Born in Lushoto, Tanzania,
Stargate Atlantis co-star
Rachell Lutrell (
“Teyla Emmagan”) moved to Canada with her family at age five. But this
Stargate beauty has brains as well, having studied Shakespeare at Oxford University, England.On the set of
Atlantis, Lutrell shared her insights on what it’s like being part of the Stargate Universe with Canada’s Star! TV.”I love science fiction and I always have. I mean, I remember going to see ‘Star Wars’ when I was teeny weenie with my dad, just begging him to take me and just being blown away with all that stuff. And so now, I get to do it,” Luttrell said. “In order to portray it here you just need to have, I was going to say childish, but that’s not really it, it’s a child-like sense of awe about what is beyond us.”The role of Teyla Emmagan has its physical demands, too. “It’s a very physical thing,” she said. “The show has made me learn different kinds of martial arts, a specific type of martial arts called ‘Kali,’ which uses sticks and knives and hand-to-hand. And, I’m learning more and more as it goes on. And, I’ve also shot a lot of different weaponry. I had never shot a gun before this. I was raised in a family where I couldn’t even shoot a water gun, let alone ammunition.”But the big surprise in doing such a complex role are the fans. According to Luttrell the fans are an immense Internet power base.”The fans are wonderful,” she said. “They’ve got great ideas and they’ve got questions about things that they would like to see implemented. The fans have been really good about coming forth with their story ideas.”Actually, you know what? Well, probably the writers don’t want them to know this, but they do listen to what the fans have to say online. If there’s enough of a push towards one thing that they just absolutely have to see, then somehow it gets written into the script.”Lutrell’s interview segment originally aired on Star! TV in April. The network also aired a special “Star! Inside:
Stargate Atlantis” program, looking behind-the-scenes at the series.Season Three of
Atlantis is now in production in Vancouver, B.C.!
(Thanks to Morjana for the tip)