INTERVIEW: ‘Stargate’ actors weather coronavirus storm, look back on influential sci-fi series
Photo: Courtesy of Creation Entertainment / Provided with permission.
This weekend is an important one for fans of Stargate. Creation Entertainment, which hosts the annual Gateway: The Official Stargate Convention in the Chicago area, has crafted a three-day virtual celebration of the franchise that gives fans of Stargate: SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe a chance to “meet” their beloved TV stars. The events planned include meet and greets and online Q&A’s with Alexis Cruz, David Nykl, Alex Zahara, Dan Payne, Rachel Luttrell, Jewel Staite, Joe Flanigan, Kirby Morrow, Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Gary Jones and Michael Shanks.
Of the many virtual events hosted by Creation during the weekend, the only ones that featured a duo pair was the Friday, June 26 Q&A and meet and greet with Zahara and Payne, two friends in real life who each played multiple guest characters on the shows.
Payne is an accomplished film and TV star whose many credits include The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Descendants, Human Target, Battlestar Galactica and Smallville, among many others. On Stargate Atlantis and SG-1 he played multiple roles.
Zahara’s credits include everything from The Dead Zone to The Man in the High Castle to voice acting on My Little Pony, Lego Jurassic World and Marvel animated projects. He played multiple characters on SG-1.
Both Payne and Zahara are working actors who have been deeply impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. They find themselves itching to get back to filming up in the Vancouver area, where they are both based, but they don’t know when and how that will happen.
Recently, in advance of their virtual experience with Creation Entertainment, the two had an open and candid talk with Hollywood Soapbox about COVID-19, Stargate, fandom and politics. For those who were unable to catch them virtually this weekend, they are both scheduled to take part in Creation’s in-person 2021 Stargate convention in Rosemont, Illinois.
Here’s part I of their talk (click here for part II) …
On how the coronavirus has impacted Payne’s life …
PAYNE: “I was on a show, and I was meant to come in the following day. It was March 14. I was meant to come in on the 15th. We were one of the last two shows in Vancouver still filming. … And that was three months ago, so it was a huge effect. It screwed us, and it was intimidating. It’s scary. I’m the provider for the family, and it’s been a wonderful run. And then all of a sudden that’s taken away with no real idea of when we return or what the impact would be after this crazy thing. There’s fear, the fear of the scope of it. … Bills will keep coming, and mortgages don’t care.”
On what Payne has been doing to compensate with no acting work …
PAYNE: “I went into the creative mode of writing. … I’ve picked up and focused a lot more on my coaching and teaching aspects … and some one-on-one private coaching, so there’s some little supplemental things that are going on that are industry-based that are helping me with my creative outlets so I don’t go batshit crazy or any more batshit crazy.”
On having the personal and professional overlap …
PAYNE: “I have kids. … So teaching something I’m great at, or I consider myself to be great at, like sports or coaching … I feel great and comfortable. Math? I’m failing grade-six math I’ve discovered, so not so fun. Then there’s the 24/7 factor. They’re my responsibility with no break from morning until night, whereas school was a nice relief to get my life doing and going, so, yeah, lots of changes. But it’s been good. There’s been a lot of growth as well — relationships, connections, communication abilities, focus on other aspects of the industry.”
On the possibility of picking up more voice acting work …
PAYNE: “Alex is also besides an actor of great status and ability a voice actor of great status and ability, and you can do that from home in your underwear like we’re doing this interview.”
ZAHARA: “I have my spandex ones on. It feels so comfy.”
PAYNE: “Spanx? No Manx? Spanx for men.”
On how Zahara has been faring these past few months …
ZAHARA: “Well, similar to Dan, but not the same because I don’t have kids; I have two doggies. Weirdly enough both our dogs during this time went through some health crises. We had to have five teeth pulled on the one little dog. I have two little Dachshunds. They’re 13 and 12 years old. … It was really harsh because you have to go to the vet, and you have to park outside. Somebody comes out and meets you, takes your dog, all masked up and this and that, and you’re told you’ll come back whenever. It’s not the same as having kids by any stretch, but it was a little harsh. Then the one hurt her back, and Dachshunds have really long backs. They can really easily hurt their spine, and we had to cage her up. You kennel the dog, and you go away. And she just sleeps, but when you’re moving around the house, she’s constantly whining and trying to get out. So it was a bit tortuous. I just couldn’t deal with it, and my little heart was too big or small or whatever. I’m like, we’ve got to let her out of the cage.”
