411 Movie Interviews: Lou Diamond Phillips of Stargate Universe
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 10.20.2009
The long-time veteran actor is featured in the new hit SyFy series, Stargate Universe. Lou Diamond Phillips checks in with 411mania.com for an exclusive interview.
In his long and illustrious career spanning three decades, actor Lou Diamond Phillips, broke out in 1987 as Ritchie Valens in the hit movie, La Bamba. Phillips has also appeared in such movies as Young Guns, Stand And Deliver, Courage Under Fire, and The Big Hit. Currently, Lou Diamond Phillips is doing work on SyFy's new hit series, Stargate Universe, which recently debuted to record ratings bolstering the SyFy Channel's recent resurgence with such shows as Eureka and Warehouse 13. The native Texan, Phillips, was about to jump on a plane when he spoke with me on his work in the show as Colonel David Telford:
Jeffrey Harris: So what interested you in Stargate Universe besides the paycheck?
Lou Diamond Phillips: Well actually, yeah, that's always a motivating factor especially when you have four daughters, you know. Every day they continue to grow, its kind of crazy. But not only had the franchise been so successful in the past, it really was a well oiled machine and hoping that they would carry on the torch and create another success. Before I even read the script, knowing that Robert Carlyle was already attached, I mean just really made a huge difference to me. I automatically knew that -- he's a man of such taste and such talent that if he liked it, then I was probably going to find something to like in it as well. My character, Col. Telford, is not on the page a lot in some of the earlier episodes, but it was conversations with Brad Wright and Robert Cooper [the creators] that let me know that Telford certainly had a future on the show and he would have an impact on the inter-personal dynamics on the characters. So I took a bit of a leap of faith, found out my old buddy Ming-Na was going to be in it, and just realized that they really were looking to do a totally re-imagined, rebirth of of the Stargate franchise.
JH: Watching the first three episodes, your character [Telford], is not on the spaceship Destiny. He was leading a group of fighter jets against some enemies when the Icarus base was being attacked. I get that Telford is a very focused and determined individual. He almost seems to have a single-minded sort of focus. Do you see that at all in the character.
LDP: 100%. He is a military guy to the nth degree and he was supposed to be the leader of the team that went through the Stargate, through the 9th Chevron. So I mean this was something he was looking forward to and his frustration is that he becomes separated from the survivors who are stranded aboard the Destiny. So now his mission is to get back onboard that ship and save the day. So he does have a bit of frustration there and also in that the people onboard the Destiny are not trained for this kind of mission. You really feel that they are on the verge of failure all the time, and there's a little bit of a Christ complex in that he feels he's the only one that can get on there and help 'em out.
JH: There are some very interesting, little aspects I noticed about the character, like when he's meditating by the communication stone. Is that something you come up with in a collaborative effort, or is that the type of beat that's written on the page?
LDP: There's a lot of clues for instance in what's on the page, but the wonderful thing about this cast and the directors and the writers is that they really give you great jumping off places and there's a lot of freedom to bring your interpretation to layer it. Its not about all the nuts and bolts. It's really about what makes these characters tick, and they really welcome the actors' input and its really the kind of environment that I was hoping it would be.
JH: One thing I wasn't clear on, but I assumed from watching the pilot, did Telford get out and back to earth on the ship that was in orbit on the planet with the Icarus base?
LDP: Absolutely. The fighter jets go out to attack the enemy who's attacking the base. The core is about to explode; and so the fighter jets have no place else to go except the orbiting spaceship which returns them to Earth.
JH: Is the enemy that attacked just one of the secrets in the show that we will have to watch and find out?
LDP: Yeah, you know, its funny *laughs*, upon pain of torture they remind everybody, "Don't spoil anything! Don't spoil anything!" It's definitely a storyline that will continue, that will pick up later in the season, and one that I'm involved in as well. That entire attack will have reprecussions down the line.
JH: Watching the show, a lot of the characters stranded on Destiny have these interesting back stories filled with emotional tragedy. Will we get to see more about Telford's past and upbringing as the show goes on?
LDP: We will definitely peel away the layers of Telford as the season goes along, but as far as his personal back story, I don't think that's in the cards just yet. Hopefully that's something we'll find out more about in the future and find out what created this really tough, militaristic guy. I will say that there's some great surprises coming. But it's also part and parcel of having such a great ensemble where any one of these storylines that you investigate is going to be compelling and very human and also many times, very touching. In one of episodes I've seen, I'm really, really thrilled with not only the work the other actors are doing like Ming or Robert or even David Blue, some of the other characters; but I'm very impressed with the depth to which the writers are letting the audience in on these characters.
JH: One of your old co-stars, Edward James Olmos, did quite a bit of time on a SyFy TV series, you might've heard of it. Battlestar Galactica. LDP: Absolutely.
JH: Did he have any advice for you after he finished up working on that show and you started to work on this one?
LDP: You know I didn't get a chance to talk to him about it. I haven't seen him since I started the show, but I mean the lessons he taught me way back when on Stand And Deliver have stayed with me ever since. And if I can bring the kind of dignity and gravity and depth that Eddie brought to that show to Stargate I'd be really thrilled to be his apprentice.
JH: Were you much into sci-fi or comics before this show?
LDP: I'm a huge fan of sci-fi. I think my generation has grown up with sci-fi becoming more mainstream going back to Star Wars and one of my favorite films of all time, Blade Runner. And, the look of sci-fi and the kind of story that sci-fi wants to tell it's a bit like the old-time westerns with the morality tales. These are big questions of character, humanity, and normal people up against great odds. And so, I find that this genre allows you to explore that. Not only that, to have a lot fun with the hardware.
JH: Do you get to work with Richard Dean Anderson as General O'Neill very much?
LDP: I work with him quite a lot actually because he's on Earth as well and he's my immediate superior, so a lot of the stuff that I do is of course with guys like Richard. And he's just wonderful. We owe him a great bit of thanks for making SG-1 a big success and having him onboard and having his enthusiasm and his admiration for the new show is inspirational and we got the nod from the Godfather if you will.
JH: Being in this business for such a long time and doing work with movies, TV, and theatre do you have any advice for aspiring actors or people working to get into acting from someone who has such experience and working almost every side of the business?
LDP: Well, I mean, I teach acting when I can and I do some seminars -- that's what I was doing in Dallas, Texas was teaching. And the two biggest things are number 1; don't let anyone deny you your dream. If you really are meant for this business and this art form, then go after it with all your heart. And then, after that, you need to work at it. An actor acts. A dancer dances. A writer writes. They're all action verbs. You don't sit around and talk about it. You don't sit around and dream about it. You get out and you do it. So you find yourself in an environment where you can practice your craft. Surround yourself with people who are artists as well and really start thinking and embracing the life.
JH: Do you think you might get an action figure from this show? I think they've made Stargate action figures in the past.
LDP: *Laughs* Excellent. It better have some nice pecs, that's all I got to say.
JH: And I hope you get to go to the conventions sooner or later. Ming-Na and Robert Carlyle both went to their first Comic-Cons this year.
LDP: I'm really, really looking forward to it.
JH: Thank you sir.
LDP: Thank you.
Stargate Universe featuring Lou Diamond Phillips as Col. David Telford airs Friday on the SyFy Channel. The series ratings continue to impress, drawing as high as 2.5 million viewers. Not bad considering the show outdrew Joss Whedon'sDollhouse which airs at the same timeslot on Fox.
