GW: It seems like the industry is kind of going back and re-mining the whole fairy tale concept.

PM: It certainly seems like it.

GW: Red Riding Hood was in theaters in March, [Michael] Shanks was in that.

PM: Yep, Shanks was in that one as well.

GW Once Upon A Time with SGU’s Robert Carlyle hits TV screens this fall.

PM: Exactly.  And then you have Grimm coming, too.  It’s a popular concept for ideas right now.

GW: Some of the other projects you’ve got going on — Finding a Family?

PM: Finding a Family was a Hallmark movie. Mark Jean directed that, and [it stars] Kim Delaney. Based on a true story about this young man who, his mother was in a car accident and has some brain damage and she can’t really take care of him properly. He kind of worked his way through life, going in and out of foster homes and set up a letter-writing campaign to try to find a family that could take him in and let him finish high school ion the same hometown.

He finds the Bantes, which is based on a true family, it’s based on a true story. This young man, his goal — his mother was a PhD and she graduated from Yale and his goal was to finish school so he could go to Yale. I play Jim Bante and we take the kid in. It’s a really sweet story. A young actor named Jared Abrahamson plays Alex, and it was his first gig, too. He just did such a great job with it.

And actually, I think next year he’s going to graduate from Yale. So it’s a really sweet story and Kim Delaney does a great job in it. I haven’t seen the whole finished product yet, but it was a really, really lovely script. It kind of reminds me a little bit of The Blind Side, it’s got that kind of feel to it.

GW: Oh, that’ll be good.

PM: Yeah, I hope so.

GW: You’ve got a couple of other projects that are in the works. Let’s talk about Alcatraz, if we can. Cause I love me some J.J. Abrams! [laughs]

A publicity shot for McGillion's 'Finding a Family', which co-stars Kim Delaney and airs on the Hallmark Movie Channel next month.

PM: Alcatraz is a pilot that J.J. Abrams is behind. I can’t say anything, really, about that. I can say I’m involved in it and very excited to be part of it, but I can’t really say much about it. I’m really honored to be part of it.

GW: I understand completely. Having been a huge fan of Lost and Alias on television, and after seeing his reinterpretation of Star Trek — which you had a cameo in… blatant plug… [laughs]

PM: I did! [laughs]

GW J.J. doesn’t do anything little, at least in terms of concept. What about A70?

PM: A70 is a movie that I’ve signed on to do. It should be shooting in Scotland sometime soon with myself and Billy Boyd. He’s signed on to do it, we’ll see what happens. They’re looking for their funding. It sounds like a great project, I love the script. It’s about these two Scottish guys, again based on their idea of a true story that they’re picked up by a spaceship, basically, and abducted.

It’s a really, really heart-wrenching story where these guys both had very similar stories and they don’t have an opportunity to go public with it until the end. It kind of takes over their lives, they become ruled by this. They both have very similar — to an eerie degree — stories that match individually as well, so they go through hypnosis and they both have this very similar experience.

I’m really excited to be part of that and really hope it goes. I know the producer, Dionne [Rose], is working on it diligently to get the thing made. That would be a great opportunity to go to Scotland and shoot. I love the part, so it would be great.

GW: You’ve been keeping busy, sporadically, on TV still. You did a couple of episodes of Sanctuary as Wexford.

PM: Yes, I did.

GW: Any chance of us seeing him return?

PM: I don’t know, it’s up to those guys. You know he went out in a bang last season, and I think he’s a really great villain. So we’ll see what happens with that. It was kind of cool, I really enjoyed working with those guys! Martin Wood has always been really great to me and Amanda [Tapping] is a sweetheart so we’ll see what happens. I like a lot of the crew, it’s almost a Stargate crossover in so many ways. I really enjoyed that.

GW: Let’s talk a little bit more about Stargate and where it’s sitting right now as a franchise as a whole. Atlantis has been gone a couple of years, and there was Universe there but that’s been canceled also now. What are your feelings on where things are sitting now, compared to the peaks that it was at five, seven years ago?

PM: It was such a great opportunity for me to play a really, really fun character in Beckett and I just loved it. It’s so great to come back to a convention like this [Creation Official Stargate Convention] and see old friends. I don’t think David [Hewlett] and I have done a convention together since Season One. I’ve done several with Joe [Flanigan] in between, but the three of us will be onstage together shortly and that’s never happened before.

It was one of those things. I really loved the character, I loved my experience on the show, it was a great opportunity for me and absolutely a stepping stone in a lot of different ways. I think for a lot of us, you know? I’ll always look back fondly at it and the opportunity I got from the producers to play this character. It was so great and I’m obviously grateful for it. It was a wonderful point in time.

We’ll see what happens with the Stargate franchise. But look, they did 10 seasons of Stargate SG-1, five seasons of Atlantis and a couple of seasons of SGU. That’s a huge accomplishment. You’re looking at 17 seasons of a franchise.

GW: I don’t think there’s any doubt that the franchise itself will continue on at some point, in some form, somewhere in the future.

PM: I hope so.

GW: But do you feel like maybe it is time to give it just a little bit of a rest, maybe let it recharge the batteries?

McGillion (with Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett) on fan interaction: "You guys have been so great to me!""

PM: Well, you know, I hear what you’re saying, but not based on this fan base that I go to. You know, I walk on a stage there and the fans, they love their Stargate, and it puts a smile on your face.

I don’t know. Those are smart guys that made the series so I think they’ll hit it when they can and they’ll bring it back when it’s primed to go.

They asked me on stage if I would reprise the role of Beckett. And I said I would in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. It was such a great character to play. I made a lot of great friends and I miss seeing them, so if that’s the way I get to do it then I’d be honored.

GW: Any message that you want to give to fans?

PM: You guys have been so great to me!  And every time I come to a convention or I still get fan mail, it always just warms my heart. I never knew before going to Stargate what a massive fanbase that we have and I’m so thankful for that. I still have opportunities to go all over the world and see fans at conventions, so thank you for giving me that opportunity. Thank you for the kind words that you always have for me. It’s been an amazing ride for me and I hope that Stargate can continue through you guys because I know how much you love it.

Thanks for always being so great and thanks to GateWorld for being so great to me throughout all the years. You and Darren and David are amazing with what you do, and I think you’re instrumental in keeping the fans energized and in the know.

GW: I’m honored, Paul. Thank you.

PM: Always, brother. Cheers!

Finding a Family airs October 15 on the Hallmark Channel.  Gretl is currently scheduled for a November debut on Syfy.

Interview and supplemental transcription by Chad Colvin
Main transcription by Lahela