SCI FI PI

David Hewlett needs no introduction to fans of Stargate Atlantis. As the morose, abrasive, insulting and generally loveable Dr Rodney McKay, he has amassed a legion of die-hard fans who see his brilliant yet repulsive character to be one of the unique creations in the Sci FI pantheon. First appearing as a guest character in the SG1 episode ’48 Hours’, the character appeared in seven episodes before becoming one of the team members on the spin off, Stargate Atlantis. Since then the ‘geek’s geek’ has stepped out from beyond the lab and become more than just a guy with the brain the size of a planet - a fighter, a hero, and, most surprisingly, a lover.

But of course, beneath it all, a motor-mouthed, socially awkward, miserable geek - deathly afraid of clowns.

With the release of Stargate Atlantis Season 5 (and the entire box set) on DVD, we thought it only fitting to have a chat with David and see what he’s been up to since the team at Atlantis base ‘closed the iris’.

Not surprisingly, he’s been busy, and he was happy to tell us about his new project, working with friend and maverick director Vincenzo Natali (whose latest film Splice, is set to wow audiences) and life before, during and after Stargate.

Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy the wonderful world of David Hewlett.



Oh Crap! You've gone and done it now, Rodney!

LIFE AFTER ATLANTIS

Has McKay ever gone into Sheppard’s room and found a secret closet filled with hair gel?
I don’t think it’s that secret. It’s right there. A closet just dedicated to hair gel. I’m just jealous. I have a whole closet dedicated to each one of the hairs that have fallen out.

Each in a single cube of Lucite, held in suspension.
Exactly, so I can look at them longingly from time to time.

Now that the Stargate Atlantis magic has worn off, do you feel that the circus has left town?
It feels odd. Obviously they’re shooting the new one right now, which I can’t imagine how good it could be, given I’m not in it. For us, it definitely feels like thing are moving on. I have very, very fond memories of Stargate and I make no bones about the fact that I am not happy that it’s over.

So many people watch the shows, it’s always the weirdest, ‘last people that you’d expect’ who watch them, so I have a feeling that Stargate will always be with me. I’m a nerd. I like that. It’s very sad that it’s over, but it’s good to move on.

With the world of conventions, you really could live the Stargate Life for the rest of your life, if you wanted to.
You walk a line with that stuff. It’s one of those things – you want to pick and choose where and when you go – you don’t want to drag it out ad nauseam. It’s great that people still want me to. But you don’t want to be ‘defined’ by the conventions.

You must have met a few such actors/ex-celebrities at convention upon which you looked on more in fear than in love.

I have such a massive ego, that I can’t stand the idea of not being ‘the guy’ at the convention. I had problems with Comic-Con because there were more famous people there,(partially joking)!

I spoke to Bob Picardo about it, and he says he just welcomes the opportunity to entertain. That’s Picardo to a tee. He’s just so funny and talented. He can sing, he can dance, he can tell jokes, he can tell stories. And he loves doing that. I don’t have those talents. Entertaining live audiences - I’m just terrified. That’s why I got into film and television. Smaller audience at the immediate time of performance.

HIS OWN SHOW!

Your film, A Dog’s Breakfast was a huge hit with Stargate fans, but less so with those outside that world. Are you anxious about picking up the role of multi-hyphenate., writer, directing actor? What can you do? What will they let you do?
I’m a big believer in having a million irons in the fire, as I’m the world’s biggest pessimist, and believe my schemes will all ultimately fail.

I’m currently working for MGM, writing a feature-length pilot for a new television series, well, hopefully a television series, if not, a feature film. It’s basically a Sci Fi adventure. I don’t know if you know a film called Midnight Run, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.

Yes! Great film - action comedy.

Charles Grodin’s character will be the one I’m playing. It’ll be a very loose version of that, but with aliens instead of mobsters. It should be kind of fun. I’ve always pictured myself as accountant to the invaders! (laughs)



Good nutrition - the corner stone of every successful actor's success.


Where DO they put all that cash?

Exactly. I have some long term bonds, mutual funds.

