Sergeant Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) and Dr. Brody (Peter Kelamis) sporting Ancients spacesuits. Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Having worked on both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, costume designer Val Halverson had plenty of experience under her proverbial belt when tasked with putting together the onscreen attire for the cast of Stargate Universe. There is, however, one slight difference between this series and its two predecessors in that most of the action takes place onboard the Ancients starship Destiny where our heroes are marooned. As a result of their predicament, they pretty much have had to make due with only the clothes on their backs.
“I saw that as a unique challenge,” says Halverson, sitting in her office on the Bridge Studios’ lot in Burnaby, British Columbia. “We knew, of course, ahead of time that these characters were going to be stranded on the Destiny, so for me that meant coming up with costumes that had depth as well as texture, not to mention a great look. So I just layered our actors up quite a bit, from the main cast right down to the background performers, so that they all had different looks within the same basic costume.
“That was something that I discussed a great deal with [series co-creators/executive producers] Brad Wright and Robert Cooper insofar as keeping the wardrobe interesting but still changing it up from time to time, starting with our number one on the call sheet, Robert Carlyle. We were so fortunate to get such a talented actor to play Dr. Nicholas Rush and I have to say that his character’s look has been quite fun to come up with. I began having a dialogue with Robert through e-mails before we even met, and I found out that the two of us were on the same page. We knew that Rush was a professor who was brilliant and not cantankerous but quite sure of himself.
“I put together a look that involved a bit more of a modern take on a professor, but still had a vest and suede jacket, both of which we could really make look lived-in. Robert also looks great in jeans, so when he and I met, we both decided that instead of a regular pant, Rush would wear jeans. The two of us also talked about the layers that he would be able to work with in order to build his character. Robert is a great proponent of costume helping in that [creative] process, which I feel the same way about and is lovely for us. I found this beautiful silk with a pattern that looked almost like a planet’s surface or lunar landscape, so we lined Rush’s vest with that.
Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle). Photo copyright and courtesy of Val Halverson.
Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) and Dr. Amanda Perry (Kathleen Munroe). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) back on Earth in the episode "Human." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
“When Robert and I met and he came to his first costume fitting, I told him about the silk and that I got a real kick out of doing that for him. Again, because Robert is very involved with his costume and thinks so much about all the parts of his character that go together, he decided that he wanted Rush to be a person who held a pencil and used a pad of paper as opposed to working off a computer. That was the perfect opportunity to showcase this little detail that I had designed, which was an inside pocket on either side of his vest. Rush is constantly opening that vest, pulling out his pencil and making a note, and Robert even commented that this would be our little ode to the galaxy,” notes the costume designer with a smile.
Turning to Universe’s other main Alpha male, Colonel Everett Young, played by Louis Ferreira, the costume designer wanted to create a new type of military outfit from those worn back on Earth. “Knowing that these characters were going to be stranded in one costume, I feel that the color black is not only sort of menacing and authoritative as well as sexy, but it also fades beautifully and shows wear and tear,” she says. ‘As the episodes have gone on, we’ve started to show the decay onboard the Destiny, not just through our characters and the scripts, but through their costumes as well. And the women are looking just as sexy as the guys, and I feel like they all showcase this look so well and are all just a little bit different from each other.
‘For example, Sergeant Greer [Jamil Walker Smith] is one of the show’s very, very serious protectors. In the very first moments of our series premiere, he grabs a scientist, who is bleeding profusely and dying, and ends up covered in this man’s blood. We had to decide how we were going to deal with that. Having blood on Greer’s uniform for an extended period of time wasn’t the look we wanted as it would have been distracting from some of the storylines, especially as he was bloody from his left shoulder all the way down to his ankle. However, once our people found the showers onboard Destiny, we washed out the ‘blood’ a little bit. So the stain faded but still showed the loyalty and patriotism of the character and what he had been through, only it wasn’t quite as distracting.
“Sergeant Greer has been through a number of adventures, so he’s one of the grimiest of our characters. Among other things, he’s dug out a Stargate and gotten trapped in caves that collapsed on him. Between him and Lt. Scott [Brian J. Smith], I think they’re the dirtiest of the bunch. There’s a lot of dust along with a lot of stories and adventures to be seen on their costumes. At least that’s how I look at it. Scott has been through an awful lot, too, and his costume is very faded, but he still wears it with pride and dignity because he believes that he can really help the people around him.
Colonel Everett Young (Louis Ferreira). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Sergeant Ronald Greer (Jamil Walker Smith). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Colonel David Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
“If you’re a regular viewer you know that T.J. [Alaina Huffman] was pregnant at one point, and when she began showing we had to change what she was wearing. She sort of grew out of her Icarus uniform, so what was believable to put her in? Well, I dressed her in a pair of Air Force camo pants because our people have a lot of them in the supplies that they brought with them, so it made sense that they’d have a pair in her new size. I then took a striped button-front shirt off one of our background players who had been established as being in the group that’s on Destiny. He very gallantly handed it off to T.J. and she wore that. It was a menswear look that I felt made the character still appear purposeful and capable. It also gave her a sense of vulnerability. For her to be pregnant and wearing a men’s shirt, I just thought that brought a softness to her whole look.
