{"id":9820,"date":"2010-04-23T11:14:10","date_gmt":"2010-04-23T10:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=9820"},"modified":"2010-04-26T16:41:36","modified_gmt":"2010-04-26T15:41:36","slug":"interview-david-blue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/interviews\/interview-david-blue\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: David Blue"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"stargate-universe\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>: This interview was conducted before the show returned from hiatus.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been well publicised that you were a fan of the series before you landed the part of Eli. In your opinion, now that Universe is ten episodes in, does it fit with the franchise or do you see it as a separate entity to SG-1 and Atlantis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a complicated question for me. I definitely feel like it\u2019s a part of that world \u2013 going into it, it was important for me to do two things. One, that it\u2019s not isolating any fans from before, but then also two, that it pushes the envelope. I think that\u2019s the idea that Brad [Wright] and Robert [Cooper] had. As much as we love the past shows and as much as we admire the fans of the past shows, we didn\u2019t want to do the exact same thing, because there\u2019s only so many times you can do the same thing again before it gets boring. We wanted to take the world, take the fans, take the story and make them grow. We wanted to bring in more than just 1.6 million fans from Atlantis, we wanted to bring in more than just the problem-of-the-week type stories. And you have to \u2013 television and film these days is about trying new things and pushing the envelope. Having seen the ones so far, and I\u2019ve probably seen one through ten, that\u2019s what they show us, they\u2019ve gone further than what I expected when we were filming it. So I absolutely think that we\u2019re a part of the franchise, but at the same time, I like to think that we\u2019re a distinct entity in that franchise because we are taking risks that may not have happened before.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s drawn a lot of praise for being darker and more mature than previous series.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, you have to be, with the way that TV and film works these days. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because of reality television or what, but viewers are a lot more fly-on-the-wall, they want to see more realistic things, and they want to feel more connected to the characters. So in order to do that you can\u2019t have everything be happy and joyous and solved at the end of the week; you have to carry on from episode to episode. So if you apply that to Stargate, you\u2019re either going to have that or the show\u2019s going to go off the air.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny you should say that viewers are more like flies on the wall, given that your character, Eli, sort of breaks the fourth wall by his nature. Would you agree that he represents the fans?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, 100 per cent. Well I hope he does. That was always the plan, that Eli represents… it\u2019s not just the audience, but all fans, especially fans of film and television. Myself as well. And having a device like the Kino really helps with that because it allows you to break the fourth wall. He can kind of do an Office, and look directly into the camera and speak to the audience directly, which you wouldn\u2019t normally be able to experience. At first I was a little bit worried about that, I was worried about how it would come off, but then we started doing it more, and I realised that it\u2019s a great device that allows Eli to be even more the heart and the mind of the audience, and express what they\u2019re thinking and guide them through the show directly. So it\u2019s great, but it\u2019s a lot of pressure to represent the entire fan base!<\/p>\n

How much input do you have into the character? You said he represents you as well just now, so how much David Blue is in Eli Wallace?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me start with the first part \u2013 they\u2019re really great about having an open door policy if I want to come and talk to them and express ideas. And there\u2019s definitely been a few times along the way where I\u2019ve brought something up, they\u2019ve considered it and been very nice, and allowed it to go into the character. Especially as an actor, you get the breakdown of the character off the bat, and it\u2019s not necessarily including everything \u2013 you just take what you think the character is \u2013 and as you go, you\u2019ll get a script and go “Oh, I didn\u2019t realise that” and you just have to add it in from there on. But as far as myself and the character go, as much as my cast mates love to tease me that I am Eli, in that I\u2019m a film fan and a sci-fi fan… the truth is that I actually quote way more than Eli does. I\u2019m not as huge a Planet Of The Apes fan as he is, but we\u2019re generally very different. I\u2019m a little bit more socially adept than Eli is, I\u2019m a bit more confident. I am not as smart. But when you boil it down to the TV\/Film aspect of it and the sci-fi aspect of it, it\u2019s as much a part of me as it is the character.<\/p>\n

We spoke to [producer] Robert C Cooper the other day, and he told us that the show doesn\u2019t have an overarching story for the whole series. Do you prefer this as a storytelling environment or would you prefer a more rigid structure?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m surprised to hear him say that because for me, being stuck on the ship and trying to get home is the long-term story, but I guess maybe he doesn\u2019t consider it that way. What was the second part of the question?<\/p>\n

Does it give you much freedom to experiment with the story, or would you prefer a more rigid structure?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I definitely do like that we don\u2019t have a problem and then solve it by the end of the episode all of the time. I like that there are certain aspects that carry through because I feel that\u2019s the driving force that allows you… I love shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who or whatever where there are pieces of something that are hinted at, but not dealt with for a while, and I really enjoy that because it keeps me invested in the show rather than it being something that I just sit down to watch. It keeps me going “Oh God, why do I have to wait until next week?” So I hope that they continue to do that in the coming seasons \u2013 I hope there are coming seasons \u2013 because I think that’s what will draw in the old audience and the new audience. As far as experimenting with the character, that\u2019s very much in the writers\u2019 hands. I show up with the script, I\u2019m a very curious person as a fan and I\u2019m always going up to them and saying “What does this mean? What\u2019s going to happen? Why are we doing this?” And they never answer me. But as long as they continue to keep taking the risks that they have then the show will continue to grow in the way it has, which I love, honestly.<\/p>\n

A few outlets have described the characters of the show as onions, in every episode you peel back another layer…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, I like that. Claim it! Claim that you wrote it, I won\u2019t tell anyone.<\/p>\n