With stasis, those kind of things can really pay off.

It’s those small increments in interest over time that you want, not the risky investments of today.

Invading planets, that’s 50/50, but bearer bonds, that’s always 100%!

I hope to god it’s more interesting than this! (laughs)

But that’s what I’m working on now. I’m in the writing portion of it. The point of it is to get me back on television. Strangely enough, what I learnt from A Dog’s Breakfast was that I actually love every aspect of this process. I really enjoy the writing, perhaps too much, in that I could do it forever. I really need to get out of the house every so often. I missed giving that up for pre-production. But then I LOVED pre-production, then we start shooting, and all I want to do is be a director.

ADVICE FOR YOUNG ACTORS

If you were talking to someone who had a burning desire to be an actor or ‘give’ to the world at large, what would you say?
I get a lot of people asking me, ‘how do I become an actor?’. I was very lucky, I got into it working with friends. I had friends making little movies, so I started acting in them, so when I got an audition for a national television show I get the part, because I was technically far in advance of the other people going for the same part.

With all these cameras out there, the trick is not to get caught up with what you’re going to shoot on, just get out there and shoot stuff. The more you do, the better you get at it. People tend to put off what they want to really do. But you’ve got to prioritise the ‘one day’ stuff every day. I’ll set aside a weekend, and I’ll do it then – never gonna happen. You’ve got to set aside time for it every day – if you want to do it, you’ll find a way.

What have you been putting off for the last five years while you were busy doing Stargate?

Good question! Laundry. Well, I guess writing. I was enjoying my downtime a lot more than I needed to, perhaps. It’s amazing how much fun it is to shoot a show like Stargate, and just how exhausting it is. You’re basically in Stargate mode the whole time. I was absolute hell to be with for five years.

AMANDA TAPPING

I’m now able to sit down and work on my own show, my own show entirely owned by MGM… (laughs) well- I get to put my mark on it. Amanda Tapping is an inspiration to me, the way she put together Sanctuary. She could easily have coasted. She had absolutely no need to throw herself into the production of her own show, but she did. Those are the kind of people who appeal to me. She works so hard at everything that she does, so it’s great to see that all come to fruition. Plus I want to be on the show, so I’m sucking up!


She seems to be lining up a few Stargate alumni for that one.
It’s a smart move. There’s a lot of Stargate fans, and they’re very loyal.

It’s quite the trip for Stargate Atlantis fans to see Todd the Wraith (Chris Heyerdahl) as Bigfoot on Sanctuary!
(laughs). I made the mistake of asking Chris once on Stargate Atlantis ‘what is it with you and prosthetics?’ and then he listed off all the parts that he’d been doing and it turned out he’s actually worked more than all of us on the show.

MR GEEK TO MR SEXY

It’s been quite a strange journey for your character, from Mr Annoying to, well… Mr Sexy.
Laughs. Yes. It’s something I’ve had tattooed on my chest. ‘Mr Sexy’.

Is it in reverse so that you can see it in the mirror?
(laughs)

The interesting thing with McKay was that it was about filling in the gaps. We already knew that he was an arrogant jerk, but then we had to fill in all the information as to WHY he’s an arrogant jerk, which was an awful lot of fun.

They softened the character by getting to know him, rather than by softening him, which was my great fear. I never wanted to back off with McKay too much. Sometimes it’s harder to write the ‘reluctant’ part of the hero.



Okay, Rodney, please explain the unsettling alien thing floating in the jar.


There always seems to be someone who’ll love a man like that. With your relationship with Jewel Staite (which has been described as sister and brother) off the screen, was that just ‘wrong’ at some point when you progressed to romance on the screen?

Jewel and I hit it off right away. She is just evil. She and her husband have the wickedest sense of humour and are the most fun to have dinner with. So we just had a lot of fun in general on the show. When things got romantic, it did feel incredibly wrong, but at the same time, what I liked about it, those are the kind of weird relationships that happen. There’s something about McKay – either you want to be like McKay or you are like McKay.

