If fans of actor Michael Shanks want to see him take on his latest role, this time they’ll have to turn off their televisions and head out to the multiplexes.

The SG-1 veteran is branching out into theatres beginning tomorrow, with a role in the Warner Brothers film Red Riding Hood, a re-imagined take on the classic children’s story.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, Twilight), the film also stars several A-list actors including Amanda Seyfried (Dear John, Mamma Mia!) and Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element, and both the Harry Potter and the rebooted Batman franchises).

Shanks took the time to talk exclusively to GateWorld, and while he jokingly stated he was under a “gag order” about specifics on the film, he did throw out a few tidbits here and there — while also making it clear that he enjoyed the filming immensely.

“I had a blast on the film!” Shanks said.  “It’s got some great people in it.  Gary, Lukas Haas, Julie Christie, Max Irons, Michael Hogan.  I could just go on and on!  But it’s a great cast and a great director, and it was a lot of fun to shoot.”

“It was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s company, Appian Way,” Shanks continued.  “We filmed it in Vancouver.   And my character’s name is Adrien Lazar, who is the town blacksmith.  He’s also the father of Max Irons’ character, ‘Henry,’ who will factor into a love triangle between Amanda Seyfried’s character and a character named Peter who’s played by Shiloh Fernandez.  There’s a lot of history between the characters.”

Shanks also made a point to credit Hardwicke — who is obviously no stranger to films that feature both love triangles and a wolf — about her contributions to the film.

“One of the great things about working on this film was Catherine,”  Shanks said.  “She just has this way — as the best directors do — of turning a set into this great ensemble atmosphere.”

With a modest budget, the film could become a hit fairly easily if it is able to capture the young adult and teen demographic it is obviously shooting for.  However, it faces some steep competition at theaters this weekend as adult genre fans can also choose the alien-invasion film Battle: Los Angeles.  Walt Disney Pictures is counter-programming with a family-friendly CGI genre film of their own, Mars Needs Moms.

Red Riding Hood opens in the United States and Canada tomorrow, and will premiere in most European countries in April.