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Stargate SG-1 Cast Interviews: Christopher Judge

Loyal Warrior
Steven Eramo, TV Zone Special #67, Dec 2005

To read spoilers in this interview, just drag your mouse to highlight the whited-out text between these symbols: {   }

"I'm ecstatic to be doing yet another season of SG-1, and I can't wait believe we wrap next week," smiles Christopher Judge, taking a break from filming the Season Nine finale, "Camelot."

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 9 FINALE CAMELOT: {"I'm enjoying the mythos that we're delving deeper into now that our heroes have come to what they think or hope to be Camelot. They're in search of a device that Merlin may or may not have left behind and in the process become entangled with some of the townsfolk. There are other things that also happen during the episode which I'm not at liberty to speak of, but the climactic scene is truly just that. It's a terrific way to end the year, and will leave fans on the edge of their seats for next season."}

"This episode [Camelot] is a wonderful example of how our characters have come back together as a team this year," continues the actor. "The first few stories were really to establish our new characters, including Ben Browder's Colonel Cameron Mitchell, with viewers, as well as reintroduce them to the Vala character, played by Claudia Black. Once everyone got to know a little bit about just who these people are, we were then able to focus on the team dynamic."

"I'm happy that our old characters have found the beginnings of their relationships with our new characters and vice versa. Ben and I have discovered our onscreen niche, which is that Mitchell and Teal'c are both warriors and leaders. I think in those first few episodes my character was a bit taken aback by how gung-ho and yippie-io-ki-ay he was," chuckles the actor. "That's because Jack O'Neill was more reserved. However, I feel Teal'c has grown to appreciate those attributes in Mitchell, and I certainly have grown to appreciate them in Ben as an actor."

A character Teal'c needed more time to figure out was Vala, a con artist and old acquaintance who weasels her way back into the lives of SG-1 at the start of the year and who returns in "Camelot" as well as the preceding episode "Crusade."

SPOILERS FOR CRUSADE: {"Because the Vala character is so 'out there' I wasn't sure if Teal'c could ever truly like her," says Judge. "However, in one of the scenes we shot just the other day, Vala was talking about a man she'd met in another universe and had grown to love and what he'd been through and what he would be going through. What she was describing was Teal'c's life. It was truly beautiful the way in which Claudia related this whole series of events, and it got to me not only as Chris the actor but as Teal'c as well. It was like a light switch had been turned on. Suddenly I realised that there is honour in this character and what she's doing, so I finally had a platform from where I could take Teal'c's relationship with her next season."}

"It's funny, you eventually find yourself in a place where you know your character and the other characters so well, you know what you're going to do here, here and here, and no one rocks the boat. Well, that's exactly what Ben and Claudia do, but in a totally good way. They love to challenge you and I love to be challenged as an actor. That's a great thing they've brought to SG-1, and it's increased everyone's energy and focus. We still play around as much as ever, but I don't think there's been a time this year that we haven't all been on top of our game. To have that level of professional commitment and still allow yourself to have fun, too; it's the perfect work environment."

To read the full interview, order your back issue copy of the magazine from Visual Imagination.

Copyright © 2005, TV Zone

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