Date of publishing: 10th
May 2011
Actor Patrick Gilmore can currently be seen in the
series regular role of “Dr. Dale Volker”
on the hit SyFy series “SGU Stargate Universe”.
In addition to SGU, Patrick can next be seen in a
multi-recurring role in the new highly anticipated
AMC drama, “The Killing”. Later this year
you will be able to enjoy the lighter side of Patrick
when he stars in Sunflower Hour, an indie mocumentary
about the underbelly of puppeteering. The movie was
written and directed by Aaron Houston. Also in 2011,
Patrick has a supporting role in the horror thriller,
Cabin in the Woods directed by Drew Goddard (Lost/Alias)
the film stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Richard Jenkins
and Bradley Whitford.
Patrick grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada after
his father; a pro hockey player was traded from the
Los Angeles, Sharks to the Edmonton, Oilers in the
70’s. Having spent most of his childhood exploring
the outdoors and very little time in front of the
television, Patrick knew at a very early age he wanted
to pursue a career in acting. He says that while in
the third grade he became very familiar with the principal,
and at that time truly found his love of acting. However,
not until his dad brought home a video camera did
he utilize these skills for good rather than evil.
Patrick’s TV credits include “Final Days
of Planet Earth,” “Dear Mr. Gacy,”
“100 Days in the Jungle” and the Disney
Channel hit original TV movie “16 Wishes.”
His feature film roles include The Last Mimzy, and
Roland Emmerich’s 2012.
Gilles
Nuytens: Firstly,
SGU viewers knows you as "Dr Volker", but
now let us know who is Patrick Gilmore, except acting,
what drives you in life?
Patrick Gilmore: This may sound like
a negative reinforcement, but stick with me…
what drives me is Regret. I don’t ever want
to regret. I want to be able to look back from any
point, at any point and be happy with the choices
I’ve made.
Gilles Nuytens: What
do you like the most about acting?
Patrick Gilmore: I like reacting
to situations I may never be a part of. I remember
when I was 6 pretending my tree fort was the Millennium
Falcon… I get to do that for a living now.
Gilles Nuytens: Is
SGU the kind of show/story you like or was it just
a simple job for you?
Patrick Gilmore: I lucked out. I
love this kind of show. Going into it I didn’t
know what SGU was going to be. But once the scripts
started coming in, my excitement mounted. I’ve
never been a fan of “Monster of the Week”
style shows. I like the overall arch. Every episode
has a story but it all builds on the bigger picture.
I want to know we’re going somewhere, and not
just endlessly going on meaningless adventures. SGU
turned out to be the perfect show for me.
Gilles Nuytens: Where
you surprised when the announcement of the cancellation
of SGU was done, or did you expect it?
Patrick Gilmore: Looking back, the
writing was on the wall. There was a perfect storm
riding against us. MGM’s financial troubles,
SyFy rearranging their format & schedules, following
15 previous seasons of the franchise, plummeting DVD
sales, the new age of media (Neilson ratings vs. iTunes,
Hulu, etc.), an outspoken minority of fans crucifying
the show before it even aired... I could go on. Seeing
it all listed there makes me wonder how we got 2 seasons.
There isn’t one reason, which is frustrating
because we want to blame someone, something. We can’t.
But against all those circumstances I held onto the
idea that art, creativity, talent would win out. This
was a solid show that boasted award winning actors,
SFX & writing. It’s been voted one of the
top SciFi TV shows of all time by many critics…the
story isn’t complete…of course we’ll
get 5 seasons. No? How about 4 seasons? No? 3? No.
Two movies? No. One movie? Nothing! I understand business,
I understand TV, but the ‘nothing’ shocks
me.
Gilles Nuytens: Brad
Wright has announced at a convention that SGU won't
come back, at least not in the near future. How do
you feel about it?
Patrick Gilmore: Brad sent the cast an email
the day before the convention and gave us the heads
up. After finding out about the initial cancellation
over Twitter in December, I was at least able to rest
knowing Brad was fighting our fight when I was helpless
and had no say as to the show’s future. And
Brad fought. Right to the last second. I am so grateful
for his effort. We did all we could do.
Gilles
Nuytens: What are
your favorite SGU moments?
