 
GW: Well yeah! I mean sometimes it is a solo, but most of the time you are working as an ensemble, depending on the episode, depending on the scene. S yeah, it's not all you! [Laughter] That would have to be freeing.
BS: I had a teacher at school, and her thing was just a phrase that I'll never forget. "It's never about you." Not just when you're acting. Not just when you're in the scene. As far as your ego is concerned when you're working on a project and you're tired or you'd rather play Rock Band.
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Smith appears opposite Seth Peterson in the independent film "Hate Crime." |
You have to realize it's not about you. You're in a unit. You've got to carry your weight and other people are going to carry your weight, too. It's not about you. You sacrifice yourself so that other people can be as good as they can be.
GW: How did this audition process come about? You told me some of it beforehand but let's hear it again. Did you send in a tape? Were you in front of a casting director? How did this come about?
BS: My agent and my manager both have a really good relationship with this guy, Paul Weber, I'm pretty sure he was responsible for helping find the series regulars. They have a really good relationship with him. They got a cast breakdown and decided "Hey, let's put Brian on tape. He might be good for," at the time, I believe the character was Nash.
So we put him on tape, and I think there's even some sides form a Stargate Atlantis script because they didn't have the complete script yet. I don't even know what characters they were. But they had us read a scene from there. I'm going about my business.
I think at that point I had just finished a show here in New York called "Three Changes." It was a Nicky Silver play which was such a trip. He's, like, my favorite writer. And at this time I was bartending. I was like, "Oh, jeez, what's coming up next? There's nothing on the horizon." And we started getting some nibbles from Paul. Paul was like, "He's right for this role. He's great." So he'd send me more scenes. We'd put those on tape, and send it back.
The producers were "Wow, cool." And then before you knew it I was on a plane my way out to LA for the screen test, and the rest is history! [Laughter]
GW: You got the call? How long did it take for them to turn around? How many auditions did you have to go through?
BS: It was two or three tapings up to my agent's office and then just the one screen test up in LA.
GW: Oh wow. That's fantastic.
BS: And it was great! You walk in the room and it's, like, this office. And there had to have been a dozen people there. I think Rob Cooper was there. I know Rob Cooper was there. Brad Wright was there as well.
Brian looks forward to scenes with Robert Carlyle in Universe. | |
Robert Carlyle was there. I get chills when I just consider getting to do a scene with him. I am so in awe of him as an actor. I think he's one of the most talented guys in the business. What a treat for me to get to work with him.
But anyway, you do the screen test and I believe I did it and it went really well and the casting director came back out and said, "They want to see you one more time." Went in and did the scenes again, and that was it. I was on my way back home a couple days later and then we got the great news.
My poor mom, oh man, she was calling me every five minutes. I could hear the nails grinding beneath her teeth over the phone because she was just so nervous and excited. I mean, this is a big deal for me. Not only is it a great concept -- the show itself is a great concept and a great project to get to work on.
You know, you're talking about a kid here who's just been doing the off-Broadway New York thing for a year and a half and just going week to week. This is one of those moments that they talk about in your career.
GW: Oh, yeah it's a complete life change!
BS: It's a life-change. It's a life-change, and I'm still walking around in kind of a daze. I'm so grateful and so happy, but at the same time there's a lot of work to do and you can't let this get to your head. This is going to be a lot of work which, to me, is the best part.
GW: When are you heading out?
BS: I'm going to head out a week from Friday [January 30]. I'm going to move into my apartment, and just kind of walk around the city for a couple days, get my bearings. We have a couple weeks of screen tests, looking at makeup. Looking at hair. Looking at the costumes. Trying at some point doing some rehearsals and playing around with some shots and trying to get a feel for how this thing is going to live shot to shot and moment to moment, which from what I understand, is going to be very different.
GW: Now had you seen any Stargate before this casting?
BS: I'd seen a couple episodes of Stargate and that's it. They're actually going to ship me -- I'm waiting for it to get here, actually -- the Stargate movies. I think Continuum ...
GW: ... OK, and Ark of Truth.
BS: And Ark of Truth. I want to see what the world is. I need to know exactly what SGC is. Who these people are, how they're trained. What kind of weapons they use. What the uniforms are. That's all really important to me. So becoming more familiar with the franchise is going to be part of the research for the role.
GW: Have you gotten in touch with any of your fellow actors yet?
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" You have to realize it's not about you. You're in a unit... You sacrifice yourself so that other people can be as good as they can be."
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BS: No, not yet. I think they're arranging a big get-together when we show up that first week there. I think we're all going to go out for dinner and just get to see each other and be in a room together for the first time which is really such a cool experience.
GW: Well, yeah! You're getting the first vibes as to who's going to click with what. Obviously the writers are all looking for cues because that's going to inform later episodes and future seasons. You're being watched!
BS: I love that. Hey, I don't mind being under the microscope. [Laughter] If it's for the good of the show use me. Use me!
GW: Well you're on stage! How much more of a microscope can you have? Stage is for people who enjoy performing and enjoy being out there.
BS: It is! I mean, talk about walking a tightrope. Being on stage is ... It's crazy being a theater actor because you have so much control. Just based on what I do or how I react you're able to give focus or take focus. Your mind is so much more active on stage. Not that you're not active in speaking when you're on TV or film. It's so funny so many of things you think about as an actor on stage are actually being taken care of for you by the camera. Just the presence of a frame does a lot of the work for you.
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