Michael DeLuise.
In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, actor, director and producer Michael DeLuise talks about his guest-starring role in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Wormhole X-Treme!"
When asked how he became involved in Stargate SG-1’s Wormhole X-Treme, Michael DeLuise replies, “They couldn’t find a bigger name actor. No, I’m kidding! Actually, I think the producers were getting down to the wire when my name came up. I was thrilled to get the call because I love working with my brother Peter. In fact, I was recently up for a part in another sci-fi TV series that he directed. Unfortunately, they ended up finding a big name actor,” he jokes. “Stargate worked out for me, though, and that was just fine.”
In Wormhole X-Treme! DeLuise plays actor Nick Marlowe, who, in turn, is the young, courageous and macho Colonel Danning on the fictitious sci-fi series Wormhole X-Treme! Danning and his teammates explore the universe using an alien wormhole. Their mission is to make contact with new species, right wrongs and protect the Earth from extraterrestrial threats. Sound familiar? It should. The colonel is, in fact, a spoof of Richard Dean Anderson’s character of Colonel Jack O’Neill on Stargate SG-1. DeLuise put much thought into how he would approach the role before stepping into Marlowe’s and Danning’s shoes.
“They sent me a video tape of Richard Dean Anderson’s work on the show which I watched. However, he’s such a gifted actor and a perfect fit for the part that he’d be hard to imitate unless you look like him,” says the actor. “I thought, ‘No, I can’t do that.’ Then I considered playing him a bit like William Shatner in his early days as Captain Kirk on Star Trek. I tried to imbue the character(s) with some Shatnerisms, but for the most part I portrayed Danning as an over-the-top TV hero, and, subsequently, Marlowe as a pissy, self-absorbed actor. They put a little gray in my hair to make me look older. Also, if you notice, Richard has a ridge cut into his left eyebrow, so I asked them to cut ridges in both my eyebrows. That was the extent of my RDA look. To be honest, in the end I was spoofing actors and TV heroes in general rather than Colonel O’Neill specifically.”
In 1998, DeLuise directed his brother Peter in the feature film Between the Sheets. Three years later, Peter was on the other side of the lens directing Michael in Wormhole X-Treme! “Peter and I have quite a history together when it comes to making movies,” notes DeLuise. “We’ve been doing it since we were kids. Peter is an excellent director. He’s very clear and articulate. Peter has been a terrific older brother as well as a teacher and we have a great deal of respect for each other. I’ve never felt bad about criticism he’s given me when he’s directing because it’s always constructive. On the contrary, he’s instilled a heck of a lot of confidence in me over the years.”
When it was discovered that Wormhole X-Treme! would be five minutes short, DeLuise and his co-stars were given the green light to do some improv to fill the void. The result was the highly entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the “making of” Wormhole-X-Treme! - the series. “That was my favourite part of the episode,” enthuses the actor. “Words can’t express how pleased I was with the way it turned out. When you’re in the moment and improvising you’re attempting to get your conscious mind out of the way and just go with the flow. In the 15 or so years I’ve been acting I’ve never had a chance to really do that, so it was great. To do it with my brother directing me was even cooler, and the icing on the cake was when I heard later that the show’s producers actually thought it was funny.”
A talented actor, writer, director and producer, DeLuise aspired from a young age to work in the entertainment industry. “When I was seven I typed a letter to an agent on my mom’s typewriter. It said,’ Dear Agent, I’ll give you 10 percent of whatever I make…’ My mom still has it,” laughs the actor. However, it was not acting but directing that first interested him. “I thought directors could go to a restaurant and not be recognized,” he says.
Although directing was in his future, DeLuise started out in the business as an actor and at the age of 17 made his debut on the syndicated sitcom One Big Family. He went on to be a regular on seven other series including NYPD Blue and SeaQuest DSV, playing the good-looking and able-bodied Seaman Tony Piccolo. “That was a fantastic time in my life,” he recalls. “The cast had a terrific bond and I still hang out today with most of the guys from the show.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, this actor is always looking forward to the next challenge, whatever it may be. “At 32 I’m still figuring out my life,” muses DeLuise. “I’m starting to understand that there are other things out there and that maybe it’s really not about always being the guy in charge but the guy in the flow, you know? So whether I’m in front of or behind the cameras, just knowing that I have a new challenge ahead of me is by far the most rewarding part of being in this business.”
Steve Eramo
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