Actress Rachel Lutrell (“Teyla Emmagan”) recently discussed her character’s evolution and romantic options on Stargate Atlantis with Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest.”The cool thing about Teyla and Ronon is that they’re both from essentially the same place with similar types of backgrounds, and an understanding that those two characters share with each other that they don’t with anyone else,” Luttrell told the magazine. “And it’s cool that they’re both warriors, which I really like.”But is a Teyla / Sheppard romance in the mix for Season Three?”Well, I’m not adverse to it,” she said. “I would like to see some sort of love interest for Teyla, but whether or not that ends up with Sheppard, I don’t know. My take on it is that although it might be hinted at and teased at, I don’t think the writers are going to make anything more of it … it might be a tricky road to go down.”The actress also told the magazine that she trains long and hard to do her own fight scenes, such as the knife fight scene in Season One’s “The Eye.”

Rachel Luttrell trained for the role of Teyla from the start. From “Suspicion”

“Oh, yes, we trained and trained on that choreography for quite awhile, the stunt people along with us,” Luttrell said. “It was an amazing fight. I got to do most of it — but most of the hard hits or falls, that’s a stunt double. The producers don’t like seeing me get hit in the face. But all the other stuff I can do, I do it. Let me tell you, I’ve had my knuckles cracked by the sticks, hit in the face by the sticks, and had my cheeks swell up.”As to what she would like to explore in her character, Rachel says, “There’s a lot of stuff that stays in the back of my mind when I’m portraying Teyla that hasn’t come to light or we haven’t even fleshed out yet. The death of her father is a major influence of Teyla’s and that is something the show hasn’t delved into yet.”Luttrell also talked about her role in co-star David Hewlett’s (“Rodney McKay”) new independent film. “David Hewlett created a very funny, funny movie and I’m going to have a little role in it as well,” she said. “And that is going to be a lot of fun, and fans of Atlantis will love it. It’s called ‘[A] Dog’s Breakfast.'”Look for the complete interview at Apex Digest. Season Three of Stargate Atlantis is now filming for a summer premiere.