Stargate’s Original Queen: Actress Vaitiare Hirshon On Being Sha’re

Stargate SG-1 actress Vaitiare Hirshon (née Bandera) brought life to one of the character’s most pivotal characters in its early years. The Abydonian princess Sha’re was the wife of Daniel Jackson, abducted by the villain Apophis and possessed by his queen, Amonet, in the show’s premiere episode.

After her role in the pilot episode Hirshon returned, pregnant with Apophis’ child, in the second-season episode “Secrets.” (Vaitiare was then pregnant with her and co-star Michael Shanks’ real-life child, Tatiana.) She was back again for one of Season Three’s most memorable hours, “Forever In A Day,” wrapping up Sha’re’s storyline in tragic fashion.

The actress recently sat down with GateWorld’s long-form interview series “Dial the Gate” for a rare interview, talking about her time on the show.

“It was such a great experience. I loved the role,” she said. “… The sets were magnificent. Everything. The whole production — I was so proud. I was so grateful.”

In the clip below Hirshon talks about auditioning for the role, embodying her character, and Sha’re being taken over by a Goa’uld.

“It was so amazing to play that,” she said — “to play two different characters. … You can see the difference when she’s Sha’re, and then Amonet. … It was amazing to play that.”

Vaitiare also revealed that she actually auditioned for the same character in Roland Emmerich’s 1994 feature film — and she was a finalist for the role. Instead the role went to Israeli actress Mili Avital. But just a few years later Hirshon was cast for the television version of the character.

This clip is from our full-length conversation with Vaitiare. Watch the full, hour-long interview with Vaitiare now on “Dial the Gate.”

The show’s upcoming schedule includes more must-see guests from Stargate’s production history, including long-time director and producer Peter DeLuise and Stargate Universe co-star Elyse Levesque (April 4), “Harlan” actor Jay Brazeau and Atlantis‘s David Hewlett (April 11), and “Shau’nac” actress Musetta Vander (April 25). Look for these and other guests to be announced at DialTheGate.com.

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On Twitter: @VaiTiareHirshon