Does Eli have any big surprises or reveals on the way? It was sort of hinted at with his mother…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah, absolutely. There are many layers, I think that\u2019s why we were able to get so many actors \u2013 I\u2019m not going to pat myself on the back and say like myself \u2013 but actors like Robert Carlyle, Ming Na, and the guest stars like Reiko Aylesworth and what have you\u2026 I won\u2019t ruin anything for you, but it\u2019s great stuff, and a lot of people had been worried about certain characters \u2013 that\u2019s the problem with an ensemble drama, it takes a while to get to know people, like the onions, and there\u2019s some beautiful, beautiful stuff. Like, heart wrenching stuff. And I don\u2019t think that we would have been able to attract the calibre of actor that we\u2019ve attracted to the show if the characters weren\u2019t complicated like onions, which sounds funny. Because you don\u2019t want to display caricature, you don\u2019t want to play a stock cookie-cutter character, you want to be more complicated and as the series progresses, we learn much, much more as we go. But there\u2019s still quite a lot to learn, as someone who\u2019s done 20 of them, and I keep wanting to see the scripts for next season, but I can\u2019t!<\/p>\n

Next<\/strong>: Pacing, plotlines and progression…<\/em>
\n<\/p>\n

\"SGUS1-PR-0022\"<\/a>As we said earlier, there\u2019s been a lot of praise for Stargate Universe, but one of the things that people have picked up on is that the pacing, particularly in the earlier episodes, is quite slow. How would you respond to that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I understand the concern, I do. But then again, I think a lot of that concern comes from previous fans of the show, who we are very much wanting to hold on to. We\u2019re not trying to alienate any fans, we\u2019re just trying to grow the family. We want to keep the 1.6 million original fans and then add another 1.6 million on top of that. So it\u2019s hard, when you\u2019re used to the breakneck pace that we had in SG-1 and Atlantis. It\u2019s hard to slowly learn about the characters, especially in an ensemble drama where you have 10-20 characters that you\u2019re gonna have to be introduced to \u2013 you can\u2019t do that in a few episodes and it\u2019s gonna take a little time to pick it up. You start to see it in \u2018Life\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s a little bit slower than \u2018Time\u2019, which was pretty intense, so it\u2019s going to have to go back and forth for a while, you\u2019re going to have to have sci-fi, action-based episodes and then you\u2019ll have some where you learn a little piece of the character, and then some mixed episodes. It\u2019s just the nature of the beast unfortunately, and I\u2019m glad that the fans have been patient enough to stick with it and realise that things change as you go, but it\u2019s kind of a necessary evil.<\/p>\n

Has the network been happy with how the show\u2019s performed so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think so, as far as I know anyway, I\u2019ve been looking at all the ratings. The live ratings themselves have been changing, but when you add them into the DVR ratings, which is kind of a necessity these days, our ratings have either grown or stayed the same almost every week. So that\u2019s pretty darn good for a new show in its first season and its first few episodes, because to do that, it\u2019s kind of unheard of. And I predicted at the beginning that we would grow from \u2018Air\u2019 parts one and two to \u2018Air\u2019 part three, and everyone kept telling me, “That\u2019s not going to happen, it\u2019s unheard of” and it happened. I think there\u2019s something special about the show, and I understand that people aren\u2019t watching it live as much \u2013 I myself don\u2019t watch anything live any more, I DVR it.<\/p>\n

Given the nature of the show and the way it\u2019s branched out in touching a few puzzles and dilemmas, such as using other people\u2019s bodies, do you think that it has the capacity or the intent to maybe tackle some modern day issues in the way that Battlestar did?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope so. I really do hope so, I think we have, there\u2019s been a few times where I\u2019ve read a script and gone “Oh my God, I can\u2019t believe that just happened”. You’ve watched \u2018Time\u2019, right? When I first read it I was like “Are you kidding me? They killed everyone<\/em> \u2013 we learned so much about the characters then they went and did that. Did it actually happen?\u201d And then things like with the body swapping, it\u2019s kind of… I hate to say this because I don\u2019t want to sound like a jerk, but it\u2019s kind of been humorous to me to see people\u2019s reactions to an episode, and they flip out and go “Oh, how are they gonna fix that? Why is Eli\u2019s phone still working?” And then every time my response is “Wait until next week\u2026 you\u2019ll see…\u201d I feel that way about a lot of these stories \u2013 people flipped out about the body swapping controversy. These people aren\u2019t stupid, the people writing the show, they\u2019re not going to let things slip by. The body swapping is dealt with, for instance, it\u2019s explained. They\u2019re never going to just introduce something and let it go.<\/p>\n

They have been doing it for years, particularly with this property.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, and more than that, they enjoy taking these risks, they want to try something new. So when they do it they\u2019re not doing it because they had a whim, they\u2019re doing it because they wanted to see where it went. They definitely do deal with the human condition and with the controversy very well \u2013 I\u2019m not going to lie and say that everything is solved right away, but it will be dealt with in time.<\/p>\n

Could you give us a little information about yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, I hold a Bachelor Of Fine Arts degree in acting and musical theatre actually, I\u2019ve been acting since I was in second grade. I am a trained actor, singer, dancer. I spent a lot of my time doing theatre and then decided to move to Los Angeles to get into TV and film and spent a few years cracking away at that.<\/p>\n

Any reason you decided to change to television?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wanted a change. When I graduated from university, my resume was mostly theatre \u2013 I think I\u2019d only done one film at that point. To me, and Robert Carlyle agrees, we both come from the theatre world and that will always be a part of us. So you do TV and film and in your break, you do theatre and that\u2019s just the way it works. And I think with Brian [J Smith], he went to Juliard. So I worked my way up in the TV world, started doing background work, under five lines, then guest stars and now Stargate Universe. It\u2019s been the thing that I\u2019ve always wanted to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We sit down with Eli Wallace, also known as David Blue, from Stargate Universe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[7,140],"tags":[1421,4665,605],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9820"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9820\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}