This past Sunday at the 2013 Montreal Comiccon, Sound On Sight got a chance to chat with James Callis. Known for his role as Dr. Gaius Baltar on the ever popular show Battlestar Galactica, Callis has over thirty credits to his name in radio, television and film work. He kindly took the time to answer a few of our pressing questions.
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Sound On Sight: How are you liking the convention so far, and all the fan love you get from Battlestar Galactica?
James Callis: It’s amazing. The show went off the air five years ago and yet more and more people are being introduced or are re-watching it, so it’s great.
SoS: And why do you think that is? Why do you think people are, more and more, jumping into it even though it’s now finished?
Callis: I think a lot of people were possibly really put off by the title, initially. “Oh, that’s some sci-fi stuff, but I don’t want to see Battlestar Galactica.” And then over time, I think it’s word of mouth, and there’s kind of an audience out there, of people out there saying “hey, you know it’s, uh, it’s not really just science fiction it’s deeper than that. You’ll enjoy it.” And yeah, I think that that’s- it’s like it’s gone viral, in some way.
SoS: And what do you think it is about your character that people fall in love with and enjoy watching?
Callis: I don’t know if they fall in love with him (…) I don’t know why, exactly. The writing was very brilliant. He’s in these very strange situations, he’s quite human; he doesn’t have all the answers.
SoS: You’ve done everything from radio, to television, to film. Do you have a preferred medium?
Callis: Radio.
SoS: Really?
Callis: No, I’m joking. I love, actually, all of it. I’ve done a lot of radio in the U.K. and for the BBC (…) but anything that involves telling a story or being a character. Something interesting, yeah.
You can catch more of Frazer Hines this weekend at the 2013 Montreal