Mister Kino

With the first season of Stargate Universe drawing to a close, who better to tell us everything is going to be alright (Season Two is just around the corner!) than David Blue? The actor plays Eli Wallace on the series, and has quickly become a fan favorite both on screen and behind the scenes.

GateWorld sat down with David at Creation Entertainment’s official Stargate convention in Vancouver. We covered everything from his relationships with other cast members, to Eli’s character development so far (and still to come), to the fan reception of the show.

GateWorld’s interview with David Blue runs 15 minutes, and is available in audio. It’s also transcribed below!

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GateWorld: It’s great to finally meet you, David. How have you been?

David Blue: Good, I’ve been good! We’re knee-deep in Season Two, so I’m a little bit out of it.

GW: Actually, I’ve been looking forward to this interview for months, since I knew that you were going to be here. Eli resonates quite a bit with me, because …

DB: He’s incredibly sexy?

GW: … Sure. You as a person and now as an actor are a sci-fi nut yourself. We grew up watching [Star Trek: The Next Generation] together.

DB: Literally, the two of us on a couch watching Next Gen, sharing popcorn! [Laughs]

GW: Is this one of your first conventions? How many have you done so far?

DB: It’s a weird situation because a lot of us talked about it right away, because we knew the world existed. And it’s not anything against any people, [but] we were all saying originally that we weren’t going to do them. Because we didn’t want it to be about that. We didn’t want it to look like we were chasing after money.

In my opinion, a good actor is not someone who cares about the money or the fame or whatever. They do it because they love the work, and those people have longevity. So I never in a million years thought I would. But then, when my first convention appearance came up, it was in London. It was an opportunity to spread the love of the show a little bit. We had just premiered out there. It was a chance to talk to people about the show and kind of get some feedback at the same time. And I liked that.

This is actually my third now. I will selfishly say, as much as I loved it, the second one was just an excuse to go to Australia. [Laughs]

GW: Are you getting acclimated to the environment? And having hundreds and hundreds of people [excited to see you]?

DB: I went to Star Trek: The Next Generation conventions, you know? I’ve gone before, as a fan, so it wasn’t a huge deal to me.

GW: Does it feel weird being on the other side of the spectrum?

DB: It is. Like going to Comic-Con — which we did back in July — was the big thing, I think. It was the first time I was on the other side of the table, really. That was something to get used to — the fact that people were asking us questions. Because I don’t know if you know this, but I waited in line for the True Blood panel last year. We kind of hid in line, me and Brian [J. Smith], and just kind of snuck in and watched it. So I’m still a fan.

So I kind of feel like when people want an autograph or a picture, I’m like, “Why, yes! I’ll have a hug! I’d love a hug,” you know?

GW: Let’s talk a little bit about Season One. Obviously [it] has not all of it has aired yet. There are still six or seven [episodes] at the back end of the season still to come. But even in that short period of time, we’ve seen Eli grow a little bit. How do you feel about, over the course of the entire year, even the stuff we haven’t seen, about his growth over the course of that year?

DB: It’s honestly one of my favorite parts. They want to do it realistically, which I do like. As much as I love Michael Shanks as a person, he’s like a super-ninja now, you know? It’s like he quickly went from the nerd to the essential part. And I know one of the things that they really wanted to hang on to was Eli’s innocence, because that really relates to how he would be in that situation and to the audience.

GW: In my opinion, though, I almost feel like — just in what we’ve already seen — he’s already lost some of that.

DB: Absolutely, and that’s what I like about that. I like that they’re pushing the envelope even inthat. Where they’re not afraid to take those risks. Because I’ve even bought that up to them a few times.

I like the idea that he’s realigning who he trusts. He’s changing his opinions. I mean, “Divided” specifically screwed Eli’s perception up. It used to be “good” and “bad,” and a simple line, and now for him it’s less clear.