I finally have a bit of a breather and some time to get back to posting Sci-Fi Blasts From The Past. Again, these are interviews that previously appeared in print only and never on-line. Today, the lovely and talented Karen Cliche chats about her work in the Sci-Fi TV series Flash Gordon. Enjoy!
Karen Cliche was just six years old when she wrote her Oscar speech. Standing in front of a mirror and holding a Barbie doll, she accepted her “award.” Even at such a young age, the budding thespian already knew what she wanted to be when she grew up, but years later, having just enrolled in university, the actress took a slight detour.
“While I was at university, I also began modeling,” says Cliche. “It wasn’t long, though, before I realized something didn’t feel right. I’d forgotten about my acting dream. Around the same time, the modeling agency opened up an acting division and they asked me, ‘Can you act?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know, you tell me.’ They began sending me out on auditions and things just took off from there. One day I thought, ‘Yes, this [acting] is what I’m here for.’ Thank God I had that opportunity. If not, I would have gone through life wondering what was missing, so I’m truly grateful to everyone who gave me the chance to pursue my dream.”
After making her professional debut playing a secretary in the 1999 TV movie The Collector, Cliche went on to appear in various guest-spots on TV as well as in a handful of feature films. Over the past six years, the actress has had regular roles in five TV series: Vampire High, Adventure Inc, Mutant X, Young Blades and The Business. Currently, she is enjoying another steady gig playing a sexy alien bounty hunter named Baylin in the Sci Fi Channel’s updated version of Flash Gordon. It was, in fact, a longtime friend of Cliche’s, executive producer James Thorpe, who she worked with on Adventure Inc, Young Blades and now Flash Gordon, that mentioned to a mutual friend of theirs that she would be perfect for the role.
“I was in Toronto when my agent got a phone call about a part on Flash Gordon,” recalls the actress. “So I taped my audition, which was actually for the role of Dale [Flash’s old flame, played by Gina Holden] and sent it to the producers in Vancouver. Apparently, they were like, ‘We love her, she’s terrific, but not for the part of Dale. She’s Baylin.’
“At that point I didn’t know anything about Baylin except that she was a new character created for this series, which meant there was nothing I could do in terms of researching the part. I said to my agent, ‘Well, if that’s what they see, great. Have them send me the new [audition] sides,’ which they did. I put myself on tape again, and I guess it went really well because I got the job. A short time later we began filming in Vancouver. Rick Rosenthal directed the Flash Gordon pilot, and he’d previously directed me in one of my very first projects, an Aaron Spelling show called All Souls. That was six years ago and we’d kept in touch ever since. So I was happy to see him again when I arrived out here.”
In the Flash Gordon pilot, Steven “Flash” Gordon (Eric Johnson) and TV reporter Dale Arden are reunited when Flash discovers an alien device that could be connected to the “death” of his father, scientist Dr. Gordon. Flash’s dad is, in fact, alive, and has spent the past several years on the planet Mongo, a prisoner of its leader, Ming (John Ralston), who rules Mongo and its citizens by controlling the planet’s only source of drinkable water. Using the same trans-dimensional rift technology that trapped his father on Mongo, Flash and Dale arrive on the planet, only to end up in Ming’s clutches. With the help of Ming’s daughter, Aura (Anna Van Hooft), they escape back to Earth, but Aura has her own reasons for coming along, so Ming sends Baylin to bring his daughter home.
“My character is introduced in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the pilot,” explains Cliche. “Baylin doesn’t want to be anyone’s friend and she doesn’t care about Earth. She just wants to do her job and get back to Mongo. So I really had to make sure that’s what came across with her. Yes, I knew that she was going to be introduced to audiences in an almost stern way, but that was OK because I also knew we’d have other episodes to explore her personality a bit more.
