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Katee Sackhoff interview

After spending 4 years as Starbuck on the genre-redefining “Battlestar Galactica”, Katee Sackoff has established herself as the go-to gal for ass kicking female characters. Now that she’s filling a new role as first bionic lady Sarah Corvus on NBC’s “Bionic Woman”, we had to speak to Katee about fighting, going robot, and stealing our nerd hearts.

Now that you’re on “Bionic Woman” is it more fun to be the bad guy than the hero?
It is more fun just because I think that Starbuck is such a reluctant hero, and I’ve been playing her for so long that I think that’s what makes it more fun, but it is definitely fun to be bad. Anything goes.

What is it like switching from Starbuck to a less emotional character like Sarah Corvus?
It’s definitely difficult- if I don’t work Starbuck for a couple days, and then I go and I play Sarah Corvus, it’s pretty easy, but if I go from one to the other the day same day or the day after, it’s pretty difficult, because they do have similarities and my biggest fear playing Sarah Corvus is that fans of Battlestar are gonna see it and go “Well she’s just playing Starbuck with lipstick on, so I really try to find subtle differences and to make them as different as possible. I think, 'cause on paper they read very similar.

Do you think that Sarah is more robot that woman? Has she lost touch with her identity as a human?
I think that she would like to think that she is, I don’t think that she’s necessarily more robot. I think that she would like to be because she views emotion as weakness, it’s not that she’s trying to cut away “the human parts of her that are weak”, she’s saying that figuratively, saying her emotions make her weak.

Sarah acts a little like one of the Cylons. Did you draw inspiration from how the Cylons were portrayed on BSG to play her?
Everyone keeps asking me if I just channel Tricia Helfer, cause Tricia’s such a good friend of mine, and there’s moments when I’m playing Sarah Corvus that I think in the back of my mind: “Oh, that was pretty Number 6”, but I didn’t purposefully do it, I think that Tricia and I have very similar styles and I think that if Tricia was to play a character like Starbuck it would probably be spot-on, so I think that it just kind of came naturally, channeling Trish.

Do you like being cast as the tough-as-nails lady?
I do, I do. You know, it’s what people wanna see me do right now, and I enjoy it. It’s more fun. It is more challenging physically. So I do like it, you know, there’s worse things to be stereotyped as than the strong woman, you know?

Speaking of, how did you pull off the fight scene in the first Bionic Woman episode? Did you do your own moves?
I did! I did do everything- most of it myself. I didn’t fall into the window, which I would have done but at that point I had already dislocated my knee, so I couldn’t stand up too fast, and they knew that it wouldn’t look realistic if I did it myself, so I had to reneg on that, which really pissed me off. I was really upset, because in my mind I think you can tell when a stunt double does it, and so I’ve always done my own. I’ve always done as much as they’ll let me do.

So it’s a point of pride for you?
Yeah, it is! And I think that I have that competitive nature in me that if I see my stunt double do it, who, you know, is the same height, the same weight and everything else, then I go well then I can do it, but I guess that’s how you dislocate knee’s right? Laughter They’re trained to fall. I’m not.

How do you feel about your massive nerdom sex symbol status?
I don’t understand it, I mean, I think it’s funny… especially with both these characters my brother told me that I’m pin-up material for nerds everywhere. Which is pretty funny to me, but I think it’s great that men can fantasize about strong women and not just wimpy girls that they can take advantage of, laughter I guess in a sense. ‘Cause these women are not your stereotypical pin-up girls, you know, for lack of a better term.

It’s definitely a growing trend in entertainment.
Yeah! I think so I think we’re giving men more credit these days, you know? Because most of my guys friends would rather sleep with Sarah Corvus, than, you know, one of the girls from “Vega$”.

What do you watch on TV? Are you a “LOST” fan? “Heroes?”
I loved “Lost”, the first and second seasons, and I love “Heroes” the first season. I can’t really get into either one of them right now- “Heroes” I can, I think too much time’s past for “Lost”. I watch everything on DVD, but I think as far as what I’m watching on DVD right now… God, what am I obsessed with? Oh my god- I love all the cooking shows, I think they’re fantastic. I’m obsessed with all the cooking shows. What do I watch on TV? I watch like, the same show every week, I can’t figure it out. I’ll let you know, we’ll come back to it. Obviously I don’t watch a lot of TV right?

You probably don’t have much time.
Yeah not much, that’s why it all comes on DVD. Oh I was watching “Chuck”! And I actually really like “Chuck”. I think it’s a great show.

So is that your favorite show of the new season?
Well, yeah I do like Chuck, um I guess that makes me a little biased since it’s on my network. Laughter Yeah, but that’s the only one I seem to have gotten into yet this year.
Oh my god! I know what it is! And it’s a reality show so every actor everywhere is gonna f-ing hate me, but “The Biggest Loser”, I am obsessed with “The Biggest Loser”. Like, I scream at the TV, I yell at Jillian all the time, I’m like: “You stupid bitch, leave them alone! They just want a drink!”

I get really into those shows too.
Aren’t they awesome? See, if I could have Jillian as a trainer I think that I’d be happy with myself for the rest of my life, because she’s such a Nazi, that I think I would be like: “Ok… I think I’m good now… forever.”

Philadelphia Tickets
May 30-June 1, 2008

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