“So we do change up characters’ appearances a little bit. That’s an aspect of the show that a number of people are curious about, and when we do something like this it has to make sense. It’s really important to Brad and Robert as well as me that any costume changes are going to work within the story and not be distracting in any way.”
When the Lucian Alliance attacked the off-world Icarus Base in Universe’s series opener, Air: Part 1, the military was not the only group of people to escape through the Stargate. A number of scientists as well as civilians also took a one-way trip to Destiny, including Senator Alan Armstrong (Christopher MacDonald) and his daughter/personal aide Chloe (Elyse Levesque).
“Brad and Robert decided to script it that Chloe was somewhat of a fish out of water and they wanted that to be reflected in her costume,” explains Halverson. “So we put her in a dress, despite knowing that very shortly she would be in incredible jeopardy. Because of her dress, Chloe did look bit out of place on Icarus Base, but I felt that being the daughter of the person she was working for, she needed to have some credibility, so she tried to dress herself up a little and look a bit more serious. Again, though, not too far into our story we discovered there were showers onboard Destiny, so we were able to get Chloe out of that dress and into her yoga outfit, which she brought with her though the gate. Chloe wore that for quite a while. As a matter of fact, she wore it all the way through to the season one finale, Incursion: Part 2, where she was shot.
Lt. Tamara "TJ" Johansen (Alaina Huffman). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Actress Alaina Huffman dressed in her character's onscreen "maternity wear." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Alaina Huffman takes a break during filming of the season two opener "Intervention." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) and Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque) in "Air." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Chloe (Elyse Levesque) during a dream sequence in season two's "Cloverdale." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Chloe (Elyse Levesque) goes off-world in "Lost." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
“Another fish out of water is David Blue’s character of Eli Wallace,” continues the costume designer. “Here’s someone who was ‘scooped up’ out of his everyday life and into this space adventure. We beamed him up in his pajama pants, because most of us hang out in a sweatshirt and pajama pants when we’re having our first cup of coffee of the day, so that was totally believable and brought some humor to the show right away.
“Eli was given a pair of jeans to wear, but he always looks that little bit out of place. He’s such a funny guy and not totally on the same page as everyone else. The character’s T-shirt, which says ‘You Are Here’ on the front, has become quite famous. Robert Cooper was the one who decided on that shirt. From the very beginning when I was pitching ideas to him and Brad and we were having many discussions, Robert wanted to be very involved in the choice of shirts. He wears these incredible vintage T-shirts and it’s always interesting to see what he’s wearing when he comes to work. When it comes to Eli’s shirt, we didn’t want anything too topical or that you’d grow tired of, and I think having the text as opposed to a picture of something that’s current was a really wise move. The shirt is red, which is just a great look on Eli, plus we’ve got him in a hoodie as well, so he really is quite casual and fun.”
Universe’s scientists as well as its resident bureaucrat, Camille Wray (Ming-Na), have also been given a makeover from the more stereotypical garb that such characters might wear. “Adam Brody [Peter Kelamis] is a really neat character because he’s a brilliant scientist and a bit of a tinker as well,” says Halverson. “He’s the one who built the still on Destiny, which the crew is very happy about, and he’s a casual type of guy who’s always worn a pair of Chinos and a T-shirt with a striped button-front shirt.
“Camille Wray has changed her costume three times now. She started off in a smart business suit, and when we were shooting [the first season episode] Faith she changed just her top from a burgundy sweater to a teal tank top to a brown short-sleeve cardigan. Then in Pain she was stabbed and had to be triaged into surgery, so they put a tan T-shirt on her that was part of the stock of Air Force and Marine uniforms that were brought through the Stargate. So Camille wore that while recovering from surgery and had her arm in a sling, but then the next time we saw her in Subversion she had on a new shirt that she had just pulled out of her suitcase. Again, it had to really be in keeping with what the character might have taken with her in the series opener.”
David Blue (Eli Wallace) trades his character's familiar jeans and T-shirt for off-world gear when shooting "Lost." Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Ming-Na (Camille Wray) during a break in filming. Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Dr. Adam Brody (Peter Kelamis). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Dr. Dale Volker (Patrick Gilmore). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Dr. Lisa Park (Jennifer Spence). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Sergeant Hunter Riley (Haig Sutherland). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Lt. Vanessa James (Julia Benson). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Colonel Young and the rest of Destiny’s crew have the Lucian Alliance to blame for forcing them into this unwanted journey though outer space. In the first season two-part finale, Incursion, these baddies turned up again and muscled their way onto Destiny, causing yet more problems for our heroes. While the Lucian Alliance may be the villains of the piece, they still had to look good nonetheless. Naturally, that responsibility fell to Halverson and her wardrobe department.