Patrick Gilmore: My favorite Stargate
moments are not on the screen. I would drive to set
on my days off just to have lunch with the cast and
crew. So, there are numerous private moments and laughs
that I’ll never forget. As far as my favorite
onscreen… Riley’s death was a defining
moment for the show. I loved that we had the guts
to go there. TJ’s flashback montage death in
‘Epilogue’, Brody fumbling with the iPod
in ‘Hope’, Rush & Young’s fight
at the end of ‘Justice’, Rush’s
reaction to killing Telford in ‘Twin Destines’,
the discovery of Destiny’s bridge by Volker,
Brody & Eli… I could go on and on.
Gilles Nuytens: Stargate
is a "fan show", how do you feel about conventions
and all this stuff?
Patrick Gilmore: Seems to be a popular
question… I love that they exist. The fan base
surrounding SciFi is humbling and at the same time
daunting. I’ve never officially been to one
and I’ve looked into it. However, there’s
a lot of hoops to jump through, SGU isn’t represented
well at conventions, you need to sign with a booking
agent, or this convention has to invite you, this
one you have to apply to, you need to print and bring
your own headshots, there are 10,000 other SciFi actors
people would rather see, there’s a time commitment
attached, crowds make me anxious, I’m afraid
I’ll tell an inappropriate story, my autograph
is boring, I sweat when I’m nervous, I’d
probably miss the event because the hotel has a pool,
I’m bad at ‘small-talk’, I’d
feel the need to hire an assistant to hold my hand
because I’d get lost and overwhelmed…
at this point I’m just making excuses. All that
being said, I need to do one just to experience it
and say that I did it. But mostly just to thank the
fans face to face.
Gilles Nuytens: Which
parts of the personality of Dr Volker are close to
your own personality and which ones are totally different?
How close are you from him?
Patrick Gilmore: Volker and I often
use comedy as a crutch, we both have a befuddled approach
to love, and I think we both think too much. Aside
from the education, and general genius, the biggest
difference between us is our reaction to Authority.
We both resist it, but I tend to smolder from a distance.
Volker became more confident to challenge Rush, and
even enjoyed it near the end. I want that. I want
to be able to laugh at the thumb trying to keep me
down.
Gilles
Nuytens: When you
have a long range of continuous text to learn, what
are your techniques to make sure you are going to
tell them correctly and naturally? Do you spend a
lot of time to practice your text before the shooting
day?
Patrick Gilmore: I have bad study
habits that I brought with me from school. I tend
to cram the night before. I’ll read the material
the moment I get it and spend the time until filming
thinking about it, exploring it, questioning it, feeling
it, going back to it. Regardless of best intentions
the actual memorization of the specific words doesn’t
happen till the night before. By that time I know
the emotional beats and the rhythm, but now I have
to cram in the text. It’s not perfect, and it
has bitten me in the ass on a few occasions, but it
works.
Gilles Nuytens: Being
in front of the camera can be sometimes stressful,
especially when you have to play a difficult scene.
How do you manage your stress?
Patrick Gilmore: Ha… I don’t.
Any tips? Being in front of the camera usually isn’t
the stressful part. Auditioning is where I go crazy.
I’ve had close to 400 auditions. Can you imagine
400 job interviews? Ludicrous, but part of the game.
I’m still trying to find new ways to keep my
blood pressure down when I find out I have an audition.
Getting the gig and being on camera is the reward.
That’s the fun part.
Gilles Nuytens: To
my opinion the script, story and drama of SGU is far
superior than its sister shows, the show itself is
superior in every aspects, so why do you think so
many people are snubbing it?
Patrick Gilmore: Ha ha, wow, that’s
a touchy question and probably an even touchier answer.
Here’s the fun thing… SG1, SGA & SGU
were all written by THE SAME PEOPLE! After 15 seasons
of the same shows Brad, Rob and the entire producer/writing
team wanted to do something different. That’s
what good artists do. They test their boundaries.
They succeeded in one genre of Sci-Fi and wanted to
try another. So they came up with SGU, and in two
short seasons created one of the most memorable SciFi
shows. It was snubbed by an outspoken minority of
original Stargate fans who would have loved 15 more
seasons of the same stuff.
Gilles Nuytens: Downloading
TV shows on internet. Different aspects and point
of views. A dangerous/slipping subject, but interesting
to talk about... Let's speak about what is called
"illegal downloads". We know that US networks
only pay attention to the US ratings of each show.
So, people outside of the US that download "illegally"
the shows don't influence the choice to renew or cancel
a show, they even don't have the choice to watch it
most of the time (local networks don’t buy it).
So downloading is their only option, because the "legal
download" is also "US only". So, it
doesn't make the networks to lose money. A big hypocrisy?
