Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek in Battlestar Galactica. Photo copyright of SYFY.
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, I look back at my chat with the late Richard Hatch, who, having starred in the original 70's Battlestar Galactica TV series, returned years later to the re-imagined series to play Tom Zarek. Enjoy!
Richard Hatch is all smiles as he signs autographs, poses for photos and even gets up on the dance floor with some of his more energetic admirers at the first annual Timeless Destinations convention in Vancouver. It was over 25 years ago that the actor first took to the stars as Captain Apollo in the short-lived Sci-Fi TV series Battlestar Galactica, and while he’ll always be fondly remembered as that character, he’s gained a whole new group of fans for his work in the updated re-imagined Galactica series as political activist Tom Zarek.
“I think my character of Tom Zarek has been evolving since he made his debut on the show in the third episode of season one [Bastille Day],” says Hatch. “He went from terrorist and prisoner for over 20 years to finding a way to extricate himself from jail by helping pull together and organize his fellow inmates to go after water for the Galactica and the rest of the fleet.
“Tom is a very smart man who spent a long time paying for the sins of his past. He’s also an individual who has a great deal of distrust of and anger for the institutions that govern, and like many other political revolutionaries he feels that there’s a better way. Zarek was an idealist to begin with, at least in my eyes, but after paying such a high price for his idealism, he found that society isn’t what he thought it was. My character discovered that his innocence had been punctured like so many other peoples, and he also came to the conclusion that those in positions of power don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart. In fact, some of those individuals have very dark agendas and anyone who challenges them is singled out.
“As a result, Zarek realized that in order to survive, he had to learn to take his political agenda and passion and reconstitute it into a more politically acceptable form that would allow him to work within the system rather than outside it. That’s what we saw in season two of Galactica. Zarek operated much like a master chess player, searching for ways to overcome any resistance and exert some influence on the political agenda. My character became quite adept at playing the political game, and yet at the same time he struggled with his dark side, which is the anger and pain he suffered at the hands of society as well as institutions and not wanting to give into that revolutionary martyrdom.”
After being elected to the Quorum of Twelve in the first season episode Colonial Day, Zarek decides to run for the vacant office of vice president in the hope of one day becoming the President of the Twelve Colonies. He’s defeated, however, by Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis), whom President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) puts forth as a last-minute candidate. In year two of Galactica, Zarek becomes Baltar’s campaign manager when the scientist goes up against Roslin.
“Zarek sort of talked Baltar into running for president,” explains Hatch. “The reason my character did that is because he knew that they were going to stop him if he ran, so the only way he could become part of that political ‘inner circle’ was by using someone who had a better chance of being elected. After all, Baltar certainly had enough leverage. Also, his political platform and ‘dance with the dark side’ if you will, made him the perfect and more opportunistic choice for Zarek insofar as aligning himself with someone who would be receptive to his own agenda, do you see what I mean? Of all those around him, he felt that Baltar would be most open to working with him because, again, like Zarek he dances on that dark side. Even so, I still consider Baltar and Zarek to be two very different people, as you will see as the series goes on.”
Hatch chuckles when asked what it’s like to work with actor James Callis on the series. “He’s an absolute hoot. He’s also very gifted and can on occasion be a bit off-the-wall, but in a totally good way. James has somehow managed to create a character where he’s given a lot of freedom to sometimes improvise. So when acting in a scene with him, all of a sudden you realize, ‘Oh, my God, I can do things here that I may not have thought about.’ We actually went off the page a couple of times and right into improvising. I don’t know how much of it was used, but I think because James is such a brilliant actor and improviser that the show’s producers just let him run with it. If it works, it works. If not, they just cut it out.
“So James gave me a permission that I hadn’t had in a long time to play and explore a bit more as an actor. What’s neat is that when you’re working with someone who is very spontaneous and just that slightly irreverent, it forces you to be fully present and really open to allowing the scene to go in directions that you may not have planned. I’d have to say the same thing about Mary McDonnell and Eddie Olmos [Admiral William Adama] as well as most of Galactica’s cast. Wonderful actors bring out the best in me, and I live for great art. I’m hungry for it, and I love any actor who is willing to jump out there, make a powerful choice and challenge you to meet them head on with your performance.”
Looking ahead to Galactica’s third season, which begins showing next month in several countries around the world, what tidbits can Hatch share about the show and his character? “I’ve done three episodes so far [early August] and I have more coming up, although I don’t know how many it will ultimately be,” he says. “Storywise, the producers and writers are going into some very provocative areas. If you thought seasons one and two were good, this year is probably going to be even more powerful, edgy and volatile. I’ve never seen such incredible writing, and the reason why is because they’re exploring real life issues. They’re making real comments on society and forcing everyone to look at the world through new eyes. I think viewers will be shocked and surprised at what happens with all the characters in the coming season.
“As for Tom Zarek, the question now is where does he go from here? I believe he’s a man who has something meaningful to say, but at the same time many a political revolutionary has gotten lost in his or her agenda, which can at times become self-serving. It’s easy to lose sight of your original impetus to change the world and that can cause people to do all kinds of horrible things. If you’re not careful it can take you down a dark path that can lead you to join the ranks of Hitler or Stalin. And it can also lead to another Sadat or Gandi. So God knows who Zarek will end up as, but he’s definitely driven by many of the same mechanisms that drove those men.”
Steve Eramo
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