Picardo: Woolsey reinvents himself

Many fans, some who were just beginning to adjust to the absence of Elizabeth Weir , are now mourning the departure of Samantha Carter from Stargate Atlantis. In four seasons the base has already had two leaders. Now, Season Five, it will take on a third, most unlikely candidate: Richard Woolsey.

“The [International Oversight Advisory] decides to replace the military commander because it was always going to be a science expedition,” Robert Picardo told GateWorld. “In the interim I become the commander while they’re basically head-hunting. I’m doing a sufficient-enough job that I get to stay on.”

GateWorld spoke with Picardo during filming of Season Five’s “Ghost in the Machine.” At this point in the season the actor says Woolsey’s reason for taking the job has yet to be established.

“He clearly wanted [the position],” Bob reveals, but not for the reasons some might jump to suspect. “I can tell by how they’re writing the character. This is something that he wants very-much to prove himself in. And from an actor’s perspective it’s fun to play characters that are trying to reinvent themselves.

“I’ve never enjoyed the challenge of playing someone who is one way happy with the way he is and not about to try to change or to grow … I think that that’s an appealing thing for an audience to see a character that wants to reinvent himself, who realizes what his character flaws are, what his weaknesses are, and wants to try to overcome them. So that’s the part that I’m most enjoying.”

Woolsey’s story arc should prove to be a naquadah mine of potential for growth in Season Five. Amanda Tapping is already scheduled for more appearances beyond the season opener, “Search and Rescue,” and Picardo hopes for a scene which will force the two characters to confront.

“I hope that we’ll get to actually have some sort of confrontation about why I took her job, so to speak,” he says, “or why I recommended that she be replaced, perhaps [pitching] myself as a temporary replacement.”