I haven’t really been privy to any major mishaps. Of the over 70 film and TV productions I’ve worked on in my career, Battlestar is one of the most well organized, and finely running shows I’ve been a part of. What is your favorite prop on the show that you have seen or used? I’m a fan of weapons, and I really like the sidearms that they use on the show. I’ve not been able to really use too much in the way of cool props. When I do have something, it’s usually along the lines of a clipboard or something. But it’s always interesting to read the stuff on the pages. There’ve been casualty reports, fleet status, interrogation transcripts, all kinds of interesting stuff. I’d also love to get my hands on Adama’s lighter. What is your favorite costume to wear? Does the high detail in the wardrobe help you get into character better? I’ve been lucky to get to wear a variety of costumes, officer blues, deckhand jump suit, flight suit, dress uniform and marine uniform (in a scene that was later re-shot, so it won’t appear on screen). My favorite, and the one I get to wear most often is the officer blues. You put it on, and you just feel different, and carry yourself in a different way. When I put on my uniform, I absolutely feel like I’m a military officer. I always tell my friends that on days that I’m working on Battlestar, that I’m off to defend humanity against the Cylon horde, and it’s really easy to feel that way when you’re in costume. I have a lot of sympathy for the men and women who regularly play the marines on the show, because those costumes are really hot, and uncomfortable. So how hot is the flight suit costume? I've heard that it doesn't breath at all. It doesn’t breath well, that’s for sure. I was fortunate that when I finally had it on, it was November, so it wasn’t blisteringly hot out. It was fairly cool outside, and as a result, so was the studio. I know that some people have just had to peel them off at the end of the day when it’s been hot out. The only real problem I had with mine was, at 6'1" 195 lbs, I’m a bit bigger than the average person they put in the suits, and the one I had was a little snug. They do have some bigger ones out there, but on the day I wore it, I think I had on the biggest one available at the time. It’s a great costume to wear though, again, it really helps you get into character. What's your favorite episode out of the one's you worked on from this last season? That’s a hard question to answer without giving anything away. I’ve been really fortunate in that I’ve been present for some very memorable moments this season. There’re scenes that people are going to be talking about a lot, and I was there for them, and that’s really exciting.--------------------------- |