Patrick Gilmore: Sure. This is all
new technology and we’re all scrambling to catch
up. To my knowledge the network looks at Neilson ratings,
and that’s it. So illegal downloads are of course
not counted… but what about Hulu, iTunes, Netflix,
Amazon?…it’s time for our Networks to
catch up.
Gilles
Nuytens: SGU deals
with a lot of actual subjects, such homosexuality,
to give an example. To you, what was the most interesting
or favorite one to have been covered in the show?
Patrick Gilmore: SGU touched on Religion
briefly in Air, again in Faith and a few times in
Season 2. With the discovery of the “message”
I was looking forward to an exploration of the creation
of the Universe and how the crew dealt with questions
of a “creator”. It was the bigger picture,
the reason behind the journey, the “destiny”.
Gilles Nuytens: In
one of the latest episodes to date, your character
suffer from "the good friend" symptom...
is that something you already faced yourself, and
what advices would you give to your character if you
could?
Patrick Gilmore: Aww... ya. I have
a strong track record of becoming ‘the friend’.
If I had to give Volker advice on how to win over
Park… ”Join the military!”
Gilles Nuytens: Sunflower
Hour, what could you tell us about this project and
your part on it?
Patrick Gilmore: Sunflower Hour is
a movie I’ll be keeping from my parents. Aaron
Houston and Aisla Webster, the creators of the movie,
have been friends for some time and when it came to
doing this movie I jumped at the opportunity. Sure,
they were friends, but the real reason I wanted to
do this movie was that the part of ‘Leslie’
terrified me. He is a closeted gay puppeteer, a fundamentalist
Christian married to a dissatisfied wife. I read the
script and had no idea where to start with him. I
wanted the challenge, they were able to work around
my SGU schedule and we filmed on weekends. It’s
wrapped post and being submitted to film festivals
now. Very funny, crazy stuff. Keep your eyes on the
lookout for Sunflower Hour.
Gilles Nuytens: Same
question about "The Killing" & "The
Cabin in the Woods".
Patrick Gilmore: I filmed ‘The
Cabin in the Woods’ during Season 1 of SGU.
Joss Whedon’s script is incredible. It was a
lot of fun and should be a crazy movie, but it’s
been on radio silence for a time. The last I heard
Lionsgate bought it, but I have no idea what will
come of it. It should be seen, and Joss Whedon fans
will adore it.
The Killing is a new TV show on AMC and this is THE
watercooler show right now. What a thrill it is to
have in Vancouver and, man, am I lucky to be a part
of it. I play Tom Drexler, an eccentric dot-com millionaire
who gets involved with politics. If you like the new
breed of TV, The Sopranos, Mad Men, The Walking Dead…
you must watch The Killing!
Gilles
Nuytens: Would you
be interested to write your own project to get your
"dream role"?
Patrick Gilmore: I’m content
now to play the roles other people write. I’d
like to go back to theater for a time. In theater
I was able to play 100yr old men, Sorcerers, Women,
Children, and on and on. In Film & TV I get cast
in very safe roles. So when Sunflower Hour comes along,
or The Killing, I run at the opportunity. I write,
but not enough to create a film script. One day it’ll
hit me. A role I’ve never played, and I’ll
put pen to ink.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you have other project that aren't yet mentioned somewhere?
Patrick Gilmore: Are you kidding?
The internet knows about my career before I do!
Gilles Nuytens: And
finally, tell something about a subject that is close
to you, whatever it is as long as it matters to you.
Patrick Gilmore: I guess it all comes
down to how blessed I feel to be able to live a creative
life. I’m making a living by art, which is something
most people can’t say. And being able to make
a living affords me the opportunities to develop as
an artist. I enjoy twitter (@PatrickGilmore)
because I can interact with the fans and it forces
me to craft concise jokes. I have a degree in English
Literature but I rarely get an opportunity to use
what I’ve learned. Twitter, as indulgent as
it is, becomes an outlet. I’m inspired by blogs,
like the one of SGU producer Joe Mallozzi, or my favorite
daily blog www.keepinitleal.blogspot.com.
Joe & Leah have a routine and a creative outlet
I think we all should have. So, I started my own blog,
http://patrickgilmore.wordpress.com.
Short stories, rants, pictures, just something to
keep the tool sharp. Whether it’s writing, painting,
or acting, I always say creativity is like a muscle,
if you don’t exercise it, it will atrophy.
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