I was never that smart, to have an opinion on the kind of things that Rodney would pull people up on. I hang out with those guys, they’re the ones who’ll take you to task. For me it’s easier to be stupid and funny than brilliant and entertaining.

There’s a love hate thing with McKay that excuses a lot of things. The Katy Brown thing was kind of weird too.

Well, any time where you have to kiss Paul McGillion as part of your romantic entanglement can’t be that normal.

Yes. I think that was it. Thanks for reminding me. Now I won’t be able to sleep again.
Aah. That peaty freshness of his breath.

TAKING STUFF HOME FROM ATLANTIS

Hardcore Sci Fi geeks need to know. What did you manage to snag as a memento of your Stargate Atlantis experience?
What? You mean, what piece of the set is missing? (laughs) The funny thing is, the way we ended, that made the whole cancellation process weird. Normally, when it’s done, it’s done. With Atlantis, because it’s a very popular show, because theree’s a movie coming up, because the fans aren’t happy about the cancellation – they come up to me all the time, as if it’s my fault – but guys, I could NOT have acted any more.

So they haven’t at this stage struck the sets, they’re still holding the stuff because of the films.

I really wanted to walk off with one of the watches, but I’d broken so many over the years that there weren’t any left. I don’t know what I did to those poor watches.

Wardrobe made all these kids versions of our uniforms, so Baz has one of those. But I do have my costume, that’s good for things like 4th of July parades.

There’s something slightly askew about taking home costumes though, isn’t there? For example, Jamie Bamber said he got to take his full flight suit home form Battlestar Galactica. It begs the question – apart from the occasional parade, and perhaps Halloween, when does one whip out one’s Sci Fi suit? Does one just leave it in the closet only to pulled out on rare occasions where one would look at it and say ‘yes, I used to fit in that’?

(laughs) I only take my costume off to leave the house. Actually, after five years of wearing those outfits, we were ready to burn them.


Although with the final seasons, those leather outfits were getting interesting.

I liked the leather. The sound department hated them, because I would come creaking into every scene.



Paul McGillion's sexier than moi?


Joe Flanigan did mention something about a man crush that you had on him. Now everyone’s flitted off, do you start off every week ringing all the cast members, or have you all drifted apart?

We were always very friendly on set, yet, during the weekends we had our own lives. Get-togethers would happen every so often. It’s very organic. It just sort of happens. I’ve had to bail on two invites from Joe already, to visit his Malibu home, and my wife is dying to see Joe’s place. He has the most beautiful place in Malibu. I’ve told him I’m going to set up camp next door!

The reality is that most of my cast is too cool for me anyway, to hang out with me, I’d bring down their cool quanta too much. (laughs)

VINCENZO NATALI AND SPLICE

Sure, they may be the cool kids – but with your writing and directing, you now will soon become ‘the master’ and be in control of their destinies as they’re just actors for hire.

(laughs) Exactly. You’re a meatpuppet for so long, and after a while you do get the feeling that you have information to contribute. I’ve been acting since I was fourteen. What’s neat is the guy I started working with when I was fourteen was Vincenzo Natali. And I’m still working with him. We’re no longer making films on the street corner for thirty bucks - he just finished making a film for Guillermo Del Toro, called Splice.


Those pictures are freaky!
Aren’t they?! The digital effects are done by C.O.R.E Digital, who did the effects on Cube. Splice was supposed to be the follow up to Cube. It’s taken him ten years to get that made. I can’t wait to see it.



One of those freaky pictures from Splice.


Your character Barlow, want does he do?
Not much. He’s definitely a thorn in our heroes’ side. This is definitely going to push the boundaries of Sci Fi and good taste. It’s pretty dark Sci Fi. it’s Frankenstein, but of the 2000’s. I love the way Vincenzo described it – ‘the Bonny and Clyde of genetics’.

Vincenzo really loves those classic Sci Fi movies, over the top stuff. We grew up watching Buckaroo Banzai, The Evil Dead movies. He said on this one, that he had to tone it down, to keep the horror internal, because there is a tendency, especially in my case, to throw buckets of blood at me.

