Claudia Black as Stargte SG-1's Vala. Photo copyright of MGM Studios.
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, Claudia Black kept me on the go when talking about playing Vala and filming the series finale of Stargate SG-1 . Enjoy!
Claudia Black is on the move this morning – literally. The Stargate SG-1 actress is all smiles as she practices her roller-skating technique on the set of the battleship Odyssey in preparation to film a scene for the show’s finale, Unending. “I shot one little scene yesterday for the finale, but today and onwards for the rest of the week we’re getting into the meat of the episode for me and my character of Vala,” says Black as she rolls through one of the Odyssey corridors.
“I think Robert Cooper [executive producer] has written an interesting script that gives us a lot to tell visually, which is an actors’ dream as it allows us to make what we hope are interesting statements without using words as well as do some choreography as it were. I think Unending is a good episode because at the end of it we see our heroes in a light that is quite positive and appropriate to the series. There are some very surprising elements in the script that I wasn’t expecting. I was shocked, in fact, when I read about them and fans will just have to wait and watch the episode to see for themselves,” teases the actress.
Black previously guest-starred in season eight’s Prometheus Unbound and returned last year to appear in eight additional episodes. SG-1’s producers were so pleased with her performance that they invited the actress to join the series as a regular this (10th) season. Having given birth to her first child, a baby boy, in December 2005, working on SG-1 this year has proven to be a very different type of experience for Black.
“I’ve had a personal challenge this year while working on season 10, and that’s been battling sleep deprivation,” she explains. “However, I first ‘met’ Vala and helped co-create the character while suffering from sleep deprivation and jet-leg during the two or three day shoot on Prometheus Unbound. This time around it’s been a much longer haul and a real marathon because I now also have a baby to care for. I had to be very brave and tough it out, though, because I knew that Amanda Tapping [Colonel Samantha Carter] had done the same thing the year before and so brilliantly. Playing Vala requires a great deal of energy, especially this season, and making choices every day as well as making sure I was remaining true to the character was tricky. Sometimes I’d have to pinch myself and just think, ‘You know what, let’s think about Vala. Let’s not think about how tired Claudia is. We need to make sure we honor this character and her spirit.
“We were worried that Vala would remain one-note. You know, be the antagonistic, sassy one who would drop in those one-liners every once in a while and that would be her mantra. However, the writers have gone to tremendous lengths in season 10 to unravel interesting aspects of Vala and her history. We’ve peeled back some layers to her, which has given me some nice material to sink my teeth into, and diverse stuff, too, early on this year in an episode called Morpheus. I got to do some comedic scenes with guest-star Ben Ratner. Then there’s an episode coming up later this season called Family Ties where Fred Willard guest-stars as my character’s father. That story shows a slightly more dramatic and vulnerable side of Vala, which we really haven’t seen.
“So I’ve had some wonderful arcs to play this year. Along the way I’ve also learnt some really important lessons as an actor. I said before that I’ve tried to be true to my character and not just go for the cheap laugh. However, it’s so much a part of Vala’s external façade to be playful with people, which I can get away with sometimes in my performance, but the key is finding the motivation for it. That’s why I think, psychologically, Daniel Jackson [Michael Shanks] offers an interesting window into Vala because he’s always calling her on things, especially in this last episode where Daniel really gives her a piece of his mind. So he’s been helping Vala grow as a person, and her daughter Adria [Morena Baccarin] has been a big component of that as well. It’s quite clear that Vala isn’t used to dealing with things if there’s anyone else around. She’d rather suppress her emotions and carry on, but now she’s forced to develop coping mechanisms that allow her to be more adult and learn that it’s OK to be honest and talk about how you feel.”
Although she’s thrilled with being a real-life mum, Black’s parental duties as Vala have been none too easy this year on SG-1. “At the start of the season, my character comes in baring a child, only it’s the child of the apocalypse, and isn’t it appropriate that it’s Vala’s spawn that’s so evil,” jokes Black.
“What I find fascinating, though, about Adria’s relationship with Vala is that through it we get to see that my character is stronger, perhaps, or more practical than I would have thought. Daniel has been prodding Vala this year to come to terms with any real emotions she may have. She’s not very good at doing this, as I spoke of earlier, but she makes valiant efforts with Adria throughout the season, and experiences a lot of guilt because of it.
“It’s interesting to see Vala dealing with a child she never asked for, and a husband [Tomin, played by Tim Guinee] who she ended up with. I think she feels genuine affection for Tomin, and there’s sadness there, too, because Vala keeps growing attached to people she cares about, but the relationships never seem to work out. If you stop and think about it, Daniel really is her one true friend in the universe.”
In the latter half of season 10, one of Black’s favorite episodes is the two-part The Quest. “Everyone was in practically every scene, so we were all working together every day,” recalls the actress. “It got a bit difficult when we were filming in the cave [set] because of all the dust, and poor Morena Baccarin was being so brave, but her contact lenses were killing her. We finally said to her, ‘Honey, take them out or you could lose an eye’. The writers ended up having to change a line to explain that she was no longer wearing the contacts.
“There was a funny aspect to shooting on-location in that our characters were supposed to be stuck in a time dilation field where nothing moved, but, of course, it was the one day of the year that the weather changed four times and the leaves kept falling off the trees. We finally shot some coverage where there was no wind in the trees or any other sounds, but then a mother bird decided to leave her nest, which was in a tree right behind Michael Shanks’ head, and go off to look for food. Her baby birds proceeded to stick their heads out of the nest and started tweeting,” chuckles Black. “Once again, the writers had to add a line to cover those bases as well.”
All too soon, Black is called into the Odyssey control room set to film her next scene. When she’s done, it’s off to check in on her son. “I take great delight in the fact that I miss my child whenever I don’t see him,” says the actress. “I’m very much in love with my little family of three, and I feel incredibly fortunate and extremely grateful to the SG-1 producers and the network for being enthusiastic enough about Vala that they’ve allowed me to come to the set and have my child with me. So in that regard it has been, touch wood, an amazingly lucky year. I’ve felt like I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, but at the same time I’ve kind of had my cake and eaten it, too. That’s a terrible bunch of metaphors all strung together,” she jokes, “but you catch my drift, I’m sure.”
Steve Eramo
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