Aaron Douglas Interview
By: Gilles Nuytens
Date: December 19, 2005
Source: THE SCIFI WORLD
Aaron Douglas was born in a suburb of Vancouver called New Westminster and growed up there until he was 10. Then he moved to a town in the interior of the province of British Columbia where he played in high school and community theatre. At age 26, he left his current job and came back to Vancouver to learn the craft of acting at William B. Davis Center for Actors Study (The X-Files “Cigarette smoking man”).
Aaron Douglas has on his filmography movies such as Catwoman, The Chronicles of Riddick, I Robot, X-Men 2 and TV shows such Andromeda, Stargate. But he is most known for his role of Chief Tyrol in the new Battlestar Galactica series.
Can you firstly talk about yourself?
I was born in a suburb of Vancouver called New Westminster and I lived in Vancouver until I was 10 years of age when my parents moved us to a town in the interior of the province of British Columbia. I was involved in high school plays and community theater until I moved back to Vancouver at age 26. I had been out of acting for many years when I decided to quit my job and go to theater school (William Davis Center for Actors Study in Vancouver) to learn the craft of acting. I had done everything from floor laying and construction to marketing and sales repping. I spent many years discovering what it is that I do NOT want to do in life. The rest as they say is history.
What was the most difficult scene you had to do in Galactica?
The scenes where someone dies in the Chiefs arms are difficult to do because they take a really long time to shoot and you are constantly in a state of loss and sadness. They are very draining.
How would you like that chief Tyrol evolve in the future, especially his relations with Sharon#2?
I would like the Chief to be done with Sharon. It is time to move on. I would like to see Tyrol begin to believe in himself a little more and be given more tasks requiring strength and leadership.
You appear in all episodes of Galactica, except maybe 1 or 2, your character is as important as the main cast so, to your opinion, why don’t you have the same status?
There are so many people in this cast that the network cannot focus on everyone and so marketing is split between the bigger names and the handsome ones. The Chief was a really small character in the beginning and there was no intention of focussing on him at all so anything that comes my way now is a bonus.
What is your best memory from Galactica?
There are so many great memories from what we have done till now. One is goofing off with Paul Campbell and Mary and we were laughing so hard we almost ruined take after take after take. If you ever see them ask them about Paul and Aarons made up names for the racehorses she took her husband to see.
Note: We asked this question to Paul Campbell, you can read his answer below)
We had some questions come in from people that read the message board, and one of them was from Aaron Douglas. (Editor’s note: The question was actually from an earlier interview with TheSciFiWorld.net). He said that we should ask you about the names that Paul and Aaron made up for the race horses that Mary took her husband to see.
Paul Campbell: I was thinking about that the other day. We had this ridiculous…Did he give you any names?
No, but he said you were all laughing so hard that you ruined take after take.
Paul Campbell: Absolutely, and once you get Mary on a roll, once you get her giggling, she will not stop. So we had a field day. We were shooting Home Pt. 2, and Mary was talking about taking her husband to the horse races and just randomly picking names. And we were talking about if you were just randomly picking names having no knowledge of the horses, what names you might choose. It would be like Lighting Steed, and Farts Dust, and choosing between the two. Or Beaten by A Nose, and A Nose for silly horse names. Three legged old man, and Guaranteed to Win. But for some reason it just struck us as incredibly silly, and we must have gone on for two or three hours, and we had hundreds of names. I think Mary laugher her way thru about 50% of those takes.
If you were in the same situation than chief Tyrol, how would you have react when you learned that your girlfriend, Sharon was a cylon? And what would be your behavior with her?
Not really sure what I would do but I think I would march her down to Adama’s office straight away. Tyrol didn’t figure it out till she shot Adama so there wasn’t much he could do.
On the set, who’s the guy always trying to break up a scene, to make everyone laughs?
Paul is really funny and Eddie goofs around a lot. I am silly between takes, especially with Nicki. We laugh alot.
Which Shakespearean character would you like to do? And why?
I have played several Shakespeare characters and if I had to do it again I would like to play Mercutio or Theseus and Oberon in the same performance.
What was the scene you enjoyed the most to play in Galactica and why?
Episode 3 of season 2. Running and shooting Cylons in the forest. How fun is that?!?!!
I read some critics about the “rape” scene shown in the last episode aired, as you played in this scene, what’s your opinion on it?
BSG is a reflection of real life and these types of events go on everyday. Many people were upset by it but to me they need to realize that this is the world we live in. Does that mean they have or want to watch? Absolutely not but do not discount it as sensationalism. What we shot was so much more graphic than what was aired and I understand why they did not use it. In what aired the rape had not totally begun. It was suggestive. I thought it was a good scene and on point with the story and not added to draw in viewers. That suggestion is absurd. I know Ron Moore very well and he is not the kind of person or writer to add scenes purely for sensationalistic or ratings purposes. They have to be on point, truthfully reflect the situation and todays world and be relevant to the story or they are not there. It also amazes me that people have no problem with beatings, shootings, bombings, stabbings etc. but show a breast, a bottom, or a grope and they fly off the wall to condemn it. This happens in all areas of film, television and theatre and it is ridiculous.
What decided you to become an actor?
It is the one thing that I am really good at. It is the easiest thing for me to do and it is what I love to do the most.
What are your expectations for season 3? Do you already know something about your involvement on it?
I have no idea what is happening in season 3.