It seems to be Frankenstein having sex with his monster?
It’s dark. There’s almost a comedy to how shocking it is. I really want to talk about it after it’s out. I definitely found it very interesting. It almost mimics a dysfunctional family. It touches on religion, sex, aging, the quest to be the first. I’m hoping it’ll lead to some really big studio stuff for him, because he is so ready.

Whilst he hasn’t exactly been in the wilderness since Cube, he hasn’t had an easy run of it. Yet his films, like Cypher and Nothing are stylish and contain vibrant ideas.

You can blame us for Nothing. Vincenzo and Andrew Miller and I sat in a yurt in California. Let’s do a movie about nothing! Nothing was originally going to be done as a tiny, tiny budget movie. It’s a testament to Vincenzo’s ability to raise money. Basically we had done Cube, and we thought it was a washout. It had this miserable release in Canada, a terrible release in the states.

The internet was just picking up this stuff, so we know there was some interest out there. And then it opened ‘internationally’ and it just took off. That’s the beauty of the film world right know. It’s better to be an international success than being a ‘national’ one. The reality is – that’s where the rest of the world is.

When you’re in LA you get this cocoon effect. But Nothing! Wow! - there was this little Nothing animation on Ain’t it Cool News front page the other day. It’s an odd film, not for everybody.

Can you tell us anything about High Rise? I don’t know much abut High Rise. I was living with Vincenzo in LA, before Stargate, and he was working on that. He was very passionate about that project. I hope it happens. It’s another disturbing psychological look at what evil beings we are!
I should read the book.

Well now you have the time to read it!
Tell that to my two year old!

WHY HE’S A WORKAHOLIC

What about when you’re not working or looking after Baz. What do you do?

I suck at hobbies. My free time is spent working. It drives Jane crazy. I find it hard to read fiction, because I feel I’m not learning something. If I’m not writing I’m jotting down notes, or thinking about what the next great internet idea will be that’ll make millions. I’m an information junky. The internet is murder for me. There’s always something to distract me.

Where does this desire to work from? Surely you can’t still have fear?
There’s always fear. I said to Jane the other day, ‘I think I’m only really relaxed when I’m working’. I’m only sane right now because I’ve got this MGM thing.



David Hewlett - unlikely badass!


I recently worked on The Closer, not a big part, I did it because I just wanted to work. Work breeds work. I find it hard to forget that I came in to do a guest spot on Stargate: SG1 – one episode. That’s accounted for five or six years of my life. It’s very difficult for me not to be busy or working.

Is it hard not to slip into Rodney when you’re working now?
I always felt I wasn’t a god enough actor to be a true chameleon, all I could do was play out aspects of my own character. I can’t put on a funny looking wig and have a completely different personality. There will always be McKayisms in everything I do. When sanctuary started, Martin Wood talked to me about one of the parts, but I just couldn’t do it, it was just too similar to McKay for me. It wouldn’t have been fair to them or to me or to be people watching just to see me do the same thing again.


Finally - has Jane made you wear so that you stop clicking your fingers?
The snapping of the fingers stopped pretty quickly! In the first season, I came home one night, and we were cooking and I snapped my fingers and said pass me the whatever and she stopped. Dead.

I looked up, wondering why she hadn’t given it to me.

She looked at me and said ‘here’s the deal. You get fifteen minutes to lose McKay when you come home. Otherwise, you lose me!’
So that was pretty much it.

A woman of infinite patience.
You need that – especially with two male Hewletts to deal with!

Thanks so much for your time, and hopefully we’ll catch up with you soon.

Thanks very much, it’s been great.



Yes, yes yes, but how do we NOT DIE?!!!





Click here for the next episode of Stargate Atlantis on SCI FI!

Click here to follow David on Twitter!







Stargate Atlantis Season 5 and Stargate Atlantis The Complete Series is out now on DVD.



Click here to WIN THE ENTIRE STARGATE ATLANTIS COLLECTION!