GateWorld: Brian, Elyse, Alaina, David, they’ve all started hopping the convention circuit. Are you game? Are you thinking about it? Alaina, I saw her a couple of weeks ago in Chicago and she was talking about you maybe getting ready to cross that threshold.
Louis Ferreira: Yeah, you know, the thing for me was I just kind of wanted the show to be out a little bit more, because I know that there’s this transition phase. Let’s put it this way: I’m a sensitive person and I know that I would rather be going somewhere where the idea is that people know the show and know the character. And because, like I say, I love to have a good time, I don’t want to be defending the show, feeling like I’m somehow taking away the show that these other people [loved].
Does that make sense? I’m just trying to be respectful to myself, because what I want to do is just have a great time with people who actually like SGU, and just enjoy that. I know that those guys are having a great time doing it, so my thing is …
GW: Wait until the water’s warm?
LF: Yeah, maybe. But even more than that, it’s more like just having two seasons — that makes sense to me, because then you’ve just had enough time to get to really know the characters a little bit more. That’s just the decision I’m making.
GW: Understandable. Even going to the conventions from prior to the premiere to the first handful of episodes and the reaction that those were getting, to once the back half of Season One ended, I’ve actually seen and witnessed the back and forth and more warming and receptiveness.
LF: Yeah, that’s fantastic. But again, I think that part of it is this show is a drama set in space. We don’t have, like, “Oh, look. He’s dressed up as an alien from that episode,” you know? That’s going to be very hard to do with this show. I understand that part of that convention thing is that kind of dynamic, so if it gets embraced then I think that’s something I would understandably get.
You know, the idea is that we’re trying to create a good show that could be on any network, that happens to be set in space. I think that, for me right now, I’m just trying to focus on that work. It’s a different mindset.
On the hiatus I have three or four months, I’m going to have a great time. When you’re doing the show, there’s a part of you that has to embody the head space. That’s part of it, too. So breaking that and going away on a weekend, it’s … you know. I’d love to do some karaoke with the fans. Bowling, karaoke, I’m all about it. Let’s go on a bike ride, everybody! Scrabble. Let’s play some charades. It’d be fun!
GW: Brian loves “Rock Band,” I know that.
LF: [Laughter] Oh yeah, that’s right! Yeah, I was kidding! That’s hilarious.
GW: You have been known as the joker on set. You’re the most unlike your onscreen persona. Are there any pranks that you’ve pulled that you’d be willing to share?
LF: Well, we had the fart machine for the entire pilot. It was just great because I set it up everywhere over the gate room, so as people came through, away it went. And me and Alaina, we’re just laughing our butts off. What’s amazing about her is, we must have been there for 15 hours that day because it was the pilot and it took a little longer … no matter how many times I pressed that button, she would laugh the cutest giggle ever. I couldn’t stop pressing the button, just to hear her laugh. So that’s one prank that’s awesome. And it’s come back.
The greatest prank: Bobby came in one day and some people from a different department had put what looked like surveillance cameras everywhere in his trailer. He was paranoid and he was like, “Ooh. There are surveillance …” And I’m like, “What’s going on?” Then I went into the wardrobe trailer and I realized that they were the people pulling the prank and they had not only set up the cameras, but they had set it up so they had monitors in their room and they actually had an image that they had taken a picture of and put it on the computer. It was just one image but it looked real, it looked like it was actually playing. So I then said, “Okay. I’m in.”
So I went to grab Bobby at some point and I said, “Bobby! I figured out what the stuff [is]. Dude, they’re spying on you! They can see you when you change.” He’s like, “What are you talking about?” And I go, “Come,” and I took him into the trailer and I let him see all the surveillance equipment they had set up … and he completely bought it! [Laughter] For a couple of hours. We just kept it going and going and going to the point where I was like, “Don’t tell him,” and they eventually ruined it. I wanted to go all day with it.
But it’s the constant in and out. One of the things that we love to do is to go from — like I’ll be doing Ace Ventura: Pet Detective just before [filming starts]. I think the cast gets [a laugh] out of the immediate shift.
Like I said, it’s such a great group, and a family. During the whole World Cup soccer — that was the other event that took place this year in Vancouver, which is an amazing place to be. Bobby and I decided to red card and yellow card people all along, so any inappropriate comments or anything, that was red card, yellow card. That was some of the fun stuff we had.
But we just really, I think, feel like we have a place to come to that’s a safe environment. And that’s a key thing. It’s not always the case; not everyone makes you feel comfortable. These guys, Brad and Robert, are true professionals and I think we’re so grateful and blessed. I’m just blown away. Just to have employed a province with this franchise for as long as they have, again, I can’t say it enough, it’s unheard of.
GW: You got back from summer hiatus about four weeks ago or so. Did you get a chance over that time to relax, or did you work on any other upcoming projects that we might see?
LF: No, I do something called “Camp Dadda,” which I’ve been doing with my kids since I got divorced, since they were eight and two. They’re now 17 and 11, and this year we did a cruise to Alaska. And basically, I spend 24/7 with my daughter. I have full custody of my son, but my daughter comes in for the five weeks and I spend the entire time with her, sleeping in a tent and just bonding with that beautiful little girl, who is my princess. That’s the gift … the enjoyment, to be blessed enough [to do that].
And I’m very aware it really is something that comes and goes. That’s the profession that I’ve chosen. So the idea is that when it does come, that you’re able to enjoy it. And that’s what I certainly did this summer. We had a great summer. Camp Dadda was the best it was ever.
GW: I can say, your kids are extremely cute. I actually have the Blu-ray of [Season] 1.5 where it has your featurette where it talks about your day, inside your trailer and all the pictures that you have up of them.
LF: Oh, right, right! I haven’t seen any of that stuff. Absolutely, yeah, they’re just great kids. They really are responsible for a lot of my character today. And that’s another gift. When you’re in your twenties you’re completely unaware of all that stuff and what kids can do to you. I love being a dad.
GW: Any message that you want to give to fans of the show?
LF: On behalf of myself and the entire cast and the crew and this group, we can’t say “Thank you” enough for giving us a chance and sticking with something that I know is probably a little different for them. So for those who’ve stuck it out and have grown to like it, we say “Thank you.”
I think there’s something wonderful about not just bringing Stargate but this genre to a wider audience, because I think it can touch people in a way that is not necessarily true of every show. I think that they’re trying to create that is an awesome challenge and feat, and I think that that we’re being supported by the fans is just … we can’t be grateful enough. A big “thank you.”
Interview by Chad Colvin. Transcription by Lahela.
Very nice interview. I’m only just discovering Louis Ferreira. I’ve seen him in a few things as Justin Louis. I decided to look at some of his earlier work – Pretender & Highlander – he’s so young (no pun intended). I enjoy watching Col Young develop through LF’s interpretation. Keep up good work and go to conventions – they are a hoot.