Jewel Staite

Stargate Atlantis Premiere!

To begin, a friendly plug-induced reminder: The first episode of the fourth season of Stargate: Atlantis airs this Friday night, September 28th. Not that series pick ups are solely dependant on good ratings, but they definitely do help. Find a friend with a Nielson box, invade their territory, and turn on the damn show, okay? The stakes are high, everyone’s in peril, major jeopardy, etc etc. You’ll like it. Plus, I look all cool and doctor-like.

We’ve reached pretty much the end of the season now, shooting-wise, and I just wrapped a very grueling episode with Amanda "The Tappinator" Tapping and David Hewlett… and after spending two weeks in the set we now fondly refer to as Satan’s Hell-hole, we are the best of friends. This happens with actors when they’re exhausted and have their inhibitions taken away from them while balancing precariously in harnesses; somehow it’s a major bonding moment, and despite the strenuousness we all faced, we had a lot of laughs. And subsequently ruined a lot of film. On the last day of shooting I got a surprise phone call from Nathan, who was in town, and had dinner with him on Saturday night, which was really nice. It’s kinda funny seeing people go bug-eyed when they see the Captain and Kaylee downing chardonnay and eating fried shrimp.

What else is new? Apparently a pregnancy, from the amount of questions I got about us "expecting". After some investigating, I realized the rumors began after Joe Mallozzi mentioned having to deal with a few pregnancies on this season of Atlantis on his blog, and then included a rather unflattering picture of me with my stunt harness on, bent over at an odd angle while trying to balance on a beam. Charming. Well, folks, I hate to disappoint, but that was just a roll of fat spilling over a very tight belt-like contraption that pinches you in all the wrong places while ultimately saving your life. After the paranoia that I had had one too many breakfast sandwiches from the catering truck (the caterer has actually been known to say "That Jewel, she’s a good eater" which I’ll take as a compliment coming from a caterer), I realized that those harnesses would make Gisele Bunchen look preggers, and continued on my merry way with the bacon/egg/mayo goodness. Which is a good thing, because ask anyone: if I don’t have my morning breakfast sandwich, I turn into Jewella DeVille, skinned puppies and all.

On to your questions: (you’re getting good!)

1. Just what is the deal with the competition Nathan and I had/have with flipping the bird to each other? I don’t know. It started with us bored out of our minds on set one day, thinking up new and original ways of giving each other the finger, and then it just escalated into epic proportions, thanks to Nathan never letting a joke die. I think it reached the danger zone the day he gave me what looked like a beautiful hand-made jewelery box, along with a heart-felt speech about how much he loved working with me, and upon opening the box, I discovered he’d made a hole in the bottom and inserted his middle finger in there. I then dropped off a creepy valentine at his front door, seemingly from a deranged and psychotic fan who knew where he lived, and included a mini envelope inside with a photograph of me flipping him the bird while laughing hysterically (photo is now framed in his bathroom). Then at the end of the Serenity blooper reel he had the editors put in a shot that said "For Jewel" with a Caleb/Nathan doll giving me the finger, which followed with me getting three thousand people at Dragon*Con to give it right back that very same year. Like I said, it reached epic, stupid heights, and I won. I think. But you never know with him.

2. Things I like/dislike about Vancouver? Likes: the greenery, the mountains, the ocean, boating around Indian Arm in the summers, Whistler, the fabulous restaurants (Feenies, Yuji’s, Tapastree, La Terrazza, Rodney’s, the list goes on and on), the people, and the fact that my family lives here. Dislikes: the friggin’ rain.

3. What kind of a student was I in school? Depends on what teacher you ask. My English, art, and social studies teachers would tell you I was responsible, diligent, smart, and quiet. My math teacher would tell you I was dim and glassy-eyed. And my Phys-Ed teacher would have never heard of me.

4. How do I handle my schedule and my marriage? It’s not that difficult. I married an actor, so luckily he understands when I come home all zombie-like after a long day of being "on" and all I want to do is sit in front of the TV and fall asleep with a bologna sandwich in my hand. What really sucks is being out of town. I cannot stand being away from him, even for a week at a time, so we usually make a vow to never let it go past two weeks without a visit. It’s important to keep your priorities straight in this business, and my first priority is my marriage and my family.

5. Have I ever regretted turning down a role? Never. My instincts are usually right about those things. Plus, when I do make the decision to turn something down, it’s usually with my manager and my agent backing that decision, so I’m pretty confident when I make that choice. And sometimes it’s reeeeal easy. Topless vampires, terrible Dawn of the Dead rip-offs, movies about racing cars, movies involving gyrating in a bikini, things like that. I’d rather be a Kate (Winslet, Blanchett, Hepburn) than a Jessica.

6. If I could live anywhere in the world..? Maui. Right on the beach, in a cute little beach house. It’s where I would be if I didn’t love what I do so much. It’s hard to be an actor in Hawaii. Unless Baywatch: Hawaii gets picked up again, but red’s not my color.

7. Do I choose the parts I play because they’re smart women, and not helpless? Not really. I love that I get these smart women roles, but it’s also fun to play the helpless victim sometimes, when it’s written well. What’s really great is someone who starts out as helpless and grows into the hero. Or superhero. That flies. And kicks ass.

8. Has the person that canceled Firefly in jail yet? No. They are still on the lam.

Enjoy the premiere of Atlantis! Keller’s in serious doctor-mode in this one, but you’ll see a totally different side to her soon. I think you’ll really enjoy the season, and we’re all really proud of it.

J

PS. Sorry to the redheads out there for not giving you a shout-out: your complaints have been heard, loud and clear. We bow down to your freakishly flawless complexions and cower in the presence of your tempers.I would know, my sister’s one.