“The scenes I shot for the pilot included Baylin coming to Earth, a bit of an action sequence, and a little showdown with Flash,” continues the actress. “Then, of course, my character ends up stuck on Earth and she decides to stay and help Flash. I remember putting on my costume for the first time. Baylin is a member of the Verden tribe on Mongo, and they’re a very organic, earthy people, so the colours of her outfit are browns and greens and the textures are very leafy and bark-like. So there I was in my Baylin costume, her IP gun in one holster and a 12-inch knife in the other, and at the end of the episode I got to drive away in a big monster truck,” she laughs.
“The cast and crew on Flash are awesome, and filming the pilot was fun. It was just a few days work, so I got to ease into the series as opposed to being thrown into the hurricane that a TV show can sometimes be.”
Like all new roles, Cliche’s Flash Gordon persona has taken her a bit of getting used to. “When I started working on Mutant X, I asked myself, ‘How do I portray this character and everything that I along with the writers, producers, etc. want to her to be, keeping in mind she’s a mutant. There’s no way I can relate to that, right? After all, I’m human.’ It’s kind of the same situation with Baylin,” notes the actress. “How do I relate to her as an alien? I don’t know what that feels like, and there’s certainly no one I can ask,” jokes Cliche.
“So I’ve more or less had to use my instincts, and what I’ve done is make sure that she has some human characteristics as well as emotions so that viewers can relate to her. Along with that, I’ve thrown in some twists and turns to make her somewhat unique as an alien compared to human beings, but there are no huge differences. Baylin studies the behavior of humans and really tries to be like them in order to interact properly on Earth. However, there have been some rather amusing moments that we’ve played in each episode where she’s basically a fish out of water on another planet, and I’ve loved doing those.”
As Cliche previously pointed out, Baylin is rather aloof and single-minded when we first meet her, but at the time of this interview (mid-July) the actress and the rest of the Flash Gordon cast and crew were shooting a first season episode that reveals another side of her character.
“Up to now Baylin has been quite secretive about her past, but in this particular story we discover exactly what made her somewhat fearful as well as mistrustful of people and kind of tough,” says Cliche. “As a result, there’s a nice connection that’s made between her and Flash where my character becomes vulnerable. She shows him that she can be afraid, and I think from this moment on it really changes their relationship.
“I’m quite pleased with the way this episode is turning out, and those moments I just described are probably my favourite so far in the series because they’re rare. When you play tough girls, which I tend to do, you don’t often get to go to those ‘softer’ places. So for me to be able to do that was very important, and I hope viewers will enjoy seeing that side of Baylin as well.”
Although her Flash Gordon character may feel a bit out of place on Earth, Cliche is right at home playing Baylin and is curious to see what the future holds for the bounty hunter. “Because she’s an alien, there are endless possibilities for her story arc,” enthuses the actress. “Whether they’re comedic moments, touching moments, or butt-kicking moments, it’s a fantastic opportunity to bring a character like this to life. Again, you’re thinking, ‘My God, I’m playing an alien. How do I do this?’ Those are the types of [creative] challenges you long for as an actor.”
In season three of Mutant X, Cliche played Lexa Piece, a mutant who could manipulate light and use it not only as a weapon but also to make herself and anyone she touched appear invisible. Like Flash Gordon, her experiences on this show were fulfilling both personally and professionally for the actress. “Vicki Pratt [Shalimar Fox] and I had the best time on Mutant X,” says Cliche. “We laughed so much, and she’s just the most amazing person to work with, as is Forbes March [Jesse Kilmartin] and Victor Webster [Brennan Mulwray]. So purely on a cast level and being so happy to come to work every day, that’s one of my favourite memories from my time on that show.
“With Lexa, again, I think there’s a theme insofar as the characters I play and I’m really drawn to, and she’s a good example of that. It’s that whole, ‘I’m tough, I’m invincible,’ phony act, and then unraveling of the character. Instead of the building up and becoming strong, I like to start off strong and then chip away at my character and say, ‘OK, this is the real me. I’m scared, I’m terrified, and that’s why I put up a front.’ Maybe I’m a little like that in real life, so I enjoy exploring that in the characters I portray.”
Steve Eramo
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