“That was another challenge that Brad and Robert threw at us and I just dove straight into it, “she says. “They described the Lucian Alliance as sort of S.W.A.T. team in space and wanted a really strong military feel to them. I wanted to find a new way to do that rather than strapping on elbow and knee pads and making them look really bulky. I decided to build the pads into the costume, so throughout their shoulders, arms and down to their elbows there’s padding. All the costumes are made of leather, but we built the padding from the inside out, so it still looks very strong but sleek as well.
“We then had to bring in a small Lucian Alliance army that would not compete esthetically with everyone onboard Destiny, and as much as you want to dress the bad guys in black, we started with black leather but then painted and painted and painted. There are three layers of different colors of paint on those costumes – beiges, gold and silver – which we blended all together. After that was done, we went in and ‘broke’ it all down. We wanted these people to look like that had fought many wars on their journey to get to the Destiny. These were people who were fighting for their lives, and here was their leader, Kiva [Rhona Mitra], whose father was a very famous military man, so she was an extremely strong female character who cared a great deal for her people and their quest to be safe and all that. I didn’t want her to be wearing a sort of predictable sexy outfit, so I put her in a tunic and pants, because it was very functional for the character.
“Also, we had previously established the Lucian Alliance on SG-1 and had added some asymmetrical details to their costumes which I liked, but at the same time I wanted to redesign everything for Universe because it was a different character. So with Kiva I put her in this leather tunic and vest, which gave her a bit more swish when she came into the room. I was then able to take that asymmetrical detail from the SG-1 Lucian Alliance and pull it into her costume by layering various types of textured leathers and different details. I then added a collar with subtle color detail to her costume. I carried that through to the Varro [Mike Dopud] and Dannic [Ian Butcher] characters as well. Being Kiva’s lieutenants, they had different colors that helped establish their rank.”
The gang's all here! The Lucian Alliance. Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Varro (Mike Dopud). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Koz (Primo Allon). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Ginn (Julie McNiven). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Actor Robert Knepper (the Lucian Alliance's Simeon) relaxes in-between takes. Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
While working on Universe, Halverson has had the opportunity to revisit her SG-1 roots when former series leads Richard Dean Anderson (General Jack O’Neill), Amanda Tapping (Colonel Samantha Carter) and Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) made guest appearances on the series.
“RDA is always fun,” enthuses the costume designer. “In the beginning we talked him into going back into his dress blues, which I thought was just fabulous. That was for the scene [in Air: Part 1] when O’Neill and Dr. Rush arrive at Eli’s front door. Then they decided to introduce a new sort of fictional military base in the series called Home World Command, and for that Richard wanted to wear black. It was always his favorite color on SG-1, so he asked it he could wear black on Universe. We checked with our military liaisons, who gave us the OK, and from there we made a black outfit for Richard. As always, he looked very powerful, strong and authoritative, and he always has those great lines to say as well.
“When Amanda Tapping came in we put Carter into more of transitional light sage outfit. Her character was commanding the USS Hammond, which was a tribute to [the late] Don S. Davis [who played General George Hammond on SG-1], and she looked terrific in her sage flight suit.
“Michael Shanks coming onto the show has been a treat, too, and I think it’s a great transition for his character to be teaching Eli all about the Ancients. We started Daniel out with more of a familiar civilian look than he’d had in the past, and then in Human when he was on Earth with Dr. Rush and met Rush’s wife Gloria [Louise Lombard], we dressed him in more of a causal professorial look. Daniel was also in Subversion; he was the one on the roof who spotted Kiva and her gang along with their spaceship. So we’ve seen Michael a number of times on Universe and, like RDA and Amanda, he’s a pleasure to work with and, of course, to dress.”
Richard Dean Anderson (as General Jack O'Neill). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Michael Shanks (as Dr. Daniel Jackson). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Louise Lombard (as Gloria Rush). Photo courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson.
Although most of the costume designer’s days on Universe are spent at Bridge Studios or nearby locations, she has enjoyed one or two ‘far-flung’ adventures that have made her involvement with the series all the more memorable.
“One of my greatest fun times is when we went to White Sands, New Mexico to shoot scenes for Air: Part 3,” recalls Halverson. “That was an incredible location and all of us who were there will never forget it. It was really grueling to film down there, mainly because of the extreme temperatures, but the scenery was spectacular and we felt like we got a great deal of value out of that. Sometimes it’s like guerilla shooting when you’re on-location, but that’s actually part of the fun, so we embraced it and came away with some amazing memories.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, all photos courtesy and copyright of Val Halverson, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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Posted by: Darrell Uhearn | 09/03/2012 at 02:15 AM