 
GW: Was that difficult to shoot?
TH: In a weird way, it wasn't difficult to shoot -- there is a fine line between ... you're doing the characters every day and the other actors are doing their characters, so the line between the actors and the characters, when you're working, gets very thin, which is great. And so it didn't take a lot of acting, because we were truly mourning the loss of Paul. So it wasn't difficult to act, but it was emotionally difficult, certainly. Does that make sense?
GW: Oh, yes, absolutely! But even past the loss, we really had a chance to see your character grow some as well!
TH: I know, I liked that! I liked her being all giddy with Rachel, with Teyla. We just never seen her like that at all. I just decided to go for it and be really awkward. And that was great fun to do. And he was a wonderful actor. They told me at first he was a younger actor, and I was really upset about that. I said "Don't make her go for young boys." [Laughter]
GW: Yeah, that's not the right message to send about a leader.
TH: Yeah, not at all. She wants somebody smarter than her and strong. So it was a bit weird. But he walked in with energy, and grounded. Yeah, it made sense to why she was attracted to him. And I did like the line about "When Harry Met Sally."
GW: Do you think Weir's relationship with Mike would've had a chance, or do you think she was just dame of the week to him?
TH: I think that was thrown in that episode to be a little red herring, to take away from what was actually the episode, about losing Paul. I think if they knew at that point that Weir was going to continue, they also made it clear it was in that episode, of her saying "I can't do it." She has no extra spare time, or emotion, or spare parts of her brain to get in a tizzy about somebody. So if you're not emotionally engaged with them then it's physical and she's not going to do that.
I think it wouldn't have worked anyway, but think that it would've just been laid to rest and we wouldn't have seen him again.
GW: Do you think someone like Weir is just destined to live her life alone? During her time of service there's just no chance for it?
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Is Weir doomed to a life where her closest companion is her writing? |
TH: I think I mentioned in a few interviews, I kept hoping for those planets with lots of cute male aliens that Rachel and Weir could get off on. Because in that scene I was outside of the base, just a one-off, and don't have to worry about future repercussions. All of these planets with cute girls, and no cute boys.
GW: What about Richard Kind?
TH: Oh, heart-throb. [Laughter] Just a mention. I've got all sweaty palms now. I don't think so. I think she's got a great capacity for love. If she survives this experience and finds herself back on Earth, she would engage in a relationship. Yeah, I think she's got a lot of love to give, that woman. I don't want to think of her as being alone for the rest of her life.
GW: Right. Well I think one of the telling scenes was with "The Return." Near the end of "The Return, Part 1" she was so isolated. Beckett was just pushing to get her out of her apartment, you know?
TH: That's true.
GW: She wanted to write a book that no one could ever read, and that had to have been frustrating!
TH: I loved that line of Paul's when he says that to her. Beckett's like "And who's going to read this?" She was just completely in her own bubble. And it was so frustrating because it wasn't if Atlantis had disappeared. It was still there. That's why I think they couldn't let go of it, just this idea of "It's still there, and the Ancients are there, and that's why we went there to begin with. I want them to understand more about our culture. I want to understand about their race.
So because all of that was going on, and she was sent to her corner in the room, it made it much more difficult to let go. I think she would have the ability to let go if ... I don't know.
GW: I'm a writer myself, and after such an experience as that you would have to expel some of that onto paper or onto a computer. Even for yourself. Because what you experienced over the course of those two years was more than most people experience in a lifetime.
TH: Yeah, I think that's very true. You would have to process it on some level. And you can't go to a therapist and process it! [Laughter] But I agree with you. And she obviously does a lot of writing. She comes from an academic world, so I think it made a lot sense that that's how she was trying to process everything.
GW: Yeah, exactly. What are some of your other favorite episodes from last year? When we last talked "The Real World" was just about to air.
TH: Well that one definitely was one of my favorites, for various reasons. One, I got to work with Richard Dean, which was always a pleasure.
But "The Real World" was a great challenge. Because of Richard Dean, obviously. Also to see this character vulnerable was wonderful. To see her vulnerable, and then fight. And to see her give up. I liked that at one point she gives up. She goes "You know what, this fighting thing, it's too ..." because we all feel that way. We all have days where we go "Oh, I'm just too tired. I'm too tired to fight it." And I thought it was very human that they let her give up and then fight again. And have to be re-inspired, had to get the connection. It was a challenging episode to do. It was nice to read the script and go "Can I do this?" That's nice to feel.
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