On what it’s like to live in Canada during this pandemic …
ZAHARA: “In terms of finances and stuff, too, we’re lucky up here because we’ve been getting this monthly thing, the CERB, the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit. It’s $2,000 a month, but you own a house, you have a mortgage. … My girlfriend luckily kept working, and we rigged up her office in the house here. And she kept working from home, so it was a different experience. At least one half was still making regular money. That’s the other misconception I want to share. A lot of people think actors are all rich, and we’re on TV and rich. No, you pay your agent his 15 percent up here in Canada, and you pay your taxes and stuff. A working actor like me, I kind of make what a school teacher makes at the end of the day, for a year. That ain’t rich. We all know school teachers ain’t rich.”
On making a living as an actor …
PAYNE: “Alex is a wonderfully gifted actor who makes a living as an actor. Whatever the number is irrelevant. You make a comfortable, wonderful living to be a great, productive human, and when that’s taken away, and you don’t know when it’s coming back. And the $2,000, as grateful as I am for it, is nowhere near what I make to keep going and what I make normally. So the difference is where do I make up that gap? How do I supplement that gap and support? You’re talking about kids and dogs are different. They are, but there is a drastic difference in the ways we have to do things now, and that takes more time, more energy. … I know the industry is coming back, and I still have to finish that show whenever we do get to go back. But the borders are still closed, so the U.S. stars that are coming up to lead these shows that we get to make better [laughs], they’re not happening yet. So how do we do this?”
On the tricky aspect of getting back to work …
ZAHARA: “You can make up to $1,000 and still get the $2,000 from our government, thank goodness, but if you make over that, then you don’t get anything. I can make $1,000 and $1, and then I get nothing for that time. … [Then there are] expenses and unknown expenses that come up. Like the two dogs, $700 and something for one, and $600 and something for another. Well, there goes your CERB right there. … I’ve done a bit of voice work during this time, but I literally made $900 and something. And I’m like, oh God, don’t go over $1,000. No, don’t do it because then I’m really screwed. I have been doing a little bit of voice work on some of the recent works I’ve recorded. I was really fortunate I got to play the Red Skull from The Avengers in the new Marvel cartoons they’re doing, and I play the Red Skull and a zombie version of Red Skull with a bony half-arm. It’s just recently come out.”
On how Stargate changed their lives and what prompted them to sign on for the show …
PAYNE: “Alex and I are I think a little bit different than maybe some of the other names. … There’s not a financial aspect that really plays any weight in our decisions for this signing on the dotted line. … We do this out of a passion and love for what we do, whether it’d be the first time around to get on the show and act and be a part of something really cool or to show up at conventions and meet the fans who love the shows. Alex and I have been grateful. We’ve talked, and we’re grateful that we got to be what I consider somewhat peripheral characters or the odd guest star for this amazing show and signed on the dotted line just to be a part of it. And then this many years down the road have the bonus of being able to connect with fans and sign on the dotted line of the convention world having been a peripheral character is mind-blowing. I remember Trekkies growing up because my dad and I were Trekkies, but now this to be the inside aspect of a Gate-goer universe.”
On the enduring legacy of Stargate …
ZAHARA: “I did my first episode I think in ‘98-’99. I can’t remember.”
PAYNE: “That’s just colossal to hear out loud. It is literally hard to conceive in my tiny little brain how unbelievable this long down the road it is still going.”
On Zahara’s first film role …
ZAHARA: “When I first got started in the business, I was doing a play. In the summer of ‘97, I booked my first real gig. I was doing Julius Caesar. I did a bunch of Shakespeare coming out of school. For whatever reason, I love it. I guess people exit university, and they put on Shakespeare because they learned a lot. I played Cassius in Julius Caesar, which I think is quite timely today. … I was doing it, and this was in July. And back in March, I had auditioned for The 13th Warrior, a Viking film, and I find out during the run of the play that I booked it. I got to go to Campbell River on Vancouver Island to do it. I’m like, holy crap, what’s going on here. It’s about doing it for the art. I’m doing the play for the art and getting my skills, and this movie comes up. I literally had to go to my producer-director, and I was in tears crying, saying, ‘This is what is happening. I was working towards the goals that we all want to have, and it’s happened. And I’ve got to leave the show, or I’m going to screw myself.’ They literally said, ‘Shut up, go, get out of here. Stop crying you baby.’ And the director said, ‘I’ll go on book, and I’ll read your part and go on stage.’ And I told the cast, which was all full of my contemporaries, and we were all trying to do the same thing, and they all said the same thing, ‘Quit blubbering baby, and get the hell on the plane. You’re the first of all of us to actually book something real, so get out of here.’ That was the ringing endorsement I needed.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Dan Payne and Alex Zahara recently appeared at a virtual fan experience with Creation Entertainment. They are also scheduled for the company’s in-person Gateway: Official Stargate Convention in June 2021. Click here for more